Presentation: Better Living through Software at The Human Utility

Track: Socially Conscious Software

Location: Pacific BC

Duration: 2:55pm - 3:45pm

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Abstract

In this talk, Tiffani Bell, the founder and executive director of The Human Utility, tells stories and shares learnings from five years of running an organization using software and crowdfunding to protect the basic human right to water. She questions what responsibilities technologists have to society and what role technology can play (or not) in creating a more just, more equitable society. Finally, she shares how the audience can use technology to improve their communities and thus, change the world.  

This is a talk only for technologists who care deeply about the impact of their work on humanity.

Speaker: Tiffani Ashley Bell

Founder & Executive Director @humanutility

Tiffani Ashley Bell is Founder and Executive Director of The Human Utility, a platform bringing people together from around the world to help people in Detroit and Baltimore with their water bills.  

Since its founding in July 2014, the organization has helped nearly 1,000 families and is a Y Combinator-backed not-for-profit (W15).  

Tiffani was a 2017 Technology & Democracy Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She was also a 2014 Code for America Fellow and previously, was the CEO + founder of Pencil You In, enabling businesses to accept appointments online.

Tiffani is a developer working primarily with Ruby on Rails and iOS. She finished at Howard University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Systems & Computer Science.

Find Tiffani Ashley Bell at

Speaker page

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffani/