Submitted by:
Dr. Ron Suarez
Founder, Broadband Institute Foundation
dba Community Internet
■ ron@bif.email | ■ communityinternet.coop
Partners (proposed):
• Amy R. Sheon, PhD – Founder, Public Health Innovators LLC
• Josh Edmonds, CEO, Digital C
• Community Internet / Broadband Institute Foundation
Purpose:
To establish a collaborative initiative that links digital inclusion, public health equity, and community AI
tools through a scalable train-the-trainer model. This partnership aims to turn digital divide barriers into
digital dividends by empowering community members to learn, teach, and earn using tokenized
systems that reward contributions to collective digital health outcomes.
Background and Alignment:
Dr. Amy Sheon’s Health Affairs brief (May 2024) identifies digital inclusion as a ‘super social
determinant of health’ founded on four pillars—broadband access, devices, digital skills, and support.
Community Internet’s tokenized learning infrastructure operationalizes these pillars by measuring,
rewarding, and reinvesting community learning and participation. Digital C’s citywide broadband and
digital navigator programs offer a proven implementation framework for local and regional deployment.
Together, we can connect health systems, community digital navigators, and broadband initiatives into
a shared digital-health commons.
Objectives:
1. Co-Develop a “Digital Health Commons” Pilot – Integrate Community Internet’s tokenized
train-the-trainer model with Digital C’s and Amy Sheon’s digital inclusion networks to train and
credential community digital health navigators.
2. Demonstrate Measurable Health Equity Outcomes – Track participant learning, digital skills, and
health engagement via token analytics, aligning with NTIA’s Digital Equity Act and RWJF health equity
indicators.
3. Publish and Advocate – Produce a joint policy or practice brief—’Operationalizing Digital Equity
Through Train-the-Trainer Networks’—to inform federal, state, and philanthropic funders.
Proposed Activities & Timeline
| Phase | Timeframe | Key Deliverables |
| Exploratory Roundtable | Month 1 | Convene ‘Commons for Health Equity’ session with Community Internet, Public |
| Pilot Design & Integration | Month 2-3 | Align token tracking, AI tools, and data dashboards with Digital C’s navigator |
| Pilot Implementation | Month 4–8 | Launch pilot in one community hub; collect metrics on learning, participation |
| Joint Brief & Dissemination | Month 9+ | collaborative findings; pursue funding for scale-up via BEAD, RWJF |
Expected Outcomes:
• Creation of a replicable community digital-health navigator model
• Demonstration of tokenized incentive systems that quantify digital learning and public health impact
• Strengthened cross-sector partnership between broadband, health, and AI innovation leaders
• A roadmap for AI-assisted equity ecosystems that empower communities to make technology work for
them, not over them
Next Steps:
1. Schedule a 45-minute co-design meeting between Amy Sheon, Josh Edmonds, and Community
Internet to define pilot scope and site.
2. Identify a small funding mechanism (e.g., RWJF Pioneering Ideas, NIH Digital Health Equity RFA, or
local ARPA funds).
3. Draft an MOU outlining roles, data sharing, and co-branding terms.
Contact:
Dr. Ron Suarez | ron@bif.email | Broadband Institute Foundation / Community Internet