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46 Circuit Riders
By Michael C. Gilbert, July 2001
Editorial note: I have mixed feelings about this piece. Sometimes it reads like a giant in joke. Sometimes I'm not sure that this is how everyone here would like to be introduced. Although many people have written to say that this conveys my affection for the people I met, I know that I'm not succeeding in every case. I suspect I will be editing this for some time.
I can't believe it took me this long to go to a Circuit Riders' conference, or, as it's called in this community, a "Roundup". These were the people I was looking for at all the other nonprofit technology conferences and only occasionally found. They are intelligent, independent, and inquisitive people who get things done. This is my little tribute to them. I only wish I had met the rest.
- Hal Allen of NPower New York seemed to be at every panel I did. I hope that means I was doing something right.
- David Altschuler is the entrepreneurial whirlwind behind the Tech Foundation. We're doomed to miss each other. He missed our first appointment to chat at the conference and I had to miss our second.
- Ed Batista is my wonderful colleague at NTEN. (He's the Executive Director. I'm the President.) He did a fabulous job leading a plenary session on knowledge initiatives for nonprofit technology professionals.
- Tom Battin is a talented database consultant with CompassPoint who somehow always makes me realize that the world around us is kind of amusing.
- Rick Birmingham and Linda Wong of Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits were on the Knowledge Management panel with me and contributed a real life example of how the best knowledge management projects are really communication projects.
- Bill Bradlee , of the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund was my copanelist on the subject of Online Organizing, which was extemporaneously renamed Email, Email, Email. He was one of the few people at the conference with some concrete research to present.
- Ben Cain of CTCNet was happy not to be running around working at the NOA conference.
- Gavin Claybaugh of the Mott Foundation likened himself to Mick Fleetwood.
- Rich Cowan of the Organizer's Collaborative has a great grasp of the issues of mobilizing people online.
- Rachel Danieli is a fellow workplace democracy advocate who is part of the Jumpstart Media Collective.
- Ami Dar , the tireless founder of Action Without Borders, was a little tired on Saturday night.
- Deborah Finn of the Tech Foundation is the introvert of her family. Scary thought.
- Liz Gans of TechRocks came back to new technology after breathing too much sawdust.
- John German of Nonprofit Computing is going to help me understand the United Nations NGO processes.
- Andrew Himes is the founder of Project Alchemy. He and I first met in a science fiction writing workshop in the mid eighties. Neither of us writes fiction any more, or so we both believe.
- Kim Hottenstein of Harbinger Partners braided my hair. She is also a very smart thinker.
- Glen Ingram works for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. I'm a fan.
- Carter Johnson of Colorado Environmental Coalition worked hard as a local host of the Roundup. I was particularly grateful for his help getting me connected so that I could demo The Gilbert Center's use of DonorLink at the Science Fair.
- Beth Kanter , an independent consultant is doing some great critical thinking about information overload.
- Martin Kearns of Green Media Toolshed has a solid grasp of the synergies between content and tools. I hope he builds an XML interface to his system.
- Todd Koym of the W. Alton Jones Foundation describes himself as an Executor, by which I believe he means someone who gets things done. I look forward to getting some great things done with him.
- Audrie Krause of NetAction and I talked about two of the issues that concern me most: Microsoft and the issues people consider when they decide how to dress.
- William Lester of NinthBridge won the award for greatest contribution in Circuit Riding.
- Dale Lowery of the Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness says the name of his organization is easier to write than to say. The number of backspaces in this paragraph suggests otherwise.
- Sheldon Mains of the Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits has some of the most rigorous thinking about partnering with ASPs.
- Arif Mamdani of the Low Income Networking and Communication Project is evidently an Iron Chef fan. Maybe we need an Iron Circuit Rider contest.
- Hector Matos of NinthBridge does some great international work. Corresponding with people all over the world just isn't the same as being there.
- Marshall Mayer of TechRocks is responsible for dragging me to a Denver sports bar and feeding me a Budweiser. If I recall correctly, that would be a first time on both counts. I'm not sure what to say.
- Tim Mills-Groninger of the Information Technology Resource Center has a delightfully off color sense of humor. He also really understands databases. These may be connected.
- Samantha Moscheck is a new employee of Project Alchemy and is looking forward to being able to use a Macintosh again.
- Susan Myrland of Interactive Media Management is someone I want to talk to about incentives and knowledge systems.
- Sean O'Brien of the W. Alton Jones Foundation produced a riotous digital video tribute to Rob Stuart on his Titanium Powerbook.
- Marc Osten of Summit Consulting wouldn't let me present at the Technology Planning panel because (of all the excuses) I was scheduled for a Knowledge Management panel at the same time. Can you imagine that?
- Ric Plaisance of NinthBridge has an unexpected connection through his wife's family to my father Curtis Gilbert, for whom the Gilbert Center is named.
- Lisa Pool of TechRocks was the laser sharp moderator of our knowledge management panel. She also managed to facilitate preparation for the panel while she was on a tennis court!
- Gideon Rosenblatt of ONE Northwest is yet another Seattlite with whom I've spent more time at conferences than here at home. We need to correct that.
- Holly Ross of TechRocks says she cries easily. I think it's wonderful because, well, so do I. She also did an absolutely amazing job on the conference itself and somehow managed to find time to teach us how to write compelling messages to our stakeholders in a panel I was on with her.
- Lisa Silverberg is doing great work with the Service Employees International Union in DC. I really want to learn more.
- Jillaine Smith of the Benton Foundation laughed her ass off while watching a video of herself. Frankly, I thought she came across brilliantly.
- Jon Stahl of ONE Northwest wore the strangest pants I've ever seen. (I want a pair.) And somehow he managed to distract me utterly from the pants and teach me what it's like to try to help environmental organizations succeed with new technology.
- Vince Stehle of the Surdna Foundation is an astute advisor who knows everyone. It's a little scary sometimes.
- Rob Stuart of TechRocks was bid a fond farewell on Saturday evening. He's taking a sabbatical. We'll see him again soon, I'm sure.
- Michael Ward of TechRocks is evidently one of those engineers who sleeps in the server room, where it's warm.
- Carnet Williams of Tensa wants to solve the nonprofit mailing list problem with me. I think we're going to do it.
- Linda Wong is listed next to Birmingham. Sorry.
- Tanya Zumach of Politically Interactive gets online direct marketing. I want to see her get a chance to truly push a progressive political campaign as far as she can.
Thank you, Circuit Riders, for being so incredibly welcoming and interesting! To all the rest of you, whose hands I shook and whose names I do, in fact, remember: Next year, I'll make sure I get a quip or two to introduce you as well. It was a pleasure meeting all of you.
P.S. For those of my readers who are unfamiliar with the entire concept of nonprofit technology "circuit riding", I offer the following links:
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