Springfield Digital Equity Navigator honored at Massachusetts Goes DigitALL awards in Worcester for closing the digital divide for older adults, low-income families and residents with disabilities

SPRINGFIELD, MA: October 12, 2026: Andrew Fluitt, Digital Equity Navigator at Revitalize Community Development Corporation (Revitalize CDC), has been named the 2026 Digital Access Champion by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech). The statewide award was presented on October 6, 2026, at the Massachusetts Goes DigitALL Ecosystem Awards ceremony at Polar Park in Worcester, hosted by the Healey-Driscoll Administration and MBI.

The Digital Access Champion Award is one of three Digital Ecosystem Awards that MBI presents each year to recognize people, organizations and efforts that help every Massachusetts resident access and use the internet. This year’s other honorees were MakeIT Haverhill (Excellence in Community Impact) and Comcast Corporation (Industry Partnership).

“This is a great honor because it is a statewide award,” said Colleen Shanley-Loveless, President & CEO of Revitalize CDC. “Andrew will help anyone with a digital need, and he does it with patience and respect. Whether it’s a senior learning to video-call her grandchildren or a patient learning to use a glucose monitor, Andrew shows that digital access is about dignity and independence. We are so proud of him.”

“Congratulations to Andrew Fluitt, MakeIT Haverhill, and Comcast for their relentless work to close the digital divide,” said MBI Director Michael Baldino.

Meeting people where they are

In two years at Revitalize CDC, Andrew has directly helped more than 200 people across Springfield and Hampden County gain the devices, skills and confidence to get online. He works in clients’ homes and at community sites, focusing on residents most affected by the digital divide:  Older adults (ages 40 to 89): Andrew teaches smartphone and video-calling skills to reduce isolation. He designed a custom WhatsApp group curriculum for residents of the Loomis Lakeside senior living community. For low-income families he has secured and donated 28 laptops, Chromebooks and tablets to residents with no way to connect and helps families enroll in low-cost internet plans.

Residents with disabilities and health needs he helps set up screen magnification, voice tools and Voice Access on Windows 11, and helps patients use online medical portals and connected health devices. His work changes lives one person at a time. He helped Mark, a client referred through the 413Cares platform, set up and master his Freestyle Libre 3 blood glucose sensor, so Mark could manage his diabetes on his own. He configured accessibility tools for Brendan, a client facing vision loss, restoring his ability to write and work independently. And he helped a writer in her 80s move her manuscript notes from several old devices onto one computer so she could finish her book.

 Andrew helped to build a network of community partners to host computer-basics workshops and drop-in tech help. Partners include MassHire Springfield Career Center, the Agawam Senior Center, the East Longmeadow Public Library and Senior Center, and the New North Citizens Council. His modular curriculum and multi-site model offer a blueprint other organizations can replicate.

Andrew also served on the planning committee for Massachusetts’ first statewide digital navigators conference, helping shape professional standards for digital navigators across the Commonwealth. He is a member of the Western Massachusetts Digital Alliance.

 What partners say

“Digital access is a fundamental social driver of health,” said Liv Anna Homstead, MSW, Senior Manager of Coalition Building at the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, which has contracted with Revitalize CDC for its Digital Equity & Navigation Program for two years. “Andrew meets community members exactly where they are, replacing digital isolation with independence, health security and personal dignity.”

“His ability to take technology topics that can sometimes feel complicated or intimidating and explain them in a clear, understandable way has made a meaningful difference for the people we serve,” said Iliana Caez, Director of Career Services at MassHire Springfield Career Center.

“He does more than simply teach people how to use technology. He helps people become more comfortable and confident using it independently,” said Kristina Lynch, Assistant Director of the Agawam Senior Center.

“I was glad to bring this home for the team,” said Andrew Fluitt. “Digital navigation is about helping people take back control of their lives. I hope this recognition helps expand digital navigation work so we can reach even more residents.”

About Revitalize CDC

Established in 1992, Revitalize Community Development Corporation is a nonprofit based in Springfield, Massachusetts. Its mission is revitalizing homes, neighborhoods and lives through preservation, education and community involvement. Revitalize CDC integrates digital navigation into its home preservation, healthy homes and nutrition services, so residents get wrap-around support in one place. Learn more at

240 Cadwell Drive, Springfield, MA 01104 · 413-788-0014 - www.RevitalizeCDC.com.

About the Massachusetts Broadband Institute

The Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI), a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, works to connect people, communities and organizations to quality, high-speed internet. Read MBI’s announcement of the 2026 winners at masstech.org.