
Digital Equity Advocates Connected, Learned, and Built Collaborations at NYSDEN 2025
More than 100 digital equity advocates from across New York State gathered at Stony Brook University’s Center of Excellence for Wireless and Information Technology on Tuesday, August 5th for a day-long conference focused on expanding digital access statewide.
Keep an eye out for information about the 2026 NYSDEN Conference in Albany, NY!
Event Information (for Posterity)
Join digital equity leaders from across New York State at Stony Brook University on August 5, 2025 for a high-impact day of learning, collaboration, and advocacy. The NYSDEN Annual Conference brings together practitioners, policymakers, funders, and grassroots organizations to explore bold solutions for expanding digital access and opportunity in every region.
This year’s theme, Advancing Access Through Collective Advocacy, highlights how through strategic and collective advocacy we can unlock funding, drive outcomes, and fuel meaningful, community-based change. Through interactive panels, skill-building workshops, and case-driven breakout sessions, attendees will dive into urgent issues including AI and digital inclusion, hardware affordability, infrastructure volatility, funding diversification, and reaching underserved populations like people with disabilities and those impacted by incarceration.
Whether you’re working in the field or shaping policy, this conference offers practical insights, real-world strategies, and powerful networking to help advance your mission—and the digital equity movement statewide.
Hosted in collaboration with:

Center of Excellence for Wireless and Information Technology (directions)
1500 Stony Brook Road
Stony Brook, NY 11794-6040
Date: August 5, 2025
Time: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm – Conference / 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm – Networking Social Hour
Light Breakfast & Lunch Served (see menu below or download PDF)
Learn more about this year’s Conference Planning Committee.
Agenda
Update: Pre-Conference Mixer!
Arriving on the 4th with some time to kill? Consider joining some of your digital equity colleagues at a pre-conference mixer. It’ll be at Castaways in Port Jefferson (the next town over) from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
Join us for a day of plenaries, panels, and workshops designed to educate, illuminate, and spur continued progress and innovation in digital equity throughout New York State
Time | Track 1 (Room 200) | Track 2 (Room 152) | Slides/Materials/Speaker Info |
---|---|---|---|
8:00am – 9:00 am | Breakfast & Networking | ||
9:00 am – 9:15 am | Welcoming Remarks | Welcome Slides and Emcee Information | |
9:15 am – 9:20 am | Opening Remarks Joshua Breitbart, Senior Vice President, ConnectALL; Empire State Development | ||
9:20 am – 9:55 am | Keynote with Dr. Revati Prasad | Keynote Speaker Information | |
10:00 am – 10:50 am | From Coalition to Campaign — Turning Partnerships in to Advocacy Engines for Digital Equity | Panelist/ Moderator Info: From Coalition to Campaign | |
11:00 am – 11:50 am | The AI Equity Conversation: Nonprofits, AI, and the Future of Equitable, Ethical Service | Accessibility Is Equity: Centering Services for those with Disabilities in our Digital Inclusion Programming | Panelist/ Moderator Info: AI Equity Conversation Panelist/ Moderator Info: Accessibility is Equity |
12:00 pm – 12:50 pm | Lunch | ||
1:00 pm – 1:50 pm | Cross-Sector Alignment for Impact: Integrating Digital Equity into Workforce, Healthcare, and Economic Systems | Workshop: AI For Non-Profits: Workshop on AI Agent Creation | Panelist/ Moderator Info: Cross-Sector Alignment Speaker Information and Slides: AI For Non-Profits |
2:00 pm – 2:50 pm | Workshop: Stronger Together: Strategic Casemaking to Power NYSDEN’s Collective Impact | Speaker Information and Slides: Strategic Casemaking | |
3:00 pm – 3:50 pm | Funding in Freefall — Strategies for Sustaining Digital Equity in a Shifting Landscape | Panelist/ Moderator Info: Funding in Freefall | |
4:00 pm – 4:30 pm | Closing | Closing Plenary Slides | |
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm | Networking Social |
Lodging
Lodging is available at the Hilton Garden Inn (Stony Brook) or Danford’s Hotel & Marina (Port Jefferson). We do not have any room blocks reserved or preferred rates at either establishment.
Hilton Garden Inn
1 Circle Road
Stony Brook, NY 11794
Danford’s Hotel & Marina
25 E Broadway
Port Jefferson, NY 11777
Menu
Breakfast |
---|
Muffins, danish, bagels |
Fresh fruit & berry salad |
Spreads: creamy butter, cream cheese, & fruit preserves |
Beverages: orange juice, coffee, decaf, & tea |
Lunch |
Assorted sandwiches & wraps w/lettuce, tomato, condiments |
Halal grilled chicken wrap Grilled balsamic vegetable wrap (vegan) Roast beef & cheddar Turkey & swiss |
Potato chips |
Fruit Salad |
Beverages: canned soda or bottled water |
ConnectALL is a proud sponsor of the 2025 NYSDEN Conference.
