Written by Zizo Ezzat
Remote learning, webinar meetings, and QR code menus have all become familiar to us and are evidence of technology’s growing role in our lives. Understanding how to use devices and the internet is no longer optional but has become a necessity for daily life. Technology has played a pivotal role in society due to the pandemic, and an unfortunate side effect of this reality has been the widening inequity to resources, support, and technological literacy within affordable housing communities.
Dev/Mission, a San Francisco based Non-Profit in the Mission district, has decided to step up to confront this issue. Dev/Mission’s Community Technology Associate (CTA) program will provide 4 affordable housing communities in San Francisco with direct tech support and digital literacy. Dev/Mission is able to support the residents of these communities with CTA interns thanks to the generous $500,000 donation provided by the Stupski Foundation.
Motivation Behind the CTA Program
This innovative program started as a passion project for Dev/Mission CEO and co-founder, Leonardo Sosa. Having grown up in affordable housing, Sosa experienced the lack of access to technology and digital literacy in these communities. He made it his mission to use his years of non-profit experience to develop the CTA program in an effort to give back to residents facing the same barriers that he experienced growing up.
“I grew up in affordable housing and now that I am leading this organization, I always want to give back to those communities whether they are affordable housing, isolated, or just have no access to technology,” said Sosa as he was explaining his motivations behind the CTA program. His vision came to life in 2018 when Dev/Mission implemented the first trial of the CTA program in select neighborhoods.
How We Will Change Lives with Technology
Residents who currently live in neighborhoods partnered with the CTA program will receive a CTA intern in their location who will assist them with technical support, troubleshooting, and digital literacy training completely for free. Interns who will dedicate 4,608 hours of support annually, as well as hosting “Refurb-a-thons” events where residents can participate in a digital literacy class to potentially earn a refurbished laptop provided by Dev/Mission.
Creating opportunities is a goal for the CTA program by teaching residents critical career skills such as sending emails, updating software, and using the internet safely. Ultimately, Dev/Mission hopes to develop motivated individuals from these communities to bridge the diversity gap in the tech industry. Dev/Mission also believes that income shouldn’t be a factor in success, which is why they worked tirelessly to ensure residents would receive this service for free to avoid paying the monthly fee for comparable service from a business.
Using the grant provided by the Stupski foundation, CTA interns will be able to gain critical work experience and participate in a great cause for the community, all while earning a monthly stipend! Young adults interested in helping the community will also be pleasantly surprised to find that CTA interns receive extensive training from Dev/Mission in using ticket support systems, data entry, and the Google IT certification. Interns gain more than just technical skills through their 4 month opportunity, they also learn valuable communication and problem solving skills that they can use to land full-time jobs in IT after their internship concludes.
CTA Interns Describe Their Experience
“While in the program, I realized how much the community needed someone to come just to ask questions about technology. For some folks, it’s easy to make an online account but for others it’s a little bit harder. I definitely saw the gratitude the residents had for being able to get something done with the help of someone else,” said Jocelyn Umanzor who was a 2019 CTA intern in the Valencia Gardens location. After completion of the internship, Umanzor has gone on to become an IT professional.
“I became a CTA because I wanted to give back to my community and offer a service for low income families to be able to receive tech support at no cost to them. Being someone that also lives in the community, it was my own personal goal to help make a difference. I have been able to use my skills from the CTA program and have used them during my internships at Postmates and AppDynamics,” explained Stephany Pescador who was an intern in the Bayview location. Pescador currently serves as the STEM hub coordinator with Dev/Mission, continuing her community work.
“The CTA program has been beyond beneficial for me. Not only am I able to give back to my community, but it has opened doors and created opportunities for me. From operating systems to customer service, this program has cultivated me to be a more well rounded person. It’s provided me with speaking opportunities and recognition from Google and Coursera,” said Ruqaiyah Angeles who was also a 2019 intern in the Valencia Gardens Location. Angeles has also moved on to become the CTA Program Coordinator where she now manages and trains future CTA interns.
Ruqaiyah Angeles 
Stephany Pescador 
Jocelyn Umanzor
Next Steps – Important Dates and Locations
Beginning September 6th, the CTA program will officially launch with 36 CTA interns over the next 3 years in the Mission District inside Valencia Gardens, Bayview Hunters Point East/West/Westbrook at the 1030 Oakdale Community Center, 3 Harbor Road, 90 Kiska, and the Western addition, and Hayes Valley neighborhoods.
Technology is the great equalizer in our communities of need and with the CTA program in place, we can directly make change happen. Regardless if you are a CTA intern, volunteer, or resident receiving assistance, you are participating in bridging the digital divide by investing your time and knowledge into strengthening our local communities.
“It’s been a really exciting summer with Dev/Mission knowing that we have a foundation that really believes in what we’re doing, and cares about the impact in our community,” said Leonardo Sosa in reference to the Stupski Foundation and in anticipation of the official launch of the CTA program. Dev/Mission is thrilled to become the proponent of change within our underserved communities and starting September 6th, Dev/Mission would like to invite all of our affordable housing residents to stop by our partnered locations for free tech support from our homegrown CTA interns!
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