Neal Myrick joined Groundwire as executive director in May of 2010, bringing a wealth of experience in both nonprofit leadership and technology management. For the last six years, he was the managing director of technology at Casey Family Programs, a national foundation focusing on issues of foster care. Prior to Casey he spent a decade working for Seattle-based software companies including Visio, where he built and managed a worldwide team of IT professionals. And all things truly are connected: Neal’s first tech job many years ago was supporting PageMaker at Aldus Corporation, which, like Groundwire, includes Paul Brainerd among its founders.

Neal is a volunteer and partner with Social Venture Partners, where he is an executive coach for nonprofit leaders and also a member of the Environmental Advocacy and Policy Committee. He is a guest lecturer for the University of Washington's Information School, and has supported both local and national nonprofits through volunteer work and collaboration.

phone: 206.286.1235 x12 | email neal (at) groundwire.org

Over the past eight years, Dave Averill has been instrumental in building our nationally recognized consulting team. He manages the client process and an all-star team of software developers and consultants. Dave works with each client from intake through implementation through evaluation, ensuring that the environmental groups we work with have the civic engagement tools they need to effectively engage, organize and mobilize the public.

A key member of Groundwire’s leadership team, Dave’s sense of humor, work ethic and flexibility are reflected in the culture of Groundwire office. Previously, Dave was the national program manager for Community Voice Mail, case manager at Northwest AIDS Foundation (Now Lifelong AIDS Alliance), and worked as an organizer for Montana Human Rights Network. The father of three, Dave is deeply committed to making sure his children inherit a clean and just world. 

phone: 206.286.1235 x18 | email davida (at) groundwire.org

Jon tries to save the environmental community's websites from the 1990s—he makes websites behave the way they should and look their best using the open-source content management system Plone.

After graduating from Williams College, he spent two years putting databases online for the Environmental Working Group. When the East Coast humidity became wholly unbearable (he grew up in Pennsylvania), he packed up the wagon and hit the Oregon Trail. After spending a year learning the moves by consulting for Groundwire, Jon officially joined the Portland office in 2004.

During precious moments not behind a computer screen, Jon can be found with his family doing some combination of climbing, skiing, eating, and hiking.

email jonb (at) groundwire.org

From intake through launch, Kelley manages website projects for Groundwire. Kelley came to Groundwire in 2006 after working more than seven years in the decision-analysis software industry, where she focused on web integration and IT project management. Previously in pursuit of a PhD in political science, she atoned for not finishing her dissertation at New York University by working as a volunteer for the Washington State Howard Dean campaign and now continues her progressive political activism in her community, in Washington State, and online on a variety of local blogs.

Kelley enjoys flexing her Manhattan-honed bicycling skills in downtown Seattle.

phone: 206.286.1235 x26 | email kelley (at) groundwire.org

Evan brings 15 years experience providing database and strategic technology solutions to dozens of nonprofits. Most recently, he led the database consulting practice at NPower Seattle. Evan is the author of several books on Microsoft Access, and spent six years as a technical writer and manager at Microsoft.

Evan lives on Whidbey Island with his wife and three daughters, where he enjoys cycling, playing music, and tending his garden and orchard. He volunteers for several nonprofits, including Good Cheer Food Bank and Whidbey Watershed Stewards, which implemented a salmon habitat enhancement project on his property.

Evan is a Salesforce.com Certified Consultant.

phone: 206.286.1235 x14 | email evan (at) groundwire.org

Nicolas is a native Washingtonian who has lived half of his life in Toulouse, France. He earned a bachelor's degree in computer science at a French university before returning to the shores of the Puget Sound, where he worked at Microsoft in software development and project management for several years.

He loves traveling around the world, walking long distances, and cooking delicious food. He has traveled to over 30 countries, working with nonprofits and convincing his friends to join him on crazy adventures.

Nicolas is a Salesforce.com Certified Force.com Developer.

phone: 206.286.1235 x33  | email nicolas (at) groundwire.org

Tiffany hails from cold, cold Minneapolis, where she stayed long enough to graduate from the University of Minnesota before heading west in search of warmer climes. She has since spent more than 10 years fundraising in and for the Seattle nonprofit community, including King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, Heart of America Northwest (Hanford nuclear watchdogs), and The Community Abortion Information Resource Project.

Tiffany's strong commitment to social and environmental justice brought her to Groundwire in early 2006. Her free time is spent reading obscure gothic novels and planning her dream vacation.

phone: 206.286.1235 x13 | email tiffany (at) groundwire.org

Ryan joined the Web and CRM teams at Groundwire in spring of 2011.

phone: 206.286.1235 x30 | email ryan (at) groundwire.org

Sara was raised in the high desert of Oregon. She was the arts and culture editor for The Source Weekly in Bend, Oregon, and was an editor for Sasquatch Books in Seattle. Her work has appeared in numerous Northwest publications. Sara has a master's degree in writing from Portland State University.

