People of Long Now

Alexander is an industrial designer and has been working with The Long Now Foundation and computer scientist Danny Hillis since 01997 to build a monument scale, all mechanical 10,000 Year Clock. Alexander speaks about the work of The Long Now Foundation all over the world at venues ranging from the TED conference to corporations and government agencies.

As the director of Long Now, Alexander

Rebecca is a seasoned social impact leader with 20+ years of experience supporting organizational growth across art, culture, and technology. Her expertise is in strategic planning, organization and team building, and partnering with philanthropists, having raised over $50 million for social change.

Rebecca has spent her career supporting visionary ideas and new ways of thinking. Most recently, Rebecca served as Chief Operating Officer at the

Danielle Engelman joined the Long Now team in 02006 to research, develop and implement the first Membership program for the organization, working alongside Executive Director, Alexander Rose, and Lead Technologist, Benjamin Keating. Danielle brought her deep experience in the art and education spheres, along with her commitments to community engagement and individual intellectual growth to the project.

Membership now plays a key role in the

Nicholas is helping shape the second generation of The Long Now Foundation. He directs our fundraising, and has raised capital for creative projects his entire life. He has a background in systems engineering and philosophy—with a special interest in aesthetics, hermeneutics, and phenomenology. In a past life, he performed with progressive rock bands in Chicago. In this life, he reads, writes, and meditates on

Andrew has been at Long Now since 02013 working on many of Long Now's public programs with Director of Programs Danielle Engelman. He currently co-produces Long Now's talks, manages the Long Bets program, manages Long Now's video team, and shepherds many of Long Now's technical projects along.

Andrew received his BA from Reed College studying Religion and techno-futurism before moving to the Bay Area. His

Working on the Membership team, Juliann Witt focuses on growing the organization's reach through digital communications, marketing and in-person experiences. She cultivates deeper relationships with the local and global membership, and general public via thoughtfully crafted messaging, and in-person at Long Now events and gatherings.

Juliann is also a professional contemporary dancer, performing in the Bay Area and beyond with established choreographers including Robert Moses’

As the Member Program Associate, Natassia Balderston turns everyday membership interactions into delightful experiences. She supplements institutional knowledge and capacity of the management team with research, sourcing, and other requested projects.

Natassia previously focused on production of niche music events, customer experience at specialty retailers, and fulfillment for The Flenser music record label. She engages with creative energy though attending experimental shows, seeking out eclectic

A member of the Long Now community for 12 years before joining staff as Member Program Associate, Casey is helping nurture and grow Long Now’s membership.

In addition to his experience and enthusiasm, Casey’s help includes but is not limited to:
his empathy when assisting membership with any and all their needs,
his craftsmanship when artfully packaging fulfillment for members and donors,
his

As Technical Lead, Dan develops and maintains the web infrastructure of The Long Now Foundation, as well as assisting with the various projects' technical needs as they arise. A member since 02008, he is curious about data stewardship, hardware/software survivability, and the intersection of software engineering, open-source, and nonprofits.

Prior to The Long Now, Dan was the first engineering hire at StyleSeat, and before

James is a designer and technologist living at sea aboard a sailboat called Rejoice. He has been working with Long Now since 02000, and helped design and engineer The Rosetta Project and Long Bets. In 02021, he designed and built this very website. James has over twenty five years of experience helping organizations of all sizes transform ambiguous complexity into powerful tools that help people

Ahmed Kabil is a writer, editor and multimedia storyteller. He joined Long Now in January 02017 after being a volunteer for years. At Long Now, he writes, edits, and commissions articles on long-term thinking. He also publishes Long Now’s monthly member newsletter. From 02019-21, he served as Long Now’s Head of Social Media. He has also video edited and produced Long Now cinematic

Jacob Kuppermann manages Long Now's social media presence with the goal of building an intellectual community online. Prior to arriving at Long Now in 02021, they studied ecological and technological communities at Stanford University, graduating with an M.S. in Earth Systems, a B.S. in Biology, and a B.A. in History, writing a senior thesis on the community structures that allowed for the

