Featured Panelists

Trish Millines Dziko
Technology Access Foundation

She received a Computer Science degree from Monmouth University in 1979. Her journey to find the right niche in an ever-changing field has taken Trish to Philadelphia, Tucson, San Francisco, and Seattle. Over the last 15 years, Trish has been a software tester, a software developer, a manger, a consultant, and a database designer in such industries as military weapons, business systems, communications, and medical equipment.

Trish’s was employed at Microsoft for 8.5 years before leaving the corporate world. At Microsoft she held technical positions until 1995 when she changed her focus to diversity and became a Sr. Diversity Administrator. In her research, she saw changing population and technical employment demographics that were damaging for both people of color and Corporate America.

As access to technology became as important as learning to read and write and the technological gap between the haves and have nots widened, Trish began to formulate ideas on changing the trend. As an African American, Trish was particularly concerned with this trend as it pertained to people of color.

In August of 1996, Trish left Microsoft and with the help and support of family, friends and professional peers, the Technology Access Foundation (TAF) was born! TAF has a mission of bringing technology to communities of color. TAF focuses on students ages 18 and under.

Trish also spends time talking to middle and high school students about career opportunities, and attending various fundraising events for organizations that address the needs of her community.

This project is part of the City of Seattle Citizens Technology Literacy and Access initiative in cooperation with the volunteer Citizens Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB) and Sustainable Seattle. Additional assistance for the forum is being provided by Progress Project of the Evans School of Public Affairs and the Glaser Progress Foundation and Seattle Community Network.

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