OUR TEAM
In 2015, we launched the Laboratory for Civic Technology, a 501(c)3 non-profit with a mission to harness the internet to revitalize local community in America. The Laboratory’s first task is reviving CommonPlace.
Ricky Porco
Ricky Porco is the co-founder of the Laboratory for Civic Technology. A native New Yorker and alumnus of James Madison University, he adds significant grassroots organizing experience and an unmatched devotion to civic technology to our team. Starting with pickup games of basketball on the playground as a kid, Ricky always took great pleasure in organizing people around him and building community. His enthusiasm for improving communication on a local level compelled him to become a leader of the CommonPlace movement in its earliest days, and his commitment to building helpful and useful civic technology has grown stronger every day since. Ricky loves civic technology because he believes that change of any great magnitude starts locally, right here in our own backyards.
Pete Davis
Pete Davis is the co-founder of the Laboratory for Civic Technology. He has co-founded a variety of civic projects: Harvard Thinks Big, a popular annual event that brings together professors to share their big ideas on one night in front of the Harvard community; the Progressive Alternative, an online magazine for Millennial Democratic policy; and Getaway, the nation’s first-ever venture-backed tiny house startup. From 2013-2014, he served as the labor and poverty coordinator for Ralph Nader’s Center for Study of Responsive Law. He graduated from Harvard College in 2012 and is currently a student at Harvard Law School. At night, you can find Pete playing folk music and bopping around the Boston alternative stand up circuit.
Mark Malazarte
Mark Malazarte is the senior designer of the Laboratory for Civic Technology. Currently he is working as Senior UX Designer at Dow Jones, assisting the Data Science team in creating data products. When not designing, Mark’s passion lies in cinema and filmmaking, having studied under legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles at the Maysles Documentary Center, a non-profit cinema in the heart of Harlem, New York City.
Jason Berlinsky
Jason Berlinsky is the senior technologist of the Laboratory for Civic Technology. He is the managing partner of Barefoot Coders, a startup and enterprise software engineering consultancy specializing in building technology-driven businesses. He has worked with the Laboratory for Civic Technology team since 2010, building applications to foster civic growth and empowerment. His expertise is in bringing data- and technology-driven operations to companies that can utilize it to enhance their operations, a passion which was founded in the early days of CommonPlace, when minimal technology existed in the wild to enable neighbors to connect, and to enable organizers to better facilitate those connections. Jason graduated from the University of Michigan in 2014, and currently resides in New York City.
Andrew Sears
Andrew Sears is the strategic communications director for the Laboratory for Civic Technology. He is passionate about exploring how cultural and political systems can be reformed to elevate people towards holistically thriving lives. This passion has led him through an exciting career in electoral politics, grassroots advocacy, and nonprofit strategy, and has most recently compelled him to co-found PurposedSpace, a strategic consulting firm for social impact leaders. Andrew is an action-oriented idealist who longs for a revival of flourishing local communities and a rediscovery of true friendship in 21st-century America. When he’s not working, he’s probably reading or cooking dinner for friends. He graduated summa cum laude from Biola University, where he studied political science and the Great Books, and now lives in Los Angeles with his wife.
Mike Bloomberg
Mike Bloomberg (not the billionaire) is an advocate for the redevelopment of post-industrial cities, and avid supporter of local businesses and agriculture. He recently ran as a Democratic candidate for the Massachusetts House of Representatives on a platform of economic revitalization for the City of Pittsfield and Gateway Cities across the Commonwealth.
A graduate of Pittsfield High School and the University of Massachusetts, Mike has previously worked with United States Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs on their Games Planning team, for Kora Management, a startup hedge fund in New York City, and Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s leading financial firms. He brings with him a diverse background in strategic planning, investor relations, talent management, and emerging technology.
Mike is a member of Strong Towns, a planning advocacy group that promotes sustainable neighborhoods, and is an outspoken advocate for people-centered infrastructure and economic systems. He loves dogs, the Boston Red Sox, and lobster rolls and is currently an MBA student at Cornell University at their new tech-focused campus (Cornell Tech).
Jayce Rudig-Leathers
Jayce is a creative technologist and software craftsperson working within the Laboratory for Civic Technology. Originally from Montana, he graduated from Vassar College in 2016 and now lives in Beacon, NY. During the day, he works as a full-stack developer for AMT-Sybex, building technology for utility fieldworkers. Jayce has dedicated his life to creating open, honest, and human tools that connect and nourish people. He believes in a sustainable future where all life is held sacred. He knows that future begins with communities where people are valued over profit. When not at his computer, Jayce can be found creating art, teaching kids, cooking with friends, or running through the woods.