Apple environment VP Lisa Jackson to speak at Rainbow PUSH Coalition summit

The head of Apple's Environmental Initiatives division, Lisa Jackson, will be delivering one of the keynote speeches at May's PUSHTech2020 Summit, hosted by the non-profit Rainbow PUSH Coalition founded by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

In an announcement, the Coalition did not say what Lisa Jackson's topic will be. The summit itself is intended to explore and promote racial diversity in the high-tech industry, and is part of a program called the Silicon Valley Digital Connections Initiative that the organization relaunched in March 2014. The goal is to get more minorities involved at all levels of employment, as well as encourage businesses to use minority-owned firms and/or invest in minority startups.

Other executives presenting at the event — scheduled for May 6 in San Francisco — will include Intel CEO Brian Krzanich and Paynearme CEO Danny Shader.

Apple has a complex relationship with the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. In August, Rev. Jackson lauded Apple for disclosing workforce diversity data and admitting it still has work to do bring a better proportion of black, Latino, and/or female workers on board. In December, though, the Coalition partnered with United Service Workers West to protest the treatment of contract staff working at Apple and other Bay Area corporations.

The two groups charged that contractors were being underpaid relative to the Bay Area's high cost of living. In response, Apple said it would start hiring full-time security staff, at least granting those people access to benefits they were previously denied under the contractor label.