Advisors
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DANNY ALEXANDER Danny Alexander is a designer and strategist working at the intersection of design, business and social innovation. He is currently an Innovator in Residence at IDEO.org and a Partner at Who Gives A Crap. He’s also a faculty member of the forthcoming Design for Social Innovation graduate program at the School of Visual Arts and serves on the Board of Advisors for Design Impact. Previously he founded Black and Blue Design in Argentina and served as Chief of Product Design at Liga Masiva, Trustee of the Awesome Foundation NY, Design Specialist at Catapult Design and Shapeshifter at Method. |
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MARK BELINSKY Mark Belinsky is an entrepreneur and technologist who has developed projects at the intersection of media, tech and data in over 26 countries. Currently he is creative technologist fabricating security tools with Guardian Project and building international movements with Purpose.com. In Armenia, Mark co-founded and is a board member at BEM, a youth action center that serves as a platform for building an active civil society through media, performance and citizen journalism. He is also co-founder of and advisor to Digital Democracy. Combining these experiences, he has appeared as a guest on Al-Jazeera English, BBC Radio and NPR, testified at US Congress and consulted with numerous heads of state. He directs and produces films and designs interactive media projects with his company New Words Media. Mark graduated from Johns Hopkins University with concentrations in Computer Science, Sociology and Media. |
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RAJASVINI BHANSALI Rajasvini has served as IDEX’s Executive Director since February 2010. Born and raised in India, Vini is passionate about building the capacity of people and organizations to facilitate participatory and grassroots-led social change. Before IDEX, Vini worked as the Chief Operating Officer for Juma Ventures, a nationally renowned youth development social enterprise based in San Francisco. Vini served as a management capacity builder with youth vocational training schools called polytechnics in rural Kenya. In the past, she has managed a $30 million public fund to address digital divide issues with community-based organizations, libraries and schools in rural Texas and also worked as a researcher, planner, policy wonk, management consultant and community organizer. Born and raised in India, Vini earned a Master′s in Public Affairs (MPA) with a focus on technology and telecommunications policy from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and Bachelor′s degrees in Astrophysics and Interdisciplinary Studies from UC Berkeley. Vini currently serves on the board of CUSO International, a civil society development organization that works through volunteers. She is also a published poet and essayist. |
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GORDON JESSE BRONSON Gordon was appointed by Mayor Cory Booker to develop a new office within Newark’s city government focused on catalyzing innovative partnerships to advance economic development and tackle social problems. Previously Gordon worked at the White House, the Department of Interior, and for Senator Obama’s bid for the Presidency and the Presidential Inaugural Committee. A Colorado native and a graduate of Denver University, Gordon was previously a competitive skier, with multiple titles from alpine ski races around the world. |
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JESSE FRIEDMAN Jesse Friedman is a product marketing manager in Google’s New York office. He works on the company’s global efforts for a free and open Internet, educating and activating consumers and politicians about the dangers of restrictive legislation and the Internet’s amazing power for economic, cultural, and democratic growth. He also works with the Politics & Elections team to bring information about civic participation and the political process to voters, candidates, and the media. Previously he started the Geo Media Outreach program, helping media worldwide use Google Maps and Google Earth for news coverage, expository journalism, and crisis response. Jesse is also a member of the Digital Action Working Group of the Voter Assistance Advisory Committee of the Campaign Finance Board of New York City. Jesse hails from Oakland, California, and holds a degree in linguistics from the University of Chicago. He lives with his wife Laura Hadden in Brooklyn, where they host United Noshes, a dinner party series featuring one meal from every UN country in alphabetical order. |
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SANJANA HATTOTUWA Sanjana is recognised internationally as an expert in the design and implementation of ICTs and new media ecosystems in peace-building and to strengthen democratic governance. He is currently Sr Researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives and Special Advisor to the ICT4Peace Foundation. In 2010, he became the first Sri Lankan TED Fellow. In 2008 he was awarded a News & Knowledge Entrepreneur Fellowship by Ashoka. Sanjana is the founding editor of Groundviews, an award-winning web based and multi-media civic media initiative in Sri Lanka during and post-war. As a Fellow of the Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, Sanjana has contributed to the evolution of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) focused on the use of mobiles in conflict transformation. He is currently a columnist at The Nation newspaper, hosts a talk show on public television and contributes regularly to local and international media and academic publications. He has previously lectured mid-career journalists at the Sri Lanka College of Journalism (SLCJ). |
