Written by: Ibrahim Emara
As I conclude my 2 years of ACC AmeriCorps service with Neighborhood Allies, now is the time for reflection on what our Digital Inclusion and Innovation team built with partners across Pittsburgh, what we learned about closing the digital divide, and how those lessons will guide future efforts. This blog is also intended to spotlight Neighborhood Allies’ thought leadership in addressing digital access gaps as part of a broader strategy to move 100,000 low-to-moderate-income Pittsburghers up the socio-economic ladder over the next 10 years, providing a model for community development that other regions can adopt.
Two Years at a Glance
400+
small businesses supported through Get Online, Grow Online (GOGO)
2,600+
residents engaged with the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)
100+
older adults and English Language Learners (ELLs) empowered with essential digital skills training
1
Digital Equity Champion – Emerging Leader Award, earning national recognition for our team’s work
Spotlights
Program Spotlight #1: Expanding Affordable Internet Access
Challenge: Affordability – more than availability – is often what keeps families offline. In Southwestern Pennsylvania, most households (87%) pay nearly 20% more than the national median for broadband service — around $75 per month. Crucially, adoption rates often correlate with income, as 23.2% of households earning <$20,000 have no internet subscription, compared with 9.4% for those earning <$74,999. Factoring in skepticism about government programs and confusing enrollment processes, it is no wonder that many eligible households never benefit from opportunities that can arise from digital access.
Action: We leveraged our existing network of anchor institutions – such as the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) and Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank – to boost enrollment in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a federal subsidy that once offered a $30/month internet discount plus a $100 discount on a connected device. This way, we met residents where they already are and bridged the trust gap with federal programs. We standardized intake and follow-up so that every interaction mattered, and provided one‑to‑one navigation to ease the enrollment process.
Impact: We engaged 2,600+ residents with the ACP, helping families reduce bills, secure devices, and stay connected for work, school, and health. The anchor‑institution model created durable referral pathways and a replicable template for targeted outreach citywide.
Program Spotlight #2: Empowering Adults with Essential Digital Skills
Challenge: In an increasingly digital economy, even access is insufficient without the requisite skills – over 92% of jobs in the US require foundational digital skills, yet only about two‑thirds of workers possess them. This is worrisome on many levels, especially when just one additional digital skill can boost earnings by 23%, according to the National Skills Coalition. As such, many seniors and English Language Learners (ELLs) in Pittsburgh need patient, in‑person instruction in trusted community spaces to participate fully in work, health, and civic life.
Action: We co‑designed and taught classes at libraries and community centers, covering device basics, email, online safety, telehealth, and job search. Our pre/post surveys and structured intake helped us adjust pacing, track progress, and sharpen relevance over time.
Impact: Over 100 older adults and ELLs gained practical skills and confidence since our program launched in June 2024, with repeat demand from partners validating our approach. We also made strides in translating these courses – beginning with Arabic and Mandarin – to address language access gaps among refugees and recent arrivals.
Read additional program spotlights here.
National Recognition
In May 2025, I was honored to receive the Digital Equity Champion – Emerging Leader award from the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. This national award recognizes rising leaders working to close the digital divide and expand access to broadband internet, devices, and digital skills across the US. While I remain profoundly humbled, I consider this a team honor reflecting the dedicated, strategic leadership of my host site supervisor Karen Lue, Senior Program Manager for Digital Inclusion and Innovation. Without her guidance and engagement with our programming partners across Pittsburgh, I would not be in the position I am today. Below is a short clip of my acceptance remarks, where I share how growing up in a dictatorship influenced my current commitment to digital access:
Five Lessons from the Field
- Establish trust, then tactics: Partner first with trusted community spaces; digital tools work best on a foundation of relationships, as I learned firsthand when embarking on a community listening tour during the first few months of my service.
- Map the system, not just the service: Shared datasets (e.g. asset maps, small business directories) can guide efficient allocation of community resources.
- What gets measured gets managed – and improved: Strong data intake processes and consistent feedback loops from residents can greatly sharpen your teaching style, pacing, and curriculum relevance without overburdening staff.
- Experiential learning is key: Prioritizing interactive experiences – whether through hands‑on digital skills classes, workshops, or simulations – can greatly impact residents and spark leaders into taking action.
- The stronger the coalition, the stronger the outcomes: Regional digital inclusion coalitions, such as GPDIA and many others across the country, give stakeholders a shared table to coordinate services, set priorities, and agree on measures, so the community speaks with a unified voice. They can create compounding advocacy, alignment, and network effects that turn scattered pilots into coherent digital opportunity strategies – breaking silos and unlocking more prosperous communities.
Looking Ahead
As I reflect, I am immensely grateful to our community partners both in Pittsburgh and across the country who made this work possible, and to the dedicated staff at Neighborhood Allies who supported and championed our programs. I am also grateful to Lead for America for placing me at such a strong host site and investing in my professional growth. Above all, I am indebted to my team when I first arrived, Itha Cao and Karen Lue, for their daily support, mentorship, and belief in this mission that helped me grow in more ways than I can count.
Next, I am pursuing a Master of Public Administration (MPA) at Cornell University’s Brooks School of Public Policy. I look forward to building on the skills and networks I acquired during my two years of service to make a lasting contribution: with 24 million American households still without reliable broadband and 2.6 billion people worldwide who are offline, there has never been a greater need for practitioners designing scalable policies that close the digital divide and expand economic opportunity – both in the US and globally.
Connect with Ibrahim on LinkedIn here.
