Jessica O. Matthews’ Uncharted offers sustainable infrastructure solutions for underserved communities

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Where Sustainability, Equity, and Innovative Solutions Meet

President Biden’s $1 trillion Infrastructure Bill comes at a pivotal time in American history. Climate change and engineering experts across the nation have long understood the dire need for clean transportation infrastructure, repaired highways and bridges, universal broadband, clean drinking water, modern city and state facilities, and more – not just for the sake of sustainability, but also for equity. Perhaps, no one better understands the day-to-day hassle and life-threatening implications of poor infrastructure than underserved communities. While they might not have the full language to describe them, the children of Flint know, all too well, the health implications of unclean drinking and bathing water. Single black and brown mothers best understand the need for modernized child-care facilities. Outspoken speaker, Jessica O. Matthews, said it best in Fast Company, “Black and brown people in America think about infrastructure every single day because we do not have what we need to be as successful as some of our peers.”

 
Black and brown people in America think about infrastructure every single day because we do not have what we need to be as successful as some of our peers.
— Jessica O. Matthews
 

While our most recent presidential administrations have not prioritized sustainable infrastructure, Matthews has long been one of the leading champions for the cause. She is the founder & CEO of Uncharted (formerly Uncharted Power), an award-winning, Platform-as-a-Service company that helps cities and developers reduce the cost and complexity of deploying and managing last mile infrastructure. "Bridging the last mile – whether we're talking about resilient power grid technologies, more efficient water systems, or equitable mobility services – has always been of critical importance," said Matthews in an Uncharted press release last month. "Today's communities cannot afford to deploy and manage the smart and sustainable infrastructure solutions that can solve their biggest problems, and the Uncharted Platform aims to fix this." 

That said, last month, Uncharted successfully completed the first phase of its pilot in Matthews’ hometown, Poughkeepsie, New York, in which it deployed a platform unified the city’s infrastructure and sensors thereby making it easier to monitor service flows and anticipate disruptions across the city. After nearly a year of working with the city of Poughkeepsie through a $1.8 million grant, Uncharted is now opening up its technology to other cities.

Matthews’ career started at the age of 19 with her invention of the SOCCKET, an energy-generating soccer ball. At the age of 22, she founded Uncharted Power as a power solutions company before expanding to integrated infrastructure solutions. Her list of accolades include Fortune’s Most Promising Women Entrepreneurs, Forbes 30 Under 30, Inc. Magazine 30 Under 30, and Harvard University Scientist of the Year.

As we, as a nation, recommit to turning our attention to climate change and infrastructure, it’s important we look to leading experts not only in sustainability, but in diversity and business. In her talks, Jessica O. Matthews bridges her leadership skills, innovative genius, and passion for equity to empower audiences around the world to solve the world’s biggest infrastructure, tech, and social problems. We are indeed entering a new decade, a new shift; with the help of Matthews the path to a more sustainable and equitable future becomes a bit clearer.

Jessica O. Matthews is available to book for virtual and in-person events. For more information, click here.

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Outspoken Agency is a women-owned speaking agency representing leaders, founders, public intellectuals, authors and entertainers for paid keynotes, workshops and panels at in-person and virtual events. Learn more about our female founders here.

The Future of Work in a "Post-Pandemic" World

The Future of Work in a "Post-Pandemic" World

This blog was written by workplace culture expert, speaker and author of the book, Great Mondays, Josh Levine.

Imagine: it’s spring 2022, and the working world has emerged from pandemic hibernation. Lattes and laptops sit on countertops as remote workers clickity-clack their way through the day. It’s just like 2019, except, well, everything has changed.

While thankfully, the pandemic will soon no longer rule our lives, we can’t entirely know how the world will look. “You cannot predict the future,” management guru Peter Drucker once said, “but you can create it.” So how should we prepare? And how can we create the future we prefer? I’ve been keeping an eye out for trends that are likely to become post-pandemic truths; here’s what I’ve found so far.

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National Poetry Month: Celebrating Outspoken Speakers, Amena Brown and Dr. Joshua Bennett

Poetry is the language of the soul. They continue to imagine an alternative way of being and living for us all. And during this 15th anniversary of National Poetry Month and thereafter, we are grateful. We honor the voices and work of Outspoken speakers and poets, Amena Brown and Dr. Joshua Bennett. Together, their work has investigated what it means to be human and presented an all-encompassing vision for the future.

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Amanda Slavin Teaches the Art of Authentic Connection in The Seventh Level

Have you been searching for a way to forge a more personal connection with your customers? After all, only 49-57% of marketers report being satisfied with their engagement tools, according to Marketing Insider Group. Amanda Slavin, founder and CEO of the award-winning brand consulting firm, CatalystCreativ, may have the solution for you!

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In her debut book, The Seventh Level, Slavin hands you the keys to unlock authentic engagement and attain higher achievement across the board. The book is based on her technique for marketers, the Seventh Level Engagement Framework.

In the book, Slavin unveils the tools marketers need to measure and grow a brand’s engagement, forge an emotional connection with customers, and unite employees around a shared mission. If you want to dismantle the obstacles standing in your path to more meaningful engagement, let The Seventh Level be your guide.

This guide to authentic connection can not only help brands grow relationships but grow revenue while doing it. It’s a tale of refining your message and your mission in order to grow loyalty from customers and employees while on your path to organizational success.

Slavin’s work is hailed as the answer to building connections while inspiring and educating others at the same time. She’s worked with some of the world’s most notable brands, like Coca-Cola, Google, and WeWork, to do good in the world without sacrificing their bottom line. To do this, she utilizes her proprietary method for quantifying and scaling engagement.

“I’d recommend this book for anyone looking to make change in their organization for the better by connecting more meaningfully to employees, customers, or other stakeholders,” said Tony Hseih, CEO of Zappos.

Slavin has spoken at events like SXSW and Chicago Ideas Week about how this framework is the future of meaningful connection, and her work has been featured in Inc. magazine, Forbes, Fast Company, Wall Street Journal, and Time magazine.

Click here to learn more about Amanda Slavin.