Sara spent the first part of her professional life working for Seattle-area nonprofits. She was a program manager at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound where she led the team responsible for recruiting and training thousands of mentors in the program each year. She spent five years as the director of outdoor programming for youth at CYO Seattle, taught high school history, and worked as a residential treatment counselor for teen girls. She loves mid-'90s Northwest indie rock, the smell of sagebrush and juniper, and anything having to do with the Puget Sound.

phone: 206.286.1235 x42 | email sara (at) groundwire.org

Despite being raised on the outskirts of Amish country, David began playing with technology around age 7 and hasn't stopped.  He came to Groundwire as a Mennonite volunteer and stuck around because he couldn't bear the thought of returning to Midwestern winters.  David divides his time between implementing websites in Plone, keeping the servers running, and developing new tools for Groundwire Labs. He is a Plone core developer and a member of the Plone security team and the Plone roadmap team, and served as a technical reviewer of Martin Aspeli's much-loved book on Plone development.

Before coming to Groundwire, David worked on content management software in that programming language whose name we won't mention at Mennonite.net, and digital signage management software at RedPost, while finishing off his physics degree at Goshen College.

phone: 206.286.1235 x32 | email davidglick (at) groundwire.org

David joins Groundwire after nine years of working on his own, trying to save the world, one nonprofit database and web project at a time.  He's excited to work once again with smart, motivated people, and to continue to serve the nonprofit community. He is an active partner in Social Venture Partners, where he has worked with nonprofits in human services, early learning, education and the environment.

Previous to his nine years of solo consulting, David was a senior software design engineer and development manager at Microsoft, where he  worked on Windows, applications and development tools.  He was a technical development lead on the first two versions of the Microsoft Access database management system, and also was a development lead and development manager in Visual Studio, working on graphic design tools for web and database development.  David has a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Washington.

phone: 206.286.1235 x25 | email davidhabib (at) groundwire.org

Sam began his career at Groundwire as a volunteer in December 2005, then became a work-study student and finally a regular staff member in 2008. He has extensively documented many of the online tools used by Groundwire and our clients including the Plone Content Management System and Salesforce. He is now focused on delivering the Email Broadcasting consulting program and Salesforce consulting for Groundwire in addition to training, web analytics consulting, content strategy and related projects.

Sam holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Washington's Program on the Environment, now known simply as the College of the Environment. He also holds a Certificate in Restoration Ecology, which makes him a certified plant nerd (in addition to being a technology nerd).

Sam enjoys his home in West Seattle with his family, three cats, and seven chickens.

phone: 206.286.1235 x21 | email sam (at) groundwire.org

Eric Magnuson joins Groundwire to lead the Labs program and help pioneer a new model for catalyzing innovation for the environmental nonprofit sector. He comes to the position having spent the last fourteen years developing Web technologies and the last ten directly serving the needs of nonprofits online. Previously, Eric founded and was Managing Director of Web Collective, an eight person web consulting company focused on organizations with a sustainability mission. Before that, he founded a consulting company specializing in online business model development for progressive organizations. Going even further to his glorious “dot-com” days Eric worked for RealNetworks where he led a technology group serving national and global NGOs.

Eric holds a MBA in Sustainable Business from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute and a BS in computer science. Outside of work he and his wife, Sarah, are busy caring for their baby girl, large dog, three cats and horse, and when time allows, volunteering for local groups who build community and encourage more sustainable ways of living.

phone: 206.286.1235 x22 | email eric (at) groundwire.org

Dave Manelski is a database specialist who leads Groundwire’s CRM team. He has been a project leader on Groundwire’s largest CRM projects, including work with Green for All, Idaho Conservation League, the Alliance for Climate Education, Tree People, Dogwood Initiative, and The Story of Stuff.

In addition to his technology expertise, Dave has several years of experience in nonprofit communications, outreach, and fundraising which helps him translate complicated technology into user-friendly training and coaching. As an everyday bicycle commuter, he is passionate about promoting cycling as the ultimate form of transportation and recreation.

Dave and his wife, Suzanne, welcomed their first child (Alex) in March 2008.  Prior to becoming a parent, Dave enjoyed numerous outdoor pursuits.  He now spends his time away from work exploring local parks, chaperoning playground trips, and teaching the ABC's... although he looks forward to showing Alex how to fly fish and bicycle very soon.

Dave is a Salesforce.com Certified Force.com Developer.

phone: 206.286.1235 x31 | email davem (at) groundwire.org

Chris McCullough joins Groundwire with a combination of hands-on technical skills and nine years of in-the-trenches campaign experience. 

Chris was the campaign director for Congressman Jay Inslee and managed the successful I-937, a statewide renewable energy initiative.  He helped launch Fuse, an online progressive advocacy organization, and was the deputy director for the Obama campaign in Washington state.

Chris moved to Washington from Connecticut in 2000, and he knew he was staying after his first backpacking trip in the Pasayten Wilderness Area. When he isn't focused on campaign strategy or providing tech support to friends and family, he's building extraordinarily tall Lego towers with his three-year-old son, Jack.

phone: 206.286.1235 x19  | email chrism (at) groundwire.org