Agenda

 

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Expect activities – and plan accordingly – from 8 a.m. EST on October 12th until 4 p.m. EST on October 13th. 

DAY 1 – OCTOBER 12, 2023

7:30 to 11:00 a.m. ET || REGISTRATION

  • Location: CDS 2nd Floor 

7:30 to 9:00 a.m. ET ||  BREAKFAST 

  • Location: CDS 17th Floor
  • Overflow: Live Streaming and Refreshments in the CDS 5th Floor (Data Science Pavilion)

8:00 to 8:50 a.m. ET || PIT-UN Working Groups Meeting (Various Rooms)

  • DEI in Cybersecurity (Location: Room CDS 1701)
    • Facilitators: Prof. Kevin Harris, Associate Professor & Exec Director, Cybersecurity DEI Clinic (Stillman College), Prof. Denise Ferebree, (Rust College), Prof. Randy Pestana, Associate Director of Cyber Policy Program Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy (Florida International University)
  • Mid-West PIT Regional (Location: Room CDS 1700)
    • Facilitator: Prof. Patricia Stoddard-Dare, Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program (Cleveland State University-Ohio)
  • New England PIT Regional (Location: Room CDS 1526)
    • Facilitator:Prof. Francine Berman, Director of Public Interest Technology, and Stuart Rice Honorary Research Professor, (University of Massachusetts Amherst); Faculty Associate, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University 
      • PIT @ NSF (Location: Room CDS 1635)
        • Facilitators: Prof. Brian Gran, (Case Western Reserve University)

        9:00 – 10:00 a.m. ET || WELCOME & KEYNOTE 

        • Location: CDS 17th Floor 
        • Overflow: Live Streaming and Refreshments in the CDS 5th Floor (Data Science Pavilion)

         

        • 10 minutes – Welcome to BU: Prof. Azer Bestavros, Associate Provost for The Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences, William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Founding Director of the Hariri Institute for Computing
        • 10 minutes – Welcome Speaker: Kenneth Freeman, Boston University President Ad Interim
        • 10 minutes – Welcome Speaker: Andreen Soley, Director of the Public Interest Technology University Network
        • 20 minutes – Opening Keynote: PIT & the Role of Universities in a Healthy Democracy: Prof. Jasmine McNealy, Associate Professor (University of Florida) and Mozilla Senior Fellow – Tech Policy.
        • 10 minutes – MC: Carolina Rossini, Co-founder, Datasphere Initiative and Law Lecturer (Boston University)

        10:00 – 11:00 a.m. ET || PANEL 1 – Partnerships within and between Universities

        How interdisciplinary and multiregional networks connect PIT theory to practice

        • Location: CDS 17th Floor
        • Overflow: Live Streaming and Refreshments in the CDS 5th Floor (Data Science Pavilion)

        Public interest technology is interdisciplinary by nature and requires us to build partnerships with colleagues from different academic departments and various institutional roles across our campuses. As early participants in a nascent field, PIT practitioners often must look to relationships with colleagues at different universities to build research and teaching practices, share and gather resources, and build a community of practice. These inter-institutional partnerships deepen PIT-UN’s resources and extend its reach, making PIT legible and accessible to a wider range of student and faculty populations and earning attention and support from university leaders and funders. 

        In this panel, practitioners will discuss how the frameworks and methods of public interest technology have spurred new partnerships within and across institutions that unlock new possibilities in the design, deployment, and governance of technology.

        Moderator: Prof. Ngozi Okidegbe Moorman-Simon Interdisciplinary Career Development Associate Professor Of Law and Assistant Professor Of Computing & Data Sciences (Boston University)

        Speakers: 

        • Prof. Brooke Williams, Associate Professor of the Practice of Computational Journalism (Boston University);
        • Prof. Elena Eneva, Senior Principal AI Research Scientist, Data Science for Social Good (University of the South);
        • Prof. Larry Susskind, Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning (Massachusetts Institute of Technology);
        • Prof. Laura Bingham Professor of Practice and Executive Director, Institute for Law, Innovation & Technology (Temple University);
        • Mya J Turner, Software Engineer at Netflix and Boston University Alumna.

