John Repass
Technologist in Western North Carolina.
I spent most of my working life building technology because it was new and possible. These days I care more about whether it helps: whether a system supports the land, the people, and the communities it touches, or quietly draws them down. This page is a short account of where I have been, what I believe, and the kind of work I would like to do next.
Background
Where I have been
I studied physics at UNC Asheville, which left me with the habit of looking for the system underneath the problem. My early career was in Research Triangle Park, building broadband infrastructure when high-speed internet was still new. From there I spent years in Silicon Valley startups, working on search, streaming media, music technology, online education, and voice over IP.
In 2008 I came home to Western North Carolina and founded Silver Fox Computer Services, keeping local businesses and organizations running until I closed it in 2023. That adds up to 29 years in technology, most of them close to the hardware and to the people using it.
Beliefs
What I believe
Technology has to work within ecological limits. A system that degrades the soil, water, or climate it depends on is not a solution, however clever it looks.
Everyone deserves a decent and dignified life. Technology should spread its benefits widely rather than concentrate power and wealth.
Energy, ecology, economics, and behavior are one system. Systems thinkers like Nate Hagens changed how I see technology: not as a thing apart, but as something embedded in those flows and shaping them.
Doing less harm is not enough. I am most interested in technology that helps something heal or regenerate.
Focus
Where I would like to help
Sustainable food systems. Sensors, small-scale automation, and data tools that help regenerative farms and local food networks work well without needing a big budget.
Cooperative economics. Plain, durable software for worker cooperatives, mutual aid groups, and community-owned resources: the tools that let people decide and share together.
Ecological monitoring. Low-cost sensing and analysis that helps a watershed group, a land trust, or a neighborhood understand what is happening on the ground.
Appropriate technology. Systems that are open, repairable, and understandable by the people who depend on them.
There is more on each of these on the Interests page.
Availability
Working together
I am open to volunteer work with nonprofits, cooperatives, and community groups whose projects fit the interests above. I am also open to paid collaboration when the fit is right. I work remotely from Western North Carolina and am not looking to travel much.
If you are working on something along these lines, the contact page is the way to reach me.