Work Experience
Cortico builds products and programs that amplify under-heard voices in America, empowering marginalized communities to have a greater impact in local decision making. We do this by building scalable technology and analytic listening systems to support networks of on-the-ground conversation and community building initiatives.
Initially brought on to manage the product launch of the Local Voices Network, I now oversee all product development and organizational operations at Cortico, a 501(c)(3) non-profit spun out of the MIT Media Lab.
Founded by Jordan Hewson in 2016, Speakable helps consumers take meaningful civic and philanthropic actions directly within the context of online news articles. I joined this seed-stage startup to help mature their product strategy and grow adoption amongst publishers and non-profits. They were acquired by NationBuilder in 2021.
I led new product development and managed Chartbeat's flagship editorial analytics product, used by over 50,000 media brands across 60 countries.
I helped run the world's greatest curated collection of Creative Commons licensed music out of the venerable non-profit New Jersey freeform radio station WFMU. The platform was sold to Tribe of Noise in 2019.
Projects
A purpose-built audio playback and recording device designed to capture intimate public conversations with intentionality, clarity, and ease.
An online platform designed to help a growing network of non-profits, municipalities, libraries, researchers, and community advocates make sense of thousands of hours of recorded group conversations.
The Action Button helps readers take immediate and meaningful action on issues they care about within the context of trusted publisher sites.
We developed a new advertising metric called attention time, got it accredited by the Media Rating Council, and built a wonderful product to help publishers traffic campaigns, report campaign results, and optimize their inventory and sales offerings. We learned a lot from trying to change the fundamental economy of online display ads from CPM to CPH, and though Chartbeat exited the business, the ideas and methods we established live on in the industry.
Side Projects
keeping everyone's favorite slack-based arbitrary point counter alive and well
the canonical gif search
deeply subpar internet radio
Volunteering
WXYC is a freeform radio station founded in 1977 that broadcasts in North Carolina. In 1994 it became the first radio station in the world to stream on the internet. It continues to produce pioneering programming and technology.
I sit on the board, help develop their iOS app, and in 2020 implemented a remote broadcast system that DJs use to do live shows from their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Education
Comparative Literature & Media Studies