Anil Dash is an influencer

Trying to make the internet better by making it more inclusive, more equitable, and more fun.

New York, New York, United States
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About

Anil Dash is a technologist, writer and activist recognized as a leading advocate for making innovative technology that is ethical and inclusive. A Webby Awards lifetime achievement honoree, he has been CEO or founder of several groundbreaking startups including Glitch, the beloved creative community for developers acquired by Fastly in 2022. Today, he is principal and cofounder of antitech, which helps organizations thrive by building good, thoughtful technology.

Dash is a leading voice in tech, uniquely serving as both an analyst of cutting-edge innovations and a critical perspective on the risks and harms that can happen without accountability. A former monthly columnist and contributing editor for Wired, he has written for publications ranging from The Atlantic to Rolling Stone to Businessweek, while his personal blog of over 25 years has been cited by everyone from sitting U.S. Senators to hundreds of academic papers to TMZ.

Dash serves on the board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, defending digital human rights and free expression, and is chair of the board of the Lower East Side Girls Club, serving girls and families in need in New York City. Previously, he advised the Obama White House's Office of Digital Strategy and served a decade on the board of Stack Overflow. While CEO of Glitch, the company became the first tech startup to voluntarily recognize its workers' union.

Described by The New Yorker as a "blogging pioneer" and by the New York Times as a "Prince scholar," he has had a varied career as artist and creator — co-creating the earliest implementation of the technology later known as NFTs, exhibiting work at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, and collaborating with Lin-Manuel Miranda on a wildly popular Spotify playlist serving as an educational throwback mixtape. His social media account remains the only one ever retweeted by both Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Prince, a succinct summarization of Dash's interests. Dash has been featured everywhere from the Aspen Ideas Festival to Desus and Mero, and has guested on a surprisingly broad swath of your favorite podcasts.

Dash lives in New York City with his wife Alaina Browne, their child, and two dogs. Like most people, he has never played a round of golf, drank a cup of coffee, filed a patent, or graduated from college.

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Experience

  • antitech Graphic

    Principal & Cofounder

    antitech

    - Present 9 months

  • Electronic Frontier Foundation Graphic

    Board Member

    Electronic Frontier Foundation

    - Present 5 years 11 months

  • The Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York Graphic

    Board Chair, Member of the Board of Directors

    The Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York

    - Present 10 years 10 months

    New York City

    The Lower Eastside Girls Club connects girls and young women to healthy and successful futures. Our state-of-­the-­art center offers a safe haven with programs in the arts, sciences, leadership, entrepreneurship, and wellness for middle and high school girls. Programs are offered at no cost to girls and their families. I'm proud to serve as a board member, focused on helping modernize the way the club serves its community and the girls who rely on its services.

  • Fastly Graphic

    VP of Developer Experience

    Fastly

    - 3 years 2 months

    NYC

    Joined Fastly with the acquisition of Glitch and lead the Developer Experience, Compute, and Product Marketing teams within the product organization. Our teams have revitalized Fastly’s connection to its core developer audience while launching flagship products that broaden the company’s portfolio to key markets like AI and storage, all built on top of a unique and powerful developer platform.

  • The Markup Graphic

    Board Member

    The Markup

    - 2 years 9 months

    Board member of the pre-eminent journalistic organization focused on technology accountability, until its merger with CalMatters in 2024.

  • Obama Foundation Graphic

    Co-Chair, Digital & Technology Advisory Council

    Obama Foundation

    - 3 years 10 months

  • Glitch Graphic

    CEO

    Glitch

    - 5 years 8 months

    New York City

    Glitch is the friendly community where millions of people created & shared tens of millions of apps together. Initially founded as Fog Creek Software in 2000 (best known for its role in creating Trello, Stack Overflow, and many other pioneering products), the company was relaunched as Glitch, Inc. in 2018 to focus on growing its groundbreaking developer community, Glitch. Glitch inspired millions of creators and coders around the world to make apps that pushed the web forward and shaped popular…

    Glitch is the friendly community where millions of people created & shared tens of millions of apps together. Initially founded as Fog Creek Software in 2000 (best known for its role in creating Trello, Stack Overflow, and many other pioneering products), the company was relaunched as Glitch, Inc. in 2018 to focus on growing its groundbreaking developer community, Glitch. Glitch inspired millions of creators and coders around the world to make apps that pushed the web forward and shaped popular culture, enabling everyone from kids creating their first web sites to the most advanced coders at the world’s leading tech companies to come together in one friendly community. In 2022, Glitch was acquired by Fastly.