Justin has been with the Long Now since 02018 and moved into the role of Video Director and Editor when the Long Now extended their media goals. As a long time editor, Justin worked at large companies like Disney’s ImageMovers Digital before moving on to being a freelance video producer. Having been raised in the Bay Area and graduating from UC Santa Cruz’s

Deborah Yoon Zacharias plays a key role in Development and Programs for The Long Now Foundation. She has worked closely with Nicholas Paul Brysiewicz on fundraising initiatives for the organization and currently runs the End of Year fundraising campaign, which directly supports Long Now operations and programming. She also oversees various donor projects, such as The Interval Bottle Keep program, as well as special events

Following her call to pursue authentic stories centered around natural and social sciences, Shannon carved a niche as a multimedia filmmaker specializing in documentaries and soul-driven content. She continues to explore the intersection between human rights and nature, utilizing her background to continually work on connecting communities around the world through storytelling. Shannon’s credits include the films: We Are As Gods (SXSW Premiere), SEED:

Ty spent years catering, voraciously reading cocktail books and bartending manuals, before breaking into the industry. He joined The Interval in 02016 as Lead Bartender under the tutelage of Jennifer Colliau. Now, as Beverage Director, he welcomes the responsibility of honoring the artisans behind every ingredient served at The Interval.

Cameron is an experienced local event producer with a background in art activism, community theater, and film production.

Tre Balchowsky is a communications strategist and a public speaking coach. For the last decade, she has prepared speakers of all kinds, from researchers and technologists to historians and amateurs, to take the stage, from large auditoriums to intimate salons, from IRL and live-streaming. She is also co-founder of Odd Salon, an event series and podcast of "Cocktail Hour Salons for Curious Minds".

KC joined The Long Now Foundation in 02014 as a Barista at The Interval. After some time behind the bar, she ran away to work on sailing ships up and down the west coast. After years of working on everything from commercial ferries to traditionally rigged tall ships, she earned her 100 Ton Master's license from the Coast Guard in 02017.

KC brings her unique

Kat was a Rosetta Intern and Museum Associate from 02010-02011, and a SALT volunteer until 02014. These days, Kat is a PhD student at NYU. She studies how experience shapes young children’s attention and learning, particularly in contexts of poverty and stress.

A key aim of her research is to create and collaborate on innovative uses of technology and statistical methods for developmental research.

Roseann Baker joined the Long Now team in February 02016 to assist with the growing membership program. She works directly with both new and existing members and also assists with Front of House for the Seminars About Long-term Thinking and Interval events.

Roseann is a dancer and movement educator compelled by the complexity and mystery of the human body. She received her BFA in dance

Kurt is a computer scientist with a research background in the areas of machine learning, digital libraries, and electro-cardiographic modeling. He received a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and was co-creator of the CiteSeer research tool while a researcher at The NEC Research Institute . He was the technical director of The Internet Archive, and a research engineer at

Catherine Borgeson began her time with Long Now in July of 02012 as a museum associate. Currently, she helps with the Seminars About Long-term Thinking, membership program and Salon development and contributes to the blog.

A California native, she is a hobby photographer, radio fiend and avid scuba diver. Other than doing freelance radio and multimedia work during her free time, she enjoys a good

Laura Welcher is a linguist with research interests in endangered language documentation, description and revitalization, as well as the growing subdiscipline of computer-assisted linguistics. She received a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley, where she learned first hand the importance of creating digital language resources that last in her field research with critically endangered North American languages. Since then she has

Todd took a circuitous route to bartending, studying philosophy before attempting a writing career, ending up in the world of craft cocktails just shy of his 40th birthday. He joined the Interval team in 02014 as a barback, quickly making his way to bartender and then assistant manager. Now, as Beverage Director, he looks forward to telling stories through menus and their changes through time.

