A BROADBAND INSTITUTE INITIATIVE
Turn the Digital Divide
into Digital Dividends
We’re building a member-owned platform cooperative that restores the internet as a public commons — connecting communities through collaborative learning, democratic governance, and shared economic participation.
● 501(c)(3) Nonprofit | ● Platform Cooperative | ● Creative Commons Licensed
OUR PLATFORM
Three Spaces, One Community
A comprehensive ecosystem designed to foster connection, education, and economic empowerment—
all owned and governed by its members.
Meetingplace
Community-owned social networking without surveillance capitalism. Connect, collaborate, and organize around shared values.
✓ Member profiles & private messaging
✓ Interest-based groups & forums
✓ Commons-based peer production
✓ No ads, no data harvesting
Learningplace
A collaborative learning management system where students become teachers — and teachers become co-owners.
✓ Open & structured courses
✓ Peer-to-peer teaching model
✓ Exit-to-community pathway
✓ Skills-based credentialing
Marketplace
A member-owned exchange for products and services that keeps value circulating within the community.
✓ List products & services
✓ Circular economy model
✓ Member-to-member exchange
✓ Revenue stays in community
OUR WHY
Restoring the Internet as a Public Commons
The internet was designed to connect us like the sidewalk — open, shared, and equitable. We’re building the infrastructure to make that vision real again through democratic ownership, collaborative governance, and shared prosperity.
Our platform cooperative model ensures that every member has a voice, every teacher has ownership, and every community benefits from the value they create together.
Cooperative Principles
01 Voluntary & Open Membership
02 Democratic Member Control
03 Member Economic Participation
04 Autonomy & Independence
05 Education, Training & Information
06 Cooperation Among Cooperatives
07 Concern for Community
HOW IT WORKS
From Participant to Owner
Our “Exit to Community” model creates a pathway where engaged members progressively become the owners and governors of the platform.
01
Join
Create your member profile and connect with others based on shared skills and interests.
02
Learn
Take courses, join groups, and develop skills through our peer-to-peer learning system.
03
Teach
Share your expertise. Become a group leader or course instructor in the Learningplace.
04
Own
Graduate into cooperative ownership. Help govern the platform you helped build.
LEADERSHIP
Founded on 50 Years of Cooperative Innovation
Dr. Ron Suarez is a cognitive neuroscientist turned social impact entrepreneur with five decades of experience bridging technology, education, and community ownership.
He founded his first cooperative in 1971, pioneered AI training systems in the 1980s, built and sold a software company for $3.1M, and has served Fortune 500 clients from IBM to Apple. Today, as founder of the Broadband Institute, he’s applying that lifetime of experience to closing the digital divide.
Career Highlights Include Work With
Broadband Institute Foundation
LoudFeed, Inc.
NYC Mesh
Management Sciences for Health
Loomio
OpenCollective
Amazon Web Services
TuneCore
Amazon
IBM
Hewlett Packard
Harvard Business School
Gartner
Florida State University
Federal Express
ESRI
Lockheed Martin
Honeywell
Oracle
Motorola
Raytheon
Sprint
Sony
Schlumberger
Chase Bank
ThoughtWorks
University of Michigan
Wells Fargo
Yale University
USGS
JSTOR
ProQuest
Ford
Sun Microsystems
Chrysler
Apple
New York University
University of Virginia
Broadband Institute Foundation
LoudFeed, Inc.
NYC Mesh
Management Sciences for Health
Loomio
OpenCollective
Amazon Web Services
TuneCore
Amazon
IBM
Hewlett Packard
Harvard Business School
Gartner
Florida State University
Federal Express
ESRI
Lockheed Martin
Honeywell
Oracle
Motorola
Raytheon
Sprint
Sony
Schlumberger
Chase Bank
ThoughtWorks
University of Michigan
Wells Fargo
Yale University
USGS
JSTOR
ProQuest
Ford
Sun Microsystems
Chrysler
Apple
New York University
University of Virginia