  • Data & Society Research Institute Graphic

    Member of the Board of Directors

    Data & Society Research Institute

    - 8 years 1 month

    New York City

    Data & Society is the pre-eminent research institute focused on the social and cultural issues arising from data-centric technological development. I served on the organization's board from its founding and was inspired by the passion of the D&S community and the importance of its mission during the organization’s extraordinarily impactful and influential first decade. My tenure on the board ended after successfully helping implement governance policies which included term limits for all board…

    Data & Society is the pre-eminent research institute focused on the social and cultural issues arising from data-centric technological development. I served on the organization's board from its founding and was inspired by the passion of the D&S community and the importance of its mission during the organization’s extraordinarily impactful and influential first decade. My tenure on the board ended after successfully helping implement governance policies which included term limits for all board members.

  • Stack Overflow Graphic

    Director

    Stack Overflow

    - 10 years 6 months

    Served as a member of the Board of Directors for the largest community of developers in the world from its initial round of funding until its successful exit. After informally advising the founders, I became a dedicated voice of representation for the community on the board, a unique form of advocacy for a community-driven company, and a reflection of the collaborative spirit that made the company so innovative and successful.

  • Activate Graphic

    Co-founder & Managing Director

    Activate

    - 7 years

    NYC

    Co-founded the leading strategy consulting firm working for the most significant companies at the intersection of technology and media, with Michael Wolf. Each year, Activate's Outlook offers an annual report looking forward for the industry, providing definitive guidance and insight into the future of tech and media.

  • Co-founder & CEO

    Makerbase

    - 1 year 4 months

    NYC

    Makerbase was a directory of apps and websites and all the people who make them, like an IMDb for apps. Launched at the White House's first ever Demo Day, my cofounder Gina Trapani and I created it to be a resource for the entire technology industry and for those who would like to be in it. My role has been in defining the product and leading the community, and now Makerbase has found a home at Fog Creek Software.

  • Co-founder & CEO

    ThinkUp

    - 4 years 4 months

    NYC

    ThinkUp was the first analytics tool for social media that helped you get more meaning out of the time you spend on social networks like Twitter and Facebook. I cofounded the company with Gina Trapani.

  • Wired Magazine Graphic

    Contributing Editor

    Wired Magazine

    - 7 months

    Monthly opinion column about how technology & internet companies and their products shape culture, and what it means.

  • Director

    Expert Labs

    - 2 years 6 months

    Founding Director of Expert Labs, a new independent non-profit initiative to help policy makers in the Federal government connect with the expertise of their fellow citizens.

  • AAAS Graphic

    Director, Expert Labs

    AAAS

    - 2 years 6 months

    Founder of initiative designed to increase engagement in public policy by soliciting public input through social networks.

  • Six Apart, Ltd. Graphic

    Vice President. Evangelism

    Six Apart, Ltd.

    - 6 years 6 months

    Helped promote and popularize blogging for individuals, organizations, and institutions through public speaking, community engagement, and outreach efforts. Lead community and communications for Six Apart's blogging products, including Movable Type, TypePad, LiveJournal and Vox. As the first employee of Six Apart, involved in company community, product strategy, design, and marketing since startup.

  • Village Voice Media Graphic

    New Media Development

    Village Voice Media

    - 1 year 7 months

    Digital development for the parent company of the Village Voice and several other leading alt weeklies across the U.S.

Honors & Awards

  • Lifetime Achievement Award

    The Webby Awards

    The 26th Annual Webby Awards honoredAnil Dash and Kevin Mccoy with the 2022 Webby Lifetime Achievement Award. https://winners.webbyawards.com/2022/specialachievement/301/anil-dash--kevin-mccoy

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