Anil Dash

Activist, Blogger, Entrepreneur, Technologist, Writer/Editor

Anil Dash is an entrepreneur and activist known as one of the most prominent advocates for a more inclusive and ethical technology industry. He is CEO of Fog Creek Software, which just launched Glitch, the online community where over a million digital innovators are creating, sharing and discovering the cutting edge of the internet. Fog Creek is the the renowned independent technology company behind breakout products like Trello and Stack Overflow. Dash was an advisor to the Obama White House’s Office of Digital Strategy, was formerly a monthly columnist for Wired, and cofounded the boutique strategy consultancy Activate. Today, he serves as a board member for Stack Overflow, the Data & Society Research Institute, and the Lower East Side Girls Club and serves as an advisor to startups like Medium and non-profits like DonorsChoose. The New Yorker described Dash as a “blogging pioneer” for his Webby-recognized personal blog, which he has maintained since 1999, and for his work in helping create seminal blogging and social media publishing technologies. As a public speaker, Dash has taken the stage at events ranging from the Obama Foundation Summit to the Aspen Ideas Festival to SXSW. He has has guested on media and podcasts ranging from Vice’s Desus and Mero to Krista Tippet’s On Being, and collaborated with “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda to create one of the most popular Spotify playlists of 2018. Time named @anildash one of the best accounts on Twitter, and it is the only account ever retweeted by Bill Gates, the Obama White House and Prince, a succinct encapsulation of Dash’s interests. Dash is based in New York City, where he lives with his wife Alaina Browne and their son Malcolm. Dash has never played a round of golf, drank a cup of coffee, or graduated from college.

Making the internet a place that everyone *creates* together, not just a place a few giant companies own.

Digital platforms are replicating the same exclusionary social barriers that physical infrastructure projects did over the last century. We must address it immediately.