Angela Battle radiates an energy that’s impossible to ignore—and when it comes to digital literacy, her passion practically bubbles over. As the Digital Health Navigator for Roanoke Cooperative, Angela brings more than 30 years of technical training experience to rural eastern North Carolina, transforming communities one “light bulb moment” at a time. For Angela, nothing beats the joy of seeing someone’s eyes light up when they grasp a new concept—especially when that someone is a senior citizen who once felt overwhelmed by their smartphone or tablet. “That still does it for me,” she says with a smile. “After all these years, it never gets old.”
But this isn’t just a job for Angela—it’s personal. She’s back in the community she grew up in, teaching her neighbors, church family, and familiar faces from the local grocery store how to navigate the digital world. Her workshops are as much about empathy and empowerment as they are about tech skills. From the moment she steps into a room, Angela is on a mission to create a no-judgment zone where participants feel safe, supported, and seen. Whether she’s comparing smartphones to flashlights and typewriters to make concepts relatable, or walking someone step-by-step through accessibility settings, she meets people exactly where they are—and lifts them up.
ConnectED, funded by grant support, allows Angela to offer these workshops free of charge to both host sites and participants. Designed especially for seniors, the courses start with the basics—getting to know your device—then move into online safety and security, and finally, telehealth literacy: teaching participants how to manage their healthcare online. Her sessions are flexible and community-driven, often held in churches, libraries, nutrition sites, and senior centers across Bertie, Hertford, Gates, and Northampton Counties.
Angela’s background in corporate training and education means her workshops are tailored to diverse learning styles, incorporating notes, visuals, videos, and hands-on support. But more than anything, it’s her warmth, humor, and encouragement that keep people coming back—and spreading the word. “The goal,” she says, “is to catch as many as we can. And if we don’t catch you in the general workshop, I’ll catch you one-on-one.”
Her upcoming workshops include sessions at Indian Woods Missionary Baptist Church and the Ahoskie Nutrition Site, with plans to roll out in Gates County this June and more summer dates on the horizon. With Angela leading the way, digital literacy in these communities isn’t just improving—it’s thriving.