CEO, Development Seed
Ian is a leading innovator in the use of technology to advance democracy and human rights.
He has assisted hundreds of civil society organizations, political movements, and government institutions in more than 40 countries to utilize technology for political reform and citizen empowerment. In 2013, he founded the New Rights Group (NRG), a network of technologists hacking for freedom. At NRG, Ian oversees the creation of tools, methodologies, and communities to advance rights and democracy in the digital age. At the start of 2013, Ian left his post managing Internet freedom programs for the State Department’s Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. In that capacity, Ian oversaw a growth in the State Department’s Internet freedom portfolio from $20 million to over $100 million. Ian’s stewardship of Internet freedom funding helped to grow a community of organizations at the intersection of technology and human rights.
