About

I am a recent graduate of GWU's Center for International Science and Technology Policy at the Elliott School, where I focused on the applications of IT in international and/or community/educational development. This means I live in Washington, DC, even though I am a Texan. I claim Austin as my normal home, even though I never seem to spend much time there. I am the ICT Director at Youth Service America, where we promote global youth volunteerism.

I work in the non-profit field as a technology generalist (that's almost redundant in non-profit), and I am deeply interested in the applications of ICTs in development scenarios. I'm an active writer/editor of OLPC News.com, which tracks the One Laptop per Child project. One of my articles on the cost of the OLPC got included in Linux.com and slashdotted (?).

I graduated in 1999 from the University of Texas' Plan II Honors Program, with minors in Spanish, Philosophy, and Science, Technology and Society (STS).

Post-graduation, I joined the dotcom goldrush, and worked at eCertain, a firm specializing in secure and legal online transactions. We lasted longer than many, but lost funding in the end. I learned way too much about security, attended DefCon, helped found the DefCon CoffeeWars, and enjoyed the dotcom life.

Post-bust, I did some contract webwork and miscellany while applying for Peace Corps and other positions abroad. In January 2002, I left the States to go teach English in Merida, Venezuela. In July, I left Venezuela for Peace Corps, where I worked as an IT Adviser to the Jamaican Ministry of Education.

Upon return, I applied for grad school and returned to Austin for a few months, where I worked for UT's technology commercialization office and defended my historic home against destruction (but lost in the end).