👋 Hello! You might be wondering who the heck I am.

The main thing to know about me is: I’m just a person who lives in San Francisco and cares about local news. I’m passionate about two things: 1. getting more people engaging with local news and 2. encouraging local news to serve the needs of its local audience.

No, I’m not a journalist. (Though I’ve written a couple stories about local news and community engagement, which were published in Mission Local: here and here).

No, I’m not interested in running for political office (never have, never will).

No, I’m not trying to run a venture-backed startup (I want Community News Lab to function as a nonprofit, and to share any revenue with local news outlets in San Francisco). But the fact that the corporation behind LinkNYC raised $150M tells me there’s definitely a path to revenue. Rather than give those profits to corporate shareholders I want to pass them on to the journalism ecosystem in San Francisco, especially independent local media.

Yes, I like building things. I have spent over a decade in tech working as a product manager, working in social impact tech. I spent five years building classroom tools at Khan Academy, where I built tools for teachers, parents, and students, and I am currently the Head of Product at a climate tech startup, building a mobile app for residents of Los Angeles to engage in local climate action. I also build cool things at SF Civic Tech, where I’ve been volunteering since 2014.

Yes, I’m an advocate for strengthening local news. I’m the outreach chair of the San Francisco Press Club, a member of the San Francisco Media Policy Working Group, and a member of Free Press’s Media Power Collaborative. From 2021 to mid 2022 I gave out a weekly award on Twitter for the best San Francisco local news story, called the SF Readers Choice Prize. Giving that award helped me get to know the local news scene.

My background is mostly in education; I started out my career as a classroom teacher. I love working with students and I’m still a teacher at heart.

You can find me on Linkedin.