Last Tuesday, my sister and I attended Lincoln Network’s “Bites and Booze” open house in Capitol Hill at the Consumer Technology Association’s (CTA) house. (Yes, that CTA which hosts CES in Las Vegas every January.) The event was billed as both a holiday party and an open house.
As you all very well know, right-of-center politics doesn’t have the best representation in Silicon Valley. When former Google engineer James Damore unmasked bias happening at his former workplace back in August and got subsequently canned, this particularly came to light.
Enter Lincoln Network. Founded five years ago by Millennials Garrett Johnson and Aaron Ginn, this non-profit organization aims to bridge the gap between Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. More specifically, the group hopes to be an avenue “where liberty and technology meet.” Here’s more of their mission statement from their website:
Lincoln Network brings together leaders from both worlds to converse, collaborate and effect change. While our vision is audacious, our mission is concrete and our value, measurable. We emphasize action.
…
By leveraging the power of technology and fostering collaboration, we can promote economic and personal liberty throughout the country and the world.
Lincoln Network is starting to gain prominence in the public policy and technology realms. Back in August, CNN interviewed their co-founder about the difficulties center-right technologists face in Silicon Valley. Last week, they co-hosted a forum with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. More recently, the Wall Street Journal profiled their efforts on how to attract more conservatives and libertarians to their respective industry.
A year after the election of President Donald Trump, Silicon Valley started to recognize the need to diversify ideological views.
Below are some shots from the gathering:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcDytLongEV/?taken-by=gabriella_hoffman
Co-founder and executive director Garrett Johnson welcomed guests and proved to be a very gracious host. He detailed LN’s plans for the coming year and their intention to make Republican offices more technologically responsive. Another LN staffer, Alex Kouts, presented on the organization’s successes over the last year—particularly with the launch of Lincoln Deployed, a network of technologists for hire by nonprofits, campaigns, and organizations who align with the organization’s goals. These experts, the website notes, helped build up some of the most renowned tech companies and institutions including Facebook, Google, Slack and Uber. The website adds they are actively working on ” advancing liberty and freedom with their tech skills.”
The impression you get from interacting with LN’s staff and their surrogates is this: they are overtly friendly and extremely approachable—unlike what you hear about most individuals in Silicon Valley.
So not all is lost in Silicon Valley after all. Imagine that?
If you are curious to learn more about Lincoln Network or perhaps get involved, subscribe to their email newsletter and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. They will be doing some great things here in Washington, D.C., in the near future.