Data Centers: Strategies for Effective Community Engagement

Webinar

August 5, 2026

11 am - 12 pm EDT

Registration

Data centers and digital infrastructure are expanding rapidly as critical enablers of the digital economy and AI-driven growth. While data centers can bring investment, local community members are raising concerns about rising utility costs, environmental impacts, and limited permanent job creation.

Drawing on BSR's extensive work in digital infrastructure, industrials, and mining, we will share how companies can address these concerns and keep expansion projects on track through meaningful community engagement.

Leave with practical insights on how to:

Identify and respond to the community concerns most likely to delay or derail projects;
Build trust through stakeholder engagement and transparent communication;
Integrate environmental and human rights considerations into project planning.

Hear from our industry experts and submit any pressing questions during our Q&A session.

Scheduled Speakers

Cole Thomson, Social Performance Manager, North America, Teck Resources Limited

Jenny Vaughan, Managing Director, Human Rights and Inclusive Business, BSR

Managing Director, Human Rights and Inclusive Business, BSR

San Francisco

Jenny leads BSR’s human rights team and portfolio across consulting and collaboration. In addition to directing BSR’s Human Rights Working Group, Jenny leads human rights assessments and partners with companies to develop human rights strategies and stakeholder engagement plans. She works across industries with a focus on energy, technology, and conflict-affected and high-risk contexts.

Prior to joining BSR, Jenny worked at Mercy Corps for over a decade in field management and advisory roles to prevent and mitigate conflict, promote inclusive economic development, and build civil society capacity. As the organization’s first Peace and Governance Director in Myanmar and later as the Director of the Peace and Conflict technical advisory team, she designed and implemented programs to reduce violence, promote peace and development, and address critical and emerging threats like climate change, disruptive technology, and poor governance. She has experience in context analysis, stakeholder engagement, negotiation, project design and implementation, and strategic planning. Jenny has lived and worked in countries including Myanmar, Indonesia, Nepal, Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Central African Republic, and Cameroon.

Jenny holds a MA in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a BA in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.