Session: Leveraging Corporations to Drive Innovation and Local Equity in Newark’s Emerging Tech Ecosystem
Participants will learn how public-private partnerships and targeted neighborhood investments can help grow a city’s tech sector, attract and develop high-quality talent, and benefit local communities.
Audible - a leader in tech, innovation, and storytelling for nearly 30 years - is passionate about driving positive impact not only for its customers but its local communities as well. Since establishing its headquarters in Newark, NJ in 2007, Audible has prioritized social impact initiatives to fuel the local economy and support a vibrant neighborhood anchored by thriving small businesses, innovation, and creative placemaking. Audible invests in diverse and innovative startups to equitably grow the city’s emerging tech ecosystem. In 2023 alone, Audible committed over $1 million to attract and retain innovative businesses in Newark, particularly those with founders of color or female founders. In addition, Audible partners with city and community leadership to reimagine public spaces, employs local talent, enriches the arts through the largest conglomerate of local artists in Newark (the Newark Artist Collaboration), and addresses food insecurity through Newark Working Kitchens. Audible has created an exemplary framework for local social impact that other corporations can apply, to exemplify what a company can mean beyond what it does.
Bio
Aisha Glover joined Audible in 2020 as the VP of Urban Innovation, and became Head of the Global Center for Urban Development in 2023. Aisha has served as President & CEO of Invest Newark under Mayor Ras J. Baraka, as President & CEO of the Newark Alliance and as VP of External Affairs at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Hunter College, a Masters of Public Administration from Baruch College and an executive leadership certificate from the Columbia Business School, School of Social Enterprise.