        11:00 to 11:10 a.m. | Participant Discussion 

        Attendees congregate in groups of 4-5, with people seated next to them. A Menti will be used to support sharing experiences on partnerships within and between universities.

         11:10 – 11:30 a.m. ET || BREAK 

        11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET || PANEL 2 – Partnering with Civil Society

        PIT to protect rights, advance justice, and build resilience

        • Location: CDS 17th Floor
        • Overflow: Live Streaming and Refreshments in the CDS 5th Floor (Data Science Pavilion)

        PIT requires that we pay close attention to the impact of technology on human lives and communities, particularly to those most vulnerable and marginalized in society, and invites us to engage those people and communities throughout all stages of a technology’s life span, from the identification of which community needs technology can respond to, to the design, development, testing, deployment, and governance of that technology.

        In this panel, members and friends of PIT-UN will discuss how they have established and grown collaborative partnerships with nonprofits and civil society organizations to foster individual and community rights, advance justice, and build resilience.

        Moderator: John Wilbanks, Senior Fellow at the Datasphere Initiative and ex-head of Data at Biogen Digital Health.

        Panelists: 

        12:30 to 12:40 p.m. ET | Participant Discussion 

        Attendees congregate in groups of 4-5, with people seated next to them. A Menti will be used to support sharing experiences in regard to partnerships with Civil Society.

        12:40 – 1:00 p.m. ET || BREAK 

        1:00 to 2:30 p.m. ET || LUNCH

        • Location: CDS 2nd Floor 
        • Overflow Lunch Location: CDS 5th Floor (Data Science Pavilion)

        ACTIVITIES: PIT-UN Member Lightning Talks & Students’ Programming 

        1:45 to 2:30 p.m. || Lightning Talks

        • Location: CDS 2nd Floor 

        MC: Kip Dooley, Communications & Events Manager, PIT-UN at New America 

        • The Career Pipeline Starts Early: PIT in K-12, Afua Bruce Founder & Principal, ANB Advisory Group LLC;
        • PIT in Entertainment, Media & Culture, Prof. Bryan Sinclair, (Georgia State University), and Prof. Gillian Smith (Worcester Polytechnic Institute);
        • Trust & Safety: Challenges and Opportunities in a Growing Field, Yoel Roth, Knight Visiting Scholar, University of Pennsylvania; former Head of Trust & Safety at Twitter
        • Adapting Cybersecurity Training for the Deaf Community, Prof Justin Pelletier, Director of the GCI Cyber Range and Training Center (Rochester Institute of Technology); 
        • Why a Regional Model Makes Sense for PIT, Prof. Fran Berman, Director of Public Interest Technology, and Stuart Rice Honorary Research Professor (University of Massachusetts Amherst); Faculty Associate, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.

        2:30 to 3:20 p.m. ET || BREAKOUT SESSION

        Members divide into topic-specific rooms to discuss Lightning Talk topics, ongoing PIT initiatives, and how to build partnerships to advance PIT work regionally and nationally.  

        •  PIT in K-12 Education (Location: Room CDS 1646)
          • Facilitators: Prof. Iria Guiffrida, Assistant Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs and Professor of the Practice of Law (William & Mary), and Prof. Afua Bruce Founder & Principal, AnB Advisors.
        • PIT in Entertainment, Media & Culture (Location: Room CDS 1101) 
        • Embedding PIT in the Private Sector (Location: Room CDS 950)
          • Facilitators: Prof. Sylvester Johnson Professor and Director of the Center for Humanities (Virginia Tech University) and Yoel Roth, Knight Visiting Scholar, University of Pennsylvania; former Head of Trust & Safety at Twitter.
        • Connecting PIT Practitioners to Policy (Location: Room CDS 701)
          • Facilitators: Prof. Charlton McIlwain, Vice Provost for Faculty Engagement and Development; Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication (New York University), and Prof. Jasmine McNealy, Associate Professor (University of Florida) and Mozilla Senior Fellow – Tech Policy.
        • PIT+ Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (Location: Room CDS 1635)
          • Facilitators: Prof. Kevin Harris, Associate Professor & Exec Director, Cybersecurity DEI Clinic (Stillman College), Prof. Randy Pestana Associate Director of the Cyber Policy Program, Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy (Florida International University), and Prof. Justin Pelletier Director of the GCI Cyber Range and Training Center (Rochester Institute of Technology). 
        • Regional Organizing for PIT (Location Room CDS 548)
          • Facilitators: Sheetal Dhir, Equity Fellow, Public Interest Technology, Kip Dooley, New America / PIT-UN, Prof. Fran Berman, (University of Massachusetts Amherst), and Travis Moore, Founder & CEO of TechCongress.

