The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t create the digital divide, but it certainly exposed the wide rift: as workers were sent home to work remotely, schools shifted to online learning, and healthcare moved to telehealth, tens of thousands in our region were left behind simply because they lacked a reliable internet connection or the skills to use technology.

Recognizing the urgency of this moment, our coalition formed to bridge that divide. The projects below that reflect our efforts since 2021.

FCDI formed in June 2021 as a volunteer coalition birthed from conversations happening within Fresno’s Cradle to Career initiative. The group quickly grew to a strong cross-sector presence of 29 entities united by the shared goal of achieving digital equity for all Fresno County residents. The coalition included membership from the city and county of Fresno, local school districts and education non-profits, housing and health agencies, local community advocates and philanthropists, equity-centric community organizations, and more. FCDI leadership at that time consisted of the following individuals and organizations:
 

Central California Legal Services, Patience Milrod* 

City of Fresno, Bryon Horn and Paul Zho 

Cradle to Career, Linda Gleason and Carol Chistensen 

Fresno County, Bryan Burton 

Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, Raj Sra and Amber Jacobo 

Fresno Housing, Bobby Coulter* 

Fresno Unified School District, Philip Neufeld 

San Joaquin Valley Regional Broadband Consortium, Eduardo Gonzalez 

State Center Community College District, Ben Seaberry and Kevin Miller* 

The Children’s Movement, Mike Espinoza 

Valley Children’s Hospital, Kevin Shimamoto 

United Way of Fresno & Madera Counties, Lindsay Fox 

*denotes current FCDI leadership 

Organizational Development
With several years of experience attempting to advance the coalition’s founding goals as a fully volunteer organization, it became clear that additional support and infrastructure was critical.  At the July 2023 full coalition meeting with about 35 community partners present, a vote was taken to empower a small group to begin the process of incorporation as a non-profit, In the fall of 2023, the coalition officially transitioned to a 501c3 with The Children’s Movement of Fresno as FCDI’s initial fiscal sponsor. Work began to develop funding that would assist in dedicated support to the effort. 

 

Advocacy

  • FCDI was extremely busy during 2023 advocating for Central Valley communities in public participation processes held to shape the California Middle Mile Initiative (link here), the California Broadband Federal Funding Account (link here), and the development of the California Digital Equity Plan (link here).  We participated in public comment opportunities, filed official objections and challenges, and co-hosted the San Joaquin Valley Affordable Internet Summit in support of the California Department of Technology. 
  • FCDI officially joined the California Alliance for Digital Equity (CADE) link here).  

 

Digital Equity Infrastructure Projects 

FCDI began providing direct project and program assistance to partners developing innovative solutions to provide affordable internet service to underserved residents.  

Parlier Migrant Center (Fresno Housing)

The goal of the project was to build a secure and scalable broadband network capable of serving residents of the Parlier Migrant Center.  The final deployment included a dedicated 10 GB fiber circuit and a fiber backbone connecting the existing residential and community buildings throughout the site. Wireless access points were installed in residential units, common areas, and outdoor shared spaces to provide full campus-wide Wi-Fi coverage. Each household received its own individualized connection designed to support reliable private residential internet use. 

  • Planning for the project began in 2023 with Fresno Coalition for Digital Inclusion providing support to Fresno Housing during the early development stages to help shape the overall project approach and technical direction.  
  • Services included helping refine the project’s scope, reviewing and assisting with development of the RFP, providing procurement guidance, and supporting vendor outreach efforts.   
  • Technical assistance provided was crucial in developing the scope of work and strengthening the overall project. 

