Philanthropist Ms. Kathleen Patton is not only one of the Cofounders of Crossing the Digital Divide, she is also the organization’s CEO and Executive Director. With a solid background in business, having started her first NPO in her early twenties, Kathleen Patton was more than prepared to take on the challenge of opening a computer training facility. This facility has been on the cutting edge of “Reentry Programs”. City officials are heralding RP’s as being vital to the cities success as they offer support to some of the most at-risk adults who are recovering from drug abuse and other challenges. Kathleen Patton’s organization, which was formed in January 2004, gives recovering addicts the opportunity to change their lives by learning how to use today’s technology to earn a living. Crossing the Digital Divide, which is located in Los Angeles, California, has three locations to better serve the community of high-risk adults in recovery.

Kathleen Patton utilizes her business smarts to manage and oversee the operations at Crossing the Digital Divide. Because of Kathleen Patton’s efforts, the Crossing the Digital Divide staff, and the numerous volunteers, Crossing the Digital Divide is an award-winning organization that has received recognition from the local government, including the mayor of the city of Los Angeles.

In addition to her work with CDD, Ms. Kathleen Patton also enjoys a close family, friends and colleagues. Kathleen Patton relaxes by participating in swimming, volleyball, hiking, music and film.

Kathleen Patton finds special meaning in the quote, “The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.” Ms. Kathleen Patton also finds inspiration and deep meaning in a quote credited to one of her favorite writers, world-renowned author and poet Maya Angelou: "All great achievements require time."

CDD Class Report Walden 5-25-10

                                      WEEKLY CLASS REPORT

                                     Walden House, 5-25-2010

 INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

We had 7 students in attendance, and all 7 students stayed for the entire class. Shannon was marked absent. Peter handed out binders and started off the class. All students had completed at least 50% of their papers and the majority appeared to have over 500 words (in writing). Peter explained that today’s class would focus on completing papers.

1ST TOPIC COVERED:

 Five of the students volunteered to make their presentations, including Eugene, Eric, Rodney, James and Eric. All of the students gave complete presentations except for Eugene, who had only half of his paper completed. Eugene was asked if he could present again this Saturday, after he completed his entire paper. All students made a significant effort in their presentations to be aware of the best practices that Soni had explained in the previous class (keeping eye contact, speaking loudly and clearly, etc). Some students, especially Rodney, provided feedback after each presentation. The instructors decided that Rodney had the best speech so far, as it was delivered well and was the most complete in terms of content.

2ND TOPIC COVERED:

 The students were directed to the computers and instructed to work on finishing their papers. All students began typing what they already had completed in writing. Soni and Peter explained several new functions of Word individually to the students, including page breaks, centering text, spell checking, word count, and spacing. Lamar had already worked on his paper in previous classes, and finished typing it before the break.

 BREAK

Break went as planned, for 10 minutes. All students arrived back from break on time.

LAB TIME:

The students continued to work on their papers. Anthony was having issues typing his paper, so Soni stepped in and typed the first 250 words. At the end of the class, all students had over half of their papers typed.

FINAL NOTES:

 Lamar had completed his paper early, and was asked to practice using the Internet. He was caught several times visiting questionable sites containing pictures of women, and was asked to stop each time. Please take note of this for the next session.