          3:20- 3:40 p.m. ET || BREAK

          3:40 – 4:40 p.m. ET || PANEL 3 – Partnering with the Private Sector

          Business models that embed public interest in technology

          • Location: CDS 17th Floor
          • Overflow: Live Streaming and Refreshments in the CDS 5th Floor (Data Science Pavilion)

          Public interest technology invites us to develop business models that put people first. From new design tactics such as ethics and privacy by design, to more revolutionary open innovation and open business strategies, companies have a unique opportunity to both support community well-being while also creating profitable and sustainable firms. What alternative models for organizing capital and labor can we learn from – and what new models can we seed and grow – to create a just, inclusive, and equitable tech ecosystem? 

          In this panel, members, friends, and funders of PIT-UN will discuss existing and emerging business models that place public interest at the heart of technology and the role of private, philanthropic, and venture capital in seeding and spreading these new models.

          Moderator: Shanna Crumley Director of Impact Data Science at MasterCard Center for Inclusive Growth

          Panelists: 

          • Alex Baldenko, Head of Data Science, MassMutual;
          • Prof. Ann Cleaveland, Executive Director, Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (University of California Berkeley);
          • Prof Carlos Genatios, Director Engineering & Technology (Miami Dade College) Director Geopolis: Network Environmental Risk Reduction;
          • Prof. Latanya Sweeney Daniel Paul Professor of the Practice of Government and Technology, HKS and FAS (Harvard University);
          • Ish Limkakeng, Senior Vice President of People, Policy & Purpose Technology Strategy, Cisco. 

          4:40 to 4:50 p.m. ET | Participant Discussion 

          Attendees congregate in groups of 4-5, with people seated next to them. A Menti will then be used to support sharing experiences in regard to partnerships with the Private Sector. 

          5:00 to 5:30 p.m. ET || CLOSING REMARKS

          • Location: CDS 17th Floor
          • Overflow: Live Streaming and Refreshments in the CDS 5th Floor (Data Science Pavilion)

           

          • 20 min – Student Track Highlights – Presented by the following students: Andrea Guifarro (City University of New York) and Ecy Femi King (Stanford University), and Ziba Cranmer, Director BU Spark!
          • 10 min – Day closing remarks: Andreen Soley Director, Public Interest Technology, and Carolina Rossini, Co-founder, Datasphere Initiative and Law Lecturer (Boston University)

          5:30 to 6:00 p.m. ET || FREE TIME 

          6:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET || COCKTAIL RECEPTION 

          • Location: CDS 2nd floor 

           

          DAY 2 – OCTOBER 13, 2023

          8:00 to 9:00 a.m. ET || REGISTRATION & BREAKFAST

          • Location: CDS 17th Floor

          9:00 to 9:30 a.m. ET || WELCOME & OPENING KEYNOTE 

          • Location: CDS 17th Floor
          • Overflow: Live Streaming and Refreshments in the CDS 5th Floor (Data Science Pavilion)

          MC: Carolina Rossini, Co-founder, Datasphere Initiative and Law Lecturer (Boston University)

          • 15 minutes – Opening Keynote: Prof. Danielle Allen, Director, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, Kennedy School (Harvard University);
          • 15 minutes – Opening Keynote: Public Accountability: Expanding Red Teaming to Enable Structured Public Feedback by Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, head of Parity Consulting, Parity Responsible Innovation Fund, and a Responsible AI Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society (Harvard University).