 

CERF Grant Application 

Central Valley Community Foundation convened multi-sector partners to explore what transformational projects could be advanced in the Central Valley region with a successful Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF) grant through the California Economic Development Department (EDD).  Many ideas were explored, including utilization of CERF funding to advance several projects that would provide direct internet services to residents. FCDI led exploratory discussions, project design, and grant writing efforts related to digital equity projects that were included in the successful grant application included: 

  • Fiber Broadband Infrastructure for Sequoia Counts (Fresno Housing): 
  • This innovative project secured funding to build fiber infrastructure to provide affordable internet to the residents of the Sequoia Courts housing development in West Fresno. 
  • Expansion of Fresno Unified School District’s Private LTE Network: 
  • Building on the previous efforts undertaken by FUSD, this innovative project sought to expand private LTE systems to additional agencies, to model how cooperative engagement by multiple anchor institutions could expand services to hard-to-reach communities. The State Center Community College District worked alongside FUSD 

State and Regional Initiatives

State Broadband Grant Program Advocacy

  • FCDI Participated in the BEAD challenge process to attempt to make more grant dollars available for infrastructure deployments in the communities that most need investment.  FCDI was the only organization that challenged BEAD program eligibility on behalf of local communities. 
  • FCDI continued to advocate for equitable utilization of the Federal Funding Account (FFA) within the region.  As the program grew near completion, and Fresno County continued to be underfunded, FCDI engaged with the California Public Utilities Commission to advocate on behalf of pending project that would greatly impact underserved communities and push back on some provider applications that sought to utilize subsides to enhance offerings in wealthy communities. 
  • FCDI hosted CPUC Commissioner Darcy Houck for a day-long series of meetings, tours, and discussions about various programs including FFA, BEAD, and the Broadband Public Housing Account (BPHA).  Many partners joined these events including but not limited to: Fresno Housing, City of Fresno, Fresno Unified School District, State Center Community College District, California State University Fresno, Central Valley Community Foundation, and the California Emerging Technology Fund. 

Sierra San Joaquin Jobs (S2J2) 

During the spring and summer of 2024, we led the conversations and drafting for the broadband chapter of the Sierra San Joaquin Jobs Plan (S2J2)(LINK), a four-county initiative committed to creating quality jobs and equitable economic access for all residents in the Sierra San Joaquin region as part of the EDD Go-Biz, Jobs First Initiative.  The challenges identified, and the strategies to resolve them identified in the S2J2 plan would form the blueprint for FCDI’s activities over the next few years. (Direct Link to solutions area of S2J2 plan) 

 

Digital Equity Infrastructure Projects

Expansion of Sequoia Courts Project

During the design phase of the implementation of the Sequoia Courts fiber broadband project previously funded via the CERF grant, it became clear that this development of infrastructure in this community must also benefit the residents of the adjacent Sequoia Courts Terrace development.  Pulling on strategies identified in the S2J2 plan, additional grant funding was requested from the California Public Utility Commission’s Broadband Public Housing Account (BPHA).  With the additional funding secured, the new combined project began design development to now include all 138 units of the combined communities of Sequoia Courts, and Sequoia Courts Terrace and the 300+ residents that live there. 

The experience navigating the complex requirements of the BPHA program has led to significant advocacy opportunities as the lessons that have been learned with this project have proved to be useful for the California Alliance for Digital Equity’s legislative and regulatory reform efforts to make Digital Equity funding effective for the communities that need it most. 

We began efforts to implement the broadband chapter of the S2J2 Plan in winter of 2025, expanding our focus to draw in partners across Madera, Kings, and Tulare Counties as part of the Connect the Valley project.  FCDI continues to provide various services and support to partners throughout the region to advance digital equity initiatives.   

You’re all caught up!  Current activities, projects and initiatives from 2025 to current are showcased on the rest of this webpage.

LEADERSHIP 

FCDI’s current board of directors: 

Kevin Miller, President
State Center Community College District

Bryan Harley, Treasurer
CMAC

Bobby Coulter, Secretary
TEI Strategies

Patience Milrod, Director
Lawyer

Edgar Rodriguez, Director
Fresno Housing

 

The board receives additional assistance from the following consultants: 

Lindsey Skolnik, Project Coordination 

Haley White, Regional Outreach