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BECKY HURWITZ Becky spends her time with changemakers of many kinds, codesigning tools and methods to leverage media and technology for equitable social change. She is currently the Codesign Facilitator and Community Organizer at the Center for Civic Media, MIT Media Lab. Prior to joining the Center, she led the SaferMobile project at MobileActive, a program to educate and train activists, journalists, and human rights defenders in mobile phone security. An activist and a journeyer, Becky has lived domestically and internationally working in the field of ICTD and as a photographer. She is particularly dedicated to the demystification of technology and the democratization of technology creation and use. Becky holds a B.S. in Comparative Media Studies from MIT and an M.S. in Information Management and Systems from the UC Berkeley iSchool. |
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SABRINA HERSI ISSA Sabrina Hersi Issa is the Digital Director at Be Bold Media, a digital media firm that uses powerful storytelling to develop impactful online and mobile campaigns for innovators and organizers around the world. She is also the co-founder of EndFamine.com, a community dedicated to seeking sustainable solutions to global hunger launched in response to the famine in the Horn of Africa.Previously, she was a Program Advisor at Afghans for Civil Society, an NGO that developed women’s programs and independent media in southern Afghanistan, worked for Oxfam America and National Public Radio. She’s advised women legislators on digital civic engagement and social media and has spoken at a number of conferences on human rights, social entrepreneurship and digital advocacy. Sabrina is a board member of The African Future, a Truman National Security Partner and a Web of Change fellow. She was awarded the Young Woman of Achievement Award for Social Innovation by the Women’s Information Network, the Political Ambition Award from the Women & Politics Institute and Washingtonian Magazine named her a Woman to Watch. |
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SEAN McDONALD Sean Martin McDonald is the CEO of FrontlineSMS’s social enterprise, the kiwanja UK Company Interest Company, and the founder of the FrontlineSMS:Legal project. Sean joined FrontlineSMS in 2010 and leads the day-to-day operation, strategic direction, and project-driven application of FrontlineSMS. Prior to FrontlineSMS, he held a number of positions with technology firms, international development organizations, legal services non-profits, and the U.S. Senate. Sean is an advisor to the Clinton Global Initiative, TechChange, Digital Democracy, and an affiliate expert with UNDP. He sits on the Board of Directors of International Peace Park Expeditions Foundation, the kiwanja UK CIC, and the kiwanja Foundation. Sean is a lawyer, licensed in New York, holding a J.D. and an M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Magazine Journalism, Government and Spanish at the University of Maryland. |
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REBECCA JOY NORLANDER Rebecca Joy Norlander is currently a PhD candidate in Human Science at the Graduate College of Psychology and Humanistic Studies at Saybrook University. As a passionate advocate for social transformation, her research investigates the intersection of human rights education and new communication technologies. Previously, as an editorial assistant with Greenwood-Praeger, she compiled an anthology entitled Peace Movements Worldwide, co-authoring an article, Rethinking “Identity” for a Global Age: Emerging Responsibilities and Duties. More recently her writing has been published in the journal Peace Review. Rebecca received undergraduate degrees in History and French and an MA in Cultural Studies from Columbia University’s Paris campus. She has spent time living, working, and traveling abroad, including three years spent teaching university students and young adults in Tokyo. Additional information, writings and presentations can be found on her website. Rebecca is thrilled to integrate her passion for human rights with Dd’s work around the globe. |
| MARQUISE STILLWELL Marquise Stillwell is the founding partner at Openbox, a strategic design and social impact investment firm in New York City. He is a design thinker with a passion for social change through innovative enterprises and processes. Marquise started his first company in 1999 called Concept Management group in Denver, Colorado. Concept Management Group was a design shop that managed and invested in innovative products. Following in 2004, he started Blue Macaroni ventures, which focused primarily on real estate development. In addition to these ventures, Marquise has corporate experience with BMW North America, Wells Fargo, Fiserv, Qwest and the University of Denver. He earned a BA in Advertising from Ohio State University, a MA in Economics from the University of Denver, and a MBA from the Grand Canyon University. He is currently serving on the Board of the Andrew Goodman Foundation and the LowLine. |
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JORGE VEGA Jorge Vega is a strategist and researcher at THINK Conservatory, an international market intelligence and strategy firm with offices in New York and Chicago. He has worked with clients such as Puma, Diageo and Unilever in understanding consumer behavior around the world and supporting their innovation and/or communications strategies in different markets. Prior to THINK Jorge worked in a variety of strategic communications agencies, most recently Edelman Public Relations, where he helped craft and execute various multicultural campaigns for clients such as Pepsi and Time Warner Cable. Jorge was born and raised in sunny Puerto Rico, and graduated from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service with a degree roughly in the convergence of cultural studies, international politics, public diplomacy and technology. Following his interests, Jorge became a proud advisor to Digital Democracy in 2012. Aside from Dd, Jorge also volunteers as a Mentor-Coach and Young Leadership Board member for New York Needs You, and mentorship program for first-generation college students. Jorge is a fan of social innovation, adventure travel, street food, mega-cities, photography, and sleep deprivation. |
