{"id":145439,"date":"2026-01-23T00:02:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T00:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/145439\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T00:02:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T00:02:20","slug":"steve-wozniak-honored-at-tech-for-global-good-ceremony-the-mercury-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/145439\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Wozniak honored at Tech for Global Good ceremony \u2013 The Mercury News"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the 50 years since he co-founded Apple, Steve Wozniak has been awarded time and again for his engineering skills that helped bring computing to everyday people. But the Tech for Global Good celebration last Friday night stood out for Woz because instead of being honored for his work on computers, he was being celebrated for his work for humanity.<\/p>\n

Wozniak said he was honored to receive the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award and engaged in a fun conversation with comedian and actor Drew Carey onstage at the Tech Interactive\u2019s signature event, held at the Signia by Hilton hotel in downtown San Jose.<\/p>\n

Being a humanitarian, Wozniak said, has been a big but often overshadowed part of his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomehow I\u2019m the \u2018different\u2019 one of all these people who are well-known in technology,\u201d he said during the event at the Signia by Hilton hotel in downtown San Jose. \u201cBut it\u2019s such a meaningful part to me. I didn\u2019t ever start this thing to have money, industry or a company.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Steve<\/p>\n

Steve Wozniak, center, poses with Sonatus Chief Marketing Officer John Heinlein and Tech Interactive CEO Katrina Stevens during a reception for the Tech for Global Good celebration, where Wozniak received the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award, at the Signia by Hilton hotel in downtown San Jose on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"Assemblymember<\/p>\n

Assemblymember Ash Kalra presents Steve Wozniak with a resolution from the state Assembly during a reception for the Tech for Global Good celebration, where Wozniak received the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award, at the Signia by Hilton hotel in downtown San Jose on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"State<\/p>\n

State Sen. Dave Cortese presents Steve Wozniak with a commendation during a reception for the Tech for Global Good celebration, where Wozniak received the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award, at the Signia by Hilton hotel in downtown San Jose on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An Apple II board autographed by Steve Wozniak was auctioned for $10,500 at the Tech for Global Good celebration, held at the Signia by Hilton hotel in downtown San Jose on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. A second motherboard was auctioned for $10,000. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"Actor<\/p>\n

Actor and comedian Drew Carey, left, interviews Steve Wozniak at the Tech for Global Good celebration, where Wozniak received the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award, at the Signia by Hilton hotel in downtown San Jose on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 5<\/p>\n

Steve Wozniak, center, poses with Sonatus Chief Marketing Officer John Heinlein and Tech Interactive CEO Katrina Stevens during a reception for the Tech for Global Good celebration, where Wozniak received the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award, at the Signia by Hilton hotel in downtown San Jose on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

He says he even tried to turn down the big money, but was talked by a friend into getting paid for his work. Still, he proudly recalled distributing millions of dollars of Apple stock to the company\u2019s early employees just as it was about to have its IPO.<\/p>\n

Wozniak\u2019s legacy certainly is spread throughout his hometown of San Jose. His passion for hands-on learning led him to become a key contributor in the creation of the Tech Interactive and the Children\u2019s Discovery Museum. San Jose named a street, Woz Way, after him for that generosity and one of the street signs was auctioned for $2,350 at the event. (Ever the practical joker, Woz fessed up that he hatched a plan to use a cherry picker to steal one of the signs at 2 in the morning. His wife, Janet, eventually persuaded the city to gift him with one, which they now have at home.)<\/p>\n

Much of his giving over the past five decades has been in smaller amounts and continue to this day. On Tuesday, the Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose announced Wozniak had joined its capital campaign cabinet as honorary co-chair.\u00a0 He bankrolled the US Festivals in the early 1980s, so he\u2019s a big fan of live music outdoors.<\/p>\n

But, at his heart, Wozniak is still an engineer, so he was overjoyed to have a front-row seat to watch the videos about this year\u2019s Tech for Global Good laureates \u2014 Cognixion, Nexstride, Sanmai Technologies and BCI Pioneers Coalition \u2014 whose work will be showcased in a Tech Interactive exhibit and is available to see online at www.thetech.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt made me feel so good about them,\u201d he said. \u201cThey wanted to solve one little problem that was close to them. They were creating something to solve a problem they had with the world, and that\u2019s where you get the best products.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Apple CEO John Sculley attended the event and expressed his admiration directly to Woz.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s neat about this is it\u2019s not a tech award. We know you\u2019re the best engineer. It\u2019s an award because you\u2019re the sweetest, gentlest soul that any of us have ever met,\u201d he said. \u201cThroughout the 43 years that I\u2019ve known you, you\u2019ve always been this wonderful human being. As much as I admire you as an engineer, I admire you even more for the person that you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

STAGE NOTES: It sounds like something good did come out of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the shutdown, San Jose\u2019s City Lights Theater Company commissioned Vincent Terrell Durham to write \u201cRunning After Shadows\u201d as part of a series of one-act plays by writers in the BIPoC community to stream to audiences. It has since been expanded into a full-length, solo actor play, directed by Aldo Billingslea, and will open at City Lights on Saturday night, starring L.A. actor James Arthur M. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The play, about a budding gourmet chef coming face to face with painful childhood memories, runs through Feb. 8, with a backstage chat with the creators on Zoom on Jan. 26.<\/p>\n

By the way, there are still a few seats available to a rare San Jose performance Sunday night of \u201cNot A Genuine Black Man,\u201d Brian Copeland\u2019s one-man show based on his funny, heartbreaking memoir. While it premiered in 2004, it definitely still resonates today. You can get more information and tickets about both shows at www.cltc.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CONGRATULATIONS: The Tech for Global Good should keep an eye on a trio of juniors from Monta Vista High School in Cupertino: Shreyas Chatterjee, Shrehan Chatterjee and Saumit Korada. U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo announced Tuesday that they were winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge for his district.<\/p>\n

Their app, Relink, aims to reduce recidivism by connecting formerly incarcerated individuals with job opportunities and supportive services. It was selected by an independent panel of judges, and the three Monta Vista students will be invited to\u00a0the #HouseofCode reception on Capitol Hill this spring, and their app will be showcased in the U.S. Capitol and on House.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the 50 years since he co-founded Apple, Steve Wozniak has been awarded time and again for his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":145440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[417,184,387,7,181,23,419,88,90,89,198,200,19453,1970],"class_list":{"0":"post-145439","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-around-town","9":"tag-bay-area","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-local-news","14":"tag-news-columnists","15":"tag-san-jose","16":"tag-san-jose-headlines","17":"tag-san-jose-news","18":"tag-santa-clara-county","19":"tag-south-bay","20":"tag-steve-wozniak","21":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}