“I had a brief conversation with the director Yvette Brooks and instantly fell in love with the idea,” Rubianes said.

Through the Trees works to bridge the digital divide by providing laptops, desktops, cell phones and tablets to families in need, along with digital literacy assistance and efforts to expand connectivity access. When families visit the organization for free devices, staff members assess their needs and help them “shop” for the technology that works best for them.

Rubianes began volunteering as a refurbishment technician and spent about a year in that role before joining the staff. Today, Rubianes works at Through the Trees as technology operations manager, overseeing the flow of refurbished laptops, managing the organization’s IT needs and coordinating more than 30 active volunteers.

“I have been proud to play a role in the growth of Through the Trees during the past three years as we have moved to a larger space downtown, built our volunteer base, hired more people, and continued to expand our mission,” he said.

Much of Rubianes’ work happens behind the scenes. A typical day includes organizing tasks for volunteers, providing training, ordering parts to revive older laptops and refining processes and documentation. He also prepares bulk shipments of laptops for other local organizations that serve as secondary distribution points.

Many volunteers arrive with little refurbishment experience, while others bring decades of IT knowledge. Rubianes, who has no formal technology education, understands the learning process firsthand.

“I have learned on the job over the course of the past three years,” he said. “When I was younger, technology was a hobby of mine. I would build computers and write software or websites in my free time.”

His previous experience in restaurants and other nonprofits has also proven valuable, particularly when working with volunteers.

“Knowing how to assess a volunteer's skill level and meet them where they are at is important to me when training,” he said.

Organization is another surprisingly large part of the job. In a workspace filled with donated electronics, parts and tools, Rubianes works to ensure everything has a designated place.

“I spend more time than you might expect physically organizing our space,” he said. “Almost every shelf and bin in our workspace has a label so that each type of item, tool, or part has a home.”

While his current position focuses primarily on technology operations, Rubianes previously spent more time working directly with clients through device distribution, technical assistance and digital literacy sessions. That experience now helps inform his work behind the scenes.

One recurring challenge he has seen is the prevalence of internet scams and fraud. Through the Trees frequently encounters computers with unwanted programs or remote-access software installed after users encounter fraudulent advertisements or scammers posing as customer support representatives. Digital literacy sessions therefore cover topics including scam prevention, password management and safe browsing.

For Rubianes, one of the greatest rewards is seeing the impact of the work firsthand.

“Myself and our volunteers work in the same space where devices are given away,” he said. “This means we get to see the direct impact our work has throughout the day as people come in for their ‘Tech Spa’ digital literacy sessions and families come in to get the devices they need.”

That impact has grown considerably since he first walked through the door. Rubianes said Through the Trees distributed three times as many devices last year as it did in 2023, while donations and volunteer interest have also increased.

“Doing this work has shown me how many people in this community care about contributing to a charitable cause,” he said. “I continue to be impressed by the generosity of our locals.”

For technology professionals interested in nonprofit work, Rubianes encourages finding a mission they care about and looking for ways to contribute their skills.

“To the IT professionals working in the for-profit sector, I ask that you consider volunteering your time to help local non-profits and advocate for donation of decommissioned devices, rather than destruction or liquidation,” he said. “Based on my interactions and consulting with other local non-profits, there is absolutely a demand for IT professionals in the nonprofit space, including for organizations who are not primarily focused on technology.”