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.
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’s signature event, held at the Signia by Hilton hotel in downtown San Jose.
Being a humanitarian, Wozniak said, has been a big but often overshadowed part of his life.
“Somehow I’m the ‘different’ one of all these people who are well-known in technology,” he said during the event at the Signia by Hilton hotel in downtown San Jose. “But it’s such a meaningful part to me. I didn’t ever start this thing to have money, industry or a company.”
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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)
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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)
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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’s early employees just as it was about to have its IPO.
Wozniak’s 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’s 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.)
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. He bankrolled the US Festivals in the early 1980s, so he’s a big fan of live music outdoors.
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’s Tech for Global Good laureates — Cognixion, Nexstride, Sanmai Technologies and BCI Pioneers Coalition — whose work will be showcased in a Tech Interactive exhibit and is available to see online at www.thetech.org.
“It made me feel so good about them,” he said. “They 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’s where you get the best products.”
Former Apple CEO John Sculley attended the event and expressed his admiration directly to Woz.
“What’s neat about this is it’s not a tech award. We know you’re the best engineer. It’s an award because you’re the sweetest, gentlest soul that any of us have ever met,” he said. “Throughout the 43 years that I’ve known you, you’ve 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.”
STAGE NOTES: It sounds like something good did come out of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the shutdown, San Jose’s City Lights Theater Company commissioned Vincent Terrell Durham to write “Running After Shadows” 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.
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.
By the way, there are still a few seats available to a rare San Jose performance Sunday night of “Not A Genuine Black Man,” Brian Copeland’s 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.
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.
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 the #HouseofCode reception on Capitol Hill this spring, and their app will be showcased in the U.S. Capitol and on House.gov.
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