          9:30 to 10:15 a.m. ET || KEYNOTE CONVERSATION – Institutionalizing PIT

          • Location: CDS 17th Floor
          • Overflow: Live Streaming and Refreshments in the CDS 5th Floor (Data Science Pavilion)

          The long-term success of public interest technology depends upon building and sustaining institutional support to undergird and operationalize the values of community, collaboration, equity, and justice that are the core of PIT.

          In this conversation, we’ll hear from leaders across the field about how they have developed institutional support for PIT, how they’ve navigated political questions and relationships, and what steps members can take to build relationships and activate resources on their campuses.

          Moderator: Hazem Mahmoud, Director of Data Solutions, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.

          Panelists: 

          • Prof. Azer Bestavros, Associate Provost for The Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences, William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Founding Director of the Hariri Institute for Computing (Boston University); 
          • Mina Hsiang, Administrator of the United States Digital Service;
          • Prof. David Guston, Associate Vice Provost for Discovery, Engagement and Outcomes, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory (Arizona State University); 
          • Dr. Erwin Gianchandani, Assistant Director of the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships; National Science Foundation.

          10:20- 10:30 a.m. ET || BREAK

          10:30 – 11:30 a.m. ET || KEYNOTE & PANEL 4 – Partnering with Government

          Leveraging public resources to create a just and equitable technological society

          • Locations: CDS 17th Floor
          • Overflow: Live Streaming and Refreshments in the CDS 5th Floor (Data Science Pavilion)

          Government is a key stakeholder not only in the governance of technology but also in its development and deployment, from publicly-funded research labs and grants to digital public services and infrastructure.

          How can universities collaborate with elected officials, local and federal government agencies, and policymakers to ensure that our evermore technological society supports innovation, access to justice, quality employment opportunities, environmental protections, and the flourishing of people and communities?

          10:30 to 10:45 (15 min) – Opening Keynote: Deirdre Mulligan, ​​Principal Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

          Moderator: Michelle Amante, VP of Federal Workforce Programs, Partnership for Public Service

          Speakers: 

          11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET || PANEL 5 – Priorities for PIT Funding

          • Location: CDS 17th Floor
          • Overflow: Live Streaming and Refreshments in the CDS 5th Floor (Data Science Pavilion)

          Philanthropy has played a key role in organizing, formalizing, publicizing, and funding the field of public interest technology. Five years on from PIT-UN’s inception, we have a number of successes to celebrate, from proof-of-concept projects to interdisciplinary research centers to PIT degree programs and more. As we look forward, what priorities should guide funders’ next steps as we seek to leverage the networks and infrastructure that have emerged in order to grow and expand the field? 

          In this panel, funders from across the public interest technology ecosystem will discuss key learnings from their grantmaking journey so far, and what values and priorities should guide the next phases of philanthropic investment.

          Moderator: Andreen Soley, Director, Public Interest Technology, New America

          Speakers:

          12:30 – 2:00 p.m. ET || LUNCH, KEYNOTE & CLOSING 

          • Location: CDS 17th Floor
          • Overflow: Live Streaming and Lunch in the in the CDS 5th Floor (Data Science Pavilion)

           

          • 1:00 to 1:15 p.m. – Final announcements – Carolina Rossini, Co-founder, Datasphere Initiative and Law Lecturer (Boston University)
          • 1:15 to 1:30 p.m. – Closing Keynote: The Power of Narrative – Joel Christian Gill, Chair, Department of Visual Narrative (Boston University)
          • 1:30- 1:45 p.m. Closing Remarks: Prof. Azer Bestavros, Assoc. Provost (Boston University) 
          • 1:45 – 2:00 p.m. Farewell and Special Announcements: Andreen Soley, PIT-UN Director.

           

          SPECIAL EVENT ON ALGORITHM FAIRNESS | 2:30 – 5:00 p.m. ET

          • Location: CDS 17th Floor
          • A panel followed by a cocktail reception. Register Today!