CivicActions

Arthur Foelsche believes you can’t change the world without knowing about the world – and communicating what you know to others. A technology lead and partner at CivicActions, he has moved seamlessly from activist to advocate for more than a decade and was key to IndyMedia’s efforts during the Seattle WTO protests of 1999. Using technology to help what’s local go global, he has empowered citizen activists in the anti-GMO movement and was an organizer of the ISE Biotechnology Project, developing one of the largest online databases on biotechnology issues at the time.

As the author of the Drupal-based Media Mover module, Arthur leveled the playing field and made it possible for open-source-driven non-profits to compete with the You Tubes of the world. His module created a trans-coding engine that allows for the use of rich media in a highly flexible way. This technology was put to good use on the Witness Project, which relies heavily on audio and video to document human rights abuses. On the Flunk Arnold campaign, the Teachers Union of California gave Arthur and his team two weeks to build a site that helped students post their own videos opposing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s attempt to rip their schools apart. It worked, due in large part to Arthur’s took kit and the client’s trust in his ability to deploy these technologies effectively.

With his bike as his touchstone, Arthur is quick to get away from his computer screen and out for long rides in the far reaches of Vermont. Quieter moments are spent at Black Sheep Books, a non-ideological space where, as a founding member, he has shepherded a selection that covers philosophy, political science and anthropology and provides the intellectual infrastructure necessary to think about the world.