The Griot Series – Workshop 3: Storytelling for Technologists with Wil Jones
Join The Memory Keepers Club for the third and final workshop in The Griot Series: Storytelling for Technologists. As the world evolves and the practice of cultural preservation expands, how can we, as memory keepers, embrace the role of emerging technology in the work of preserving memories? In this online workshop, you'll learn from urban planner, designer, and technologist Wil Jones as he shares his approach to working at the intersection of community data and digital infrastructure.
Expect an engaging session that brings together ideas, examples, and conversation about what it means to build with memory in mind. Whether you work in tech, care about digital preservation, or are curious about how storytelling can support ownership of community data, this workshop offers a chance to hear directly from someone who has been shaping these ideas in an interdisciplinary practice.
This workshop will take place on Zoom. While membership to the Memory Keepers Club is exclusive to BIPOC persons under 40 years old, friends and allies are welcome to attend the public programming, such as the Griot Series.
Get to know our featured griot, Wil Jones:
Wil Jones is an urban planner, technologist, and designer working at the intersection of community data, climate resilience, and digital infrastructure. A graduate of MIT’s Master in City Planning program, Wil brings experience from The Rockefeller Foundation and 100 Resilient Cities, where they advanced place-based investment and resilience strategies in frontline communities.
At MIT, Wil led People Powered AI: A Generative AI Playbook for Civic Engagement and authored Immersive Preservation through 3D Documentation, a thesis examining how digital tools such as LiDAR, photogrammetry, and web-based storytelling can support cultural memory and reparative spatial justice.
Wil is a Founding Principal of GROUND3D, a transdisciplinary urban practice working at the intersection of planning, data, and design, and a Co-Founder of FloodLine, a white-labeled resilience platform that provides business-serving organizations (BSOs) with the tools to coordinate flood preparedness, damage documentation, and recovery support for small businesses.
About the Memory Keepers Club
The Memory Keepers Club is a digital-first social club for young BIPOC archivists and preservationists. The Club was founded by Journee Harris in the summer of 2025 as a response to the growing interest among Millennials and Gen Z in preserving their family history, personal memories, and collective stories. Follow us on IG at @memorykeepersclub.