Having responded to disasters since Katrina hit in 2005, Thomas Hudson linked up with Team Rubicon in May, 2011 during their response to the shattering tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri. Having known of Team Rubicon since their initial deployment to the colossal earthquake in Haiti, Hudson...

Co-Authored with Christopher Neu

What's a development agency to do when the intended recipients of U.S. assistance don't want to be helped? This question is most certainly on the mind if those who have been working in USAID's Russian Federation foreign office, which will be ending its activities...

Co-written by Kevin Malone, Christopher Neu, and Greg Maly

Until recently, most health clinics in Uganda, and indeed across the continent of Africa, transmitted all of their data manually, sometimes by phone, but in most cases by sending messengers overland to each clinic -- big, small, urban and rural --...

The Blessings of Obscurity

For activist movements seeking positive change, there is only one thing worse than obscurity: the infliction of unintended negative consequences on those you are trying to help. The recent Kony 2012 campaign has been criticized for promoting just such a problematic theory of change...

"It may have been just noise to you and inspiring for someone else, but at the end of the day, it's still a waterfall." -- Modified anonymous quote via Facebook

A Challenge to Experts and a Call for Productive Engagement

The controversy surrounding the...

A revolution in Egypt: 18 days of tumultuous freedom fighting and a dictator is shamefully evicted. Seems straightforward, doesn't it? It's not. Egyptians have been working toward this outcome for years, yet the manner in which they achieved their revolution is clear-cut. Risking everything, far too often by dying, Egyptians...

Courageous and determined Egyptians are demonstrating to the existing dictatorship that they want democratic freedom. We must show our support today, and in the comings days of continued protests, for several reasons:

1. They need to know they are not alone in this uprising. It may seem like this is...

"If you had three wishes, what would they be?" Mark asks Angela who was living under a bridge in Atlanta. She cautiously responds saying "Good question. I'm not sure." These...

Terrorism. Extremism. Corruption. These are a few words commonly used to describe the issues that plague Pakistan. Religious fundamentalism breathes life into the extremist ideology that terrorizes our world and seems in particular to be threatening this 63 year old country. With a constitution that has been tossed to the...

The Internet has its enemies: Iran, China, Burma, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and more. As an increasing number of countries attempt to restrict Internet access, the U.S. government made freedom of expression on the Internet a primary foreign policy goal. A step toward achieving that goal was demonstrated in a...

Technology is boosting connectivity, engaging and enrolling the masses to push against repression faced by the people of Cuba, but it's going to take unlimited, uncensored access for technology to truly affect change. Creating a way for Cubans to securely communicate with the rest of the world, to freely express...