Mario Armstrong
NPR Technology Contributor
Radio & TV Technology Talk Show Host
Co-Founder, Urban Video Game Academy
Mario Armstrong--much like the technology he loves--has always been an amalgamation of many different things: media personality, motivational speaker and social entreprenuer. At his heart, Armstrong is a just your typical case study of an American kid who just wanted to hack his Rubik's cube and glue robot stickers to the front of his Trapper Keeper. Never wanting to be anathematized as just the "tech guy", Armstrong's CV is fulled with forays into politics, his media and press endeavours and ultimately as co-owner and chief technology advocate for Mario Armstrong Media, LLC.
In his public life, Armstrong has served as the IT Director for the State of Maryland's Tourism Department and in May 2002 he was appointed by erstwhile Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, now Governor O'Malley, to the position of technology advocate for the city--a one-of-a-kind post which was one of the first of such appointments in a major American city. Mario was one of six chosen in the United States to be a part of a Technology Delegation to meet with tech entrepreneurs in Seoul Korea to discuss new international business partnerships between the United States and South Korea.
In his media life, Mario delivers national weekly television hits for Comcast's "Your Morning" and "Money Matters" and on WBAL-TV,a top ranked local NBC affiliate. He is a technology correspondent for National Public Radio heard on NPR's Morning Edition and NPR's News and Notes programs. He hosts a national radio show for XM and two regional technology talk shows "The Digital Café and "The Digital Spin".
He hosted and co-produced a business magazine tv show entitled "Business Pulse" interviewing industry leaders. Some of Mario's radio and television guests include:Spike Lee, Ted Waitt, Tavis Smiley, Stedman Graham, Russell Simmons, Sid Meier, Michael Dell and Dr. Cornel West to just name a few. He has been seen on TV-One, CNBC, Comcast, PBS, AOL.com & C-Span.
In the same breath, Mario's passion is to bridge the digital divide between the haves and the have-nots. To that end, Mario has delved into the world of social entrepreneurship by touring the nation and delivering an interactive showcase of technology and fun for underserved youth called "Mario Armstrong's Dream. Create. Go."™. The goal of the project is to morph kids from passive users of cell phones and laptops into the next generation of digital scientists and activists. He is also a co-founder of the Urban Video Game Academy - an educational non-profit program that uses the allure, interactivity and development process of video games toincrease student interest and academic achievement in Science, Technology, English and Math. The program has been featured in USA Today, CNN & Newsweek magazine. His voice is featured in a fun and educational video game entitled "SpaceStation Sim" developed by Vision Videogames for NASA.
Mario has been recognized as:
-"Best Technology Guru" 2006 City Paper Best of Baltimore
-"Best Cable TV Host"- Beacon Award Winner
- One of Baltimore's "Top 25 Young Rising Stars" - Baltimore Times
-"Service Above Self Award" - Rotary Club of Maryland
-"Technology Advocate of the Year" - Urban League
-"Baltimore's Leading Expert In Technology" - Baltimore Times
- Hope for Today, Visions for Tomorrow award - Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland