We have to do more.
Who I am
I'm a software engineer and an activist for affordable housing, cooperatives, and sustainability.
I've been writing code since I taught myself at the age of 13, and have been working in the software industry for the last decade. Currently, I work as Lead DevOps Engineer for Ceros, a software company based in New York City. I work remotely to manage the team that builds Ceros' server infrastructure in Amazon's cloud, and automates the processes used to deploy new versions of the software.
Outside of work, I've volunteered, served on committees, and on boards. I'm a bit of a workaholic. I've always felt that the way things are is not the way that they have to be. I have a firm belief in democracy and that the powerful should be held to account.
All of this shows in my activism. Whether it's been getting my hands in the soil for the Bloomington Community Orchard, aggressively challenging the ossifying power structures at Bloomingfoods that risked the survival of that treasured institution, or doing anything from digging through financial spreadsheets to working to mediate and resolve disputes at Bloomington Cooperative Living, I'm always working to advance alternative institutions, make the community more sustainable, and keep power from getting too comfortable.
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Principles
Alternative Institutions. I believe in alternative institutions. Institutions that could eventually be self sustaining and continue to work on the community's problems. I believe we should use the power of our municipal government to support worker cooperatives, housing cooperatives, land trusts, collectives, B-corporations, and non-profits.
Ethics and Accountability. I believe in accountability for our elected leaders and public officials. That includes for myself. It's vitally important for elected officials to be aware of power dynamics and how they can impact interactions, to be careful of conflicts of interest, and to own their mistakes and failures.
Transparency. I firmly believe the community is the ultimate decision maker. If the community is the decision maker, then the community needs to have all the information necessary upon which to make those decisions. The government needs to be completely transparent -- not just in form, but in function. We'll know we're doing enough when the average citizen of Bloomington can't help but be aware of what our municipal government is doing, what the debates of the day are, and exactly how to get involved in those debates if they so choose.
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