#makingairwaves

Last week, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Rob Portman (D-Ohio), and Angus King (R-Maine) reintroduced the Digital Equity Act. The Digital Equity Act of 2021 strengthens federal support for efforts to help ensure students, families, and workers have the information technology capacity needed to fully participate in society. This legislation would achieve this goal by

Who do you center in your story? After this week’s DEI Changemakers program, Mary Coleman reflects on how an active voice matters so much more than crafting a good sentence in her latest post in the Lessons from DEI Changemakers blog series. I studied journalism during undergrad. In the end, it was a mismatch for

At Voqal, we understand that taking risks is necessary to achieve the progressive social change we want to see in the world. That’s why the Voqal Fellowship invests in people as individuals and budding entrepreneurs. The Fellowship is a talent accelerator aimed at giving those often overlooked by traditional funders a chance to enact their

This week, Mary Coleman recalls a childhood memory sparked during conversations about disrupting toxic individual attitudes and organizational systems in her latest post in the #makingairwaves DEI Changemakers blog series. Elle Woods from “Legally Blonde” is one of my favorite fictional characters. I could think of no other modern persona to better symbolize the freedom

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month and to help highlight the need to address the recent violence against the AAPI community, Voqal recently commissioned artwork from artist, Eda Yu. The artwork and a brief statement from the artist are below. how wood ash refertilizes the earth is a work by Eda

After this week’s DEI Changemakers program, Mary Coleman grapples with the persistent patterns of structural racism in her latest post in this #makingairwaves blog series. A few years ago, my mother-in-law gifted us with a homemade quilt for Christmas. I knew she was a quilter. I had seen her work around the house, but this

Voqal believes an educated population is vital for a healthy, thriving democracy. Furthermore, we believe that all individuals deserve equitable access to that education. It’s for these reasons that Voqal’s Educational Opportunity Project exists. The Education Opportunity Project seeks to measurably reduce educational opportunity gaps by providing capital and strategic advice to entrepreneurs and organizations

In her latest blog post on the #makingairwaves blog, Mary Coleman reflects on trust in the workplace after another influential week of participating in the DEI Changemakers program. In part three of this blog series, I shared an experience where I felt embraced and supported – included – by everyone in a group. This week

Below, Voqal’s director of telecommunications strategy, Mark Colwell, gives an update on the effort to reduce the cost of communications services for incarcerated individuals and their families.  While ordinary Americans can get unlimited talk and text plans, incarcerated individuals are required to pay exorbitant rates – up to $1 per minute – to connect with

Below, Mary Coleman reflects on inclusion in the workplace after another influential week of participating in the DEI Changemakers program. I hate public speaking. And for me, any more than two people in a meeting is public speaking. A few years ago, I decided to face this head-on. I was ready to conquer a fear