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New community czar at Microsoft

Harvard teacher will direct company's community investment programs and digital-divide, technology-training initiatives.

Candace Lombardi
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
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Candace Lombardi

Microsoft has appointed Andrea L. Taylor as director for U.S. community affairs. She will oversee the company's community investment programs. Her duties will include work with businesses and nonprofits on volunteer, gift-matching and workforce development programs. She will also oversee Microsoft Unlimited Potential, an initiative designed to bridge the digital divide and train people in technology.

In fall of 2005, Taylor created and taught the course "New Media, Power, and Global Diversity" at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. It focused on the digital divide and ways new media technology can empower individuals in developing countries to affect economic and community progress. Taylor was the founding director of the Media Fund at the Ford Foundation. During her tenure there, the Ford Foundation supported projects such as "Sesame Street" for China and South Africa, the civil rights documentary "Eyes on the Prize" and National Public Radio.