One Mic Stand: Itha Cao, Neighborhood Allies

Neighborhood Allies' North Star Goal is to expand its resources to Accelerate, Scale and Sustain the work of our community partners to create healthy neighborhoods of opportunity and move 100,000 low-income Pittsburghers up the socio-economic ladder, over the next 10 years. 

Itha Cao, Director of Digital Inclusion and Innovation, steps up to the One Mic Stand to talk about Neighborhood Allies' priority initiatives that improve resident access to the three critical pieces of achieving a high quality of life in the 21st century: computer literacy skills, computer ownership and high speed internet. 

She details how the formal launch of Community Learning Centers in Homewood through Level Up 412  and the continuation of the Beyond the Laptops program will provide community members of all ages with the tools they deserve to learn, work and live.

Prior to her role at Neighborhood Allies, Itha served the City of Pittsburgh as a Senior Civic Innovation Specialist for the Department of Innovation and Performance, managing PGH Lab, the city’s urban incubator for startups to test their products and services with local government, and pivoted the program to focus and prioritize local startups owned and benefiting women, minorities, and disabled individuals.

She also served as a Policy Analyst for Mayor Peduto’s Office of Equity, managing digital inclusion initiatives like Rec2Tech, the city’s STEAM/STEM after school learning program, and ConnectHome, a national digital inclusion initiative from former President Obama to connect public housing residents with digital skills training, devices, and high speed internet access.