After 28 years in the technology industry, from developing broadband infrastructure in Research Triangle Park to building startups in Silicon Valley, I've come to a fundamental realization: the question isn't what we can build, but what we should build.

The Journey Here

My career began with the excitement of possibility. In the early days of the internet, we were building the infrastructure that would connect the world. Every project felt like we were pushing the boundaries of what was possible. From search technology to streaming media, from VoIP services to online education platforms, I was part of teams creating tools that would reshape how people lived and worked.

But somewhere along the way, I started asking different questions. Running Silver Fox Computer Services for 16 years in Western North Carolina gave me a different perspective. I saw technology's impact at the community level—both its benefits and its costs. I began to understand that innovation without wisdom can create as many problems as it solves.

The Influence of Systems Thinking

Discovering the work of Nate Hagens and other systems thinkers was transformative. They helped me understand that we live in a world of interconnected systems—energy, ecology, economics, and human behavior are all deeply intertwined. Technology isn't separate from these systems; it's embedded within them and shapes them in profound ways.

This understanding led to a shift in my thinking. I began to see that our technological choices have cascading effects throughout these systems. A "solution" that doesn't account for ecological limits or social equity isn't really a solution—it's just shifting problems around or deferring them to the future.

Technology in Service of Life

This brings me to where I am today: committed to applying technology in service of life rather than in service of growth for its own sake. This means:

  • Working within planetary boundaries: Developing systems that enhance rather than degrade the natural world we depend on.
  • Supporting human dignity: Creating technology that distributes benefits broadly rather than concentrating wealth and power.
  • Building for resilience: Favoring solutions that strengthen local communities and ecosystems rather than creating dependencies.
  • Embracing appropriate scale: Choosing human-scale, repairable, open-source approaches over black-box solutions.

Areas of Focus

These principles guide my interest in four main areas where I believe technology can make a meaningful positive impact:

Sustainable Food Systems

Using AI, sensors, and data systems to support regenerative agriculture, optimize plant-based food production, and strengthen local food networks. Technology can help us grow food in ways that rebuild soil, support biodiversity, and reduce our ecological footprint.

Cooperative Economics

Building digital infrastructure for worker cooperatives, platform cooperatives, and mutual aid networks. Technology can enable new forms of democratic ownership and decision-making that distribute wealth and power more equitably.

Ecological Monitoring

Developing AI-powered systems to monitor ecosystem health, track biodiversity, and measure environmental impacts. Understanding natural systems is the first step in protecting and regenerating them.

Appropriate Technology

Creating tools that communities can understand, maintain, and adapt to their needs. This means prioritizing open-source designs, modular systems, and solutions that work within local constraints.

An Invitation to Collaborate

I'm not interested in traditional consulting or building technology for technology's sake. Instead, I'm looking for meaningful collaboration with organizations and individuals who share these values. Whether you're a worker cooperative needing technical infrastructure, an environmental organization working on conservation, or a community group building resilience, I'd love to explore how we might work together.

The challenges we face—climate change, inequality, ecosystem degradation—require us to think differently about technology's role in society. They require us to move from asking "can we?" to asking "should we?" and "how can this serve life?"

This is my commitment: to use whatever skills and experience I've gained over nearly three decades in technology to support projects that contribute to a more sustainable, equitable, and life-affirming future. Because in the end, the most sophisticated technology is worthless if it doesn't serve life.