Dr. Fallon Wilson is the vice president of policy at the Multicultural Media and Telecommunication Internet Council (MMTC) where she launched a national campaign, Black Churches 4 Broadband to support digital access in black communities. She is also the co-founder of #BlackTechFutures Research Institute which is funded by Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s 2020 Open Knowledge grant. #BlackTechFutures Research Institute builds a national network of city-based researchers and practitioners conducting research on sustainable local black tech ecosystems. Prior to launching the #BlackTechFutures Research Institute, Dr. Wilson was the former research director for Black Tech Mecca where she developed the SMART Black Tech Ecosystem Assessment Framework. As a member of the Federal Communications Commission’s Communications Equity and Diversity Council, Dr. Wilson chairs the Digital Inclusion & Anchor Institution Subgroup. Dr. Wilson is a 2019 TEDx Speaker (e.g. Stop Ignoring Black Women and Hear of Our Tech Prophecies).
She is a board member of the State of Tennessee’s Future of Work Taskforce and co-chairs Nashville’s smart city plan, Connected Nashville. Given her tech activism, she is a 2017 recipient of the International Society for Technology Education’s Digital Equity Award, 2021 National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women’s Rising Star in Technology Award, and Hispanic Technology & Telecom Partnership 2021 Tech Innovadores. Additionally, Dr. Wilson’s research on first-generation black college students’ alternative tech pathways and black tech ecosystems has garnered notable research grants from Kapor Center and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
During the pandemic, Dr. Wilson launched Nashville’s Digital Inclusion and Access Taskforce to address the effects of the pandemic and the digital divide on communities of color. She raised funding to do a city-wide assessment of Davidson County to ascertain internet connectivity and digital adoption. In seven months, she raised and launched a mixed-method city assessment of digital inclusion in Nashville. Because of her great work to support tech equity, Venture Beat is the modern-day Fannie Lou Hamer for tech equity. Dr. Wilson chairs the Tennessee Higher Education Commission’s HBCU Success Board. Dr. Wilson has a B.A. from Spelman College and an M.A./Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. As a public interest technologist, she discusses race, gender, faith, and civic tech issues.
