Kyle Maharlika
Kyle was born and raised in Miami, Florida and work for Venture Cafe Miami (VCM). It is his personal goal to build loving communities where all individuals can thrive and prosper. Before VCM, Kyle worked for a mental health tech startup called TAO Connect for 4 years as the product manager and lead software developer, where he was committed to reducing mental health disparities. Kyle also worked as a software development engineer intern at Amazon. Kyle is an alumnus of the Maven Leadership Collective inaugural cohort, a 12 month leadership program developing the leadership of queer & trans people of color.
Parks Connect @ Overtown
Accessible high-speed broadband is essential to generating economic development and cultivating talent in Miami.
Even though every person in every community should have access to a high-speed internet connection, not everyone actually does. In communities where high speed internet is not widely available, digital competencies need to be improved. Yet we’re also faced with another issue where people who are digitally connected neglect to connect in person.
Parks Connect @ Overtown aims to solve those three problems. PCO will install solar/wind powered public Wi-Fi to parks in Overtown in order to improve digital access and encourage people to connect outdoors. At the same time, we partner with local organizations to provide programming to close gaps in digital competencies. Our intended impacts are to #closethegap, i.e. the technological inequality gap in skills and access, and have people connect via the digital (online) and the analog (in person).