An award-winning bartender and sought after authority on classic cocktails and contemporary mixology, Jennifer has been a bartender and bar consultant for nearly two decades in the San Francisco and LA areas. She founded Small Hand Foods to revive century-old cocktail ingredients, and now makes a line of hand-crafted bar syrups that are used by bartenders in the Bay Area and around the country. Also

Simone Davalos is Owner of Combots LLC.  Her work centers on robotics education and the promotion of tomorrow’s engineers. Combots LLC seeks to provide an entertaining and educational experience in robotics and engineering for audiences of all ages. Their exhibitions (The Combots Cup, Robogames, private corporate events) combine the excitement of extreme sports events with the solid foundation of engineering and art.

Now in

Camille Davila is an international songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and recording artist who moves around in a beautiful landscape of melodic electronica and glamorous synth-pop.

Born in Los Angeles, California, she spent most of her teenage years ping ponging the west coast until relocating to Europe, primarily England. In 2000 she signed to Below Records to release her debut album,”Not For The Disco”. Two European

As Associate Director of Operations, Whitney wrangled many details and helped keep Long Now running smoothly. That included vital activity like finances and fundraising, Seminar and other event logistics, managing the Long Now Salon renovation project, helping out with events, and generally keeping the Long Now office running / caffeinated.

A California native, she has managed many things: software projects, stages, a small chain of organic

Graham has been actively involved in the Bay Area non-profit and arts community since her formative years at The Long Now Foundation. She is an artist and designer whose work gains insight from the study of video game design and historical cartography. Recently, Graham has worked as an educator and contributes to the arts education programs at Southern Exposure and Out of Site in San

As Outreach and Development Manager, Charlotte contributes to the growth of The Long Now Foundation by cultivating and fostering fund development opportunities to support its variety of programs. An experienced writer and editor, she also contributes regular content to the Long Now Blog and Quarterly newsletter, and helps out at the Seminars About Long-term Thinking.

A native of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Charlotte holds a PhD

Robert was Office Manager for Long Now in 2001.

Joe has over 20 years experience building highly effective technical teams and directing expert staff in design and deployment of enterprise architectures.

Jim was the founder and director of the Rosetta Project from 01999 to 02006. He's a General Specialist working at the intersection of engineering, anthropology and information science. He is a graduate of Stanford University, with degrees in Anthropology and Philosophy, after a long tour of Mechanical Engineering (yes, he has difficulty sticking to one discipline).

He directed the New Guinea Sculpture Garden at Stanford,

Michael was the face of the Conversations at The Interval speaking series until he died in 2020. Our remembrance of him: Michael McElligott, A Staple of San Francisco Art and Culture, Dies at 50. An event producer since his college days, Michael was active in San Francisco’s art and theater scene as a performer and instigator of unusual events for more than 20 years.

Alex began working at Long Now in January of 02011. His experiences during the previous few years as a history student at American University in Washington, DC (during the cooler months) and a forest ecology researcher in Nevada, Colorado and Montana (during the warmer ones) both contributed to his interest in the Foundation’s long-term perspective. Through his field work in Nevada he has become

Forrest has worked with the Long Now since 02016 and is currently Video Director and Editor. He collaborates with the video team to make the cinematic lectures Long Now has produced since 02020.

Forrest is an environmental documentary filmmaker and the films he has produced, shot or edited have been broadcast nationally, won accolades and awards, and have helped to drive positive change in our

Kristen Shuken joined the Long Now team in February 02016. She works as the Operations Associate supporting the staff and ensuring the smooth running of day-to-day tasks. Kristen received her Masters in Public Health from UCLA focusing on women’s health and reproductive rights.

She has spent time working and living in New York, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Australia before coming back to her home

Contessa grew up surrounded by mountains in Taos, New Mexico. Since childhood, Contessa has had a keen interests in the arts and amongst the various art forms, enjoys painting and bookmaking. She received her BA in Studio Art from Colorado College in 02005 and has traveled extensively throughout her time in and out of studies. While at CC, Contessa spent a semester in Oaxaca, Mexico

Robin worked in the Museum & Store as well as managing the Long Now press archive. Her interests are moving in and around the world, and learning how to make anything. Other long-term goals are to road-trip through the contiguous 48 states and build her own house.