Hello World!
My name is Jaclyn Hawtin, and I am very excited to be joining the NDI Tech team as its newest ICT officer. It is an absolute pleasure to be working with like-minded people who clearly see the incredible potential for social transformation through creative implementations of technology.
Today, we are living through an information revolution. Communications are changing; we now have the power to connect to millions of people, instantaneously and across borders with the click of a button. New information technologies are continuously emerging and transforming the way that societies interact and engage. By the year 2020 the Internet of things (IOT) will consist of more than 50 billion interconnected inter-communicating devices. This era of interconnectivity and information processing is unlike anything mankind has previously experienced. Because of the magnitude of potential for power resulting from these emerging technologies, it is now more crucial than ever to create strong and resilient institutions that regulate use and ensure social values and needs are kept at the heart of decision making processes.
Inspired by the information revolution while pursuing a career in technology and communications, I began to question why groundbreaking technological innovations are often inaccessible to marginalized populations worldwide. Technology has the power to connect, unite, and amplify power if implemented strategically. The private sector has done a great job of leveraging technology in this way to enhance their models and approaches to business. These observations have inspired me to refocus my career on international development, applying knowledge gained from the private sector to the world's greatest social and environmental problems.
My studies at Arizona State University (ASU) enhanced my passion to solve global social issues through technology. At ASU I received a B.S. in systems-focused Conservation Biology and an M.S. In Global Technology and Development. I also served as President of ASU’s student led Global Technology and Development community and gained relevant entrepreneurship experience by participating in a number of social innovation projects both as a mentor and competitor. Additionally, I have worked with multiple NGO’s over the last 10 years in Latin America on ongoing biological research expeditions and social outreach projects throughout the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon. These experiences have magnified my ambition to use technology to promote human rights in remote regions around the world and particularly in the Amazon.
I am both honored and delighted to be a part of such a progressive organization in technology and international development as NDI. While at NDI, I look forward to gaining a deeper understanding of best practices for technological innovation in field-based approaches so that I can be more effective in building technological capacity to improve social outcomes for marginalized populations worldwide.