Born in West Africa to foreign service parents, Nicco Mele is a Co-Founder and Partner at EchoDitto. Mele has broad experience working with emerging technologies and is a considered a pioneer in the social media and Web 2.0 field. As the Internet Operations Director of Gov. Dean's presidential primary campaign in 2003, Mele managed all technical, functional and design aspects of Gov. Dean's national web presence. Mele is a co-founder of GeniusRocket.com, a crowd sourced creative ad agency, and he is a co-founder of ProxyDemocracy.com, an online resource for proxy voting and shareholder resolutions. In December of 2003, Mele was named one of America's "best and brightest" by Esquire magazine. Mele teaches at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and was a Fall 2008 Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University. Mele sits on the board of Democracy 21, a non-partisan campaign finance reform group, founded by Fred Wertheimer, and the Lower East Side Girls Club. He is passionate about modern poetry and Mayan archaeology. He is a co-founder of the Massachusetts Poetry Festival.

Michael Silberman, Co-Founder and Partner, managed the Dean campaign's hugely successful Meetup operation in over 1,200 cities worldwide. Today, he speaks frequently on the effective use of technology for converting online activity into real-world action. He also served as the 1Sky climate campaign's Internet Director during its first year, where he planned, led, and implemented a successful nationwide internet organizing, communications, and fundraising strategy. As Dean’s National Meetup Director, he developed a team and technology strategy that mobilized 189,000 grassroots volunteers, and he served as the liaison between grassroots organizers, the activist base and campaign leadership. Michael also gained valuable organizing and political experience at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and in the Clinton White House at the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). He graduated on skis with a B.A. from Middlebury College.

Follow Michael on twitter: @silbatron

Prior to joining EchoDitto, Cristen Perks, Partner and Director of Client Services, was a consultant specializing in the creation and marketing of custom issue advocacy campaigns. During the 2004 election, she worked in online advertising at MSHC Partners. It was there that she developed and implemented large-scale online advertising strategies for issue advocacy groups and political campaigns, including John Kerry for President and the Democratic National Committee. Additionally, Cristen has significant experience in online campaign management, search engine marketing and optimization, and technical project management. Cristen Perks received her MBA and degrees in Management Information Systems and Graphic Design from the University of Tulsa.

Partner and Chief Technology Officer Justin Pinder was absorbed by the Internet as a young child and was only recently spit back out to co-found EchoDitto in 2004. An avid tinkerer, he is known for taking apart everything he owns—from iPods to air conditioners—and finding ways to make ordinary devices to do things they shouldn't. Prior to EchoDitto, he was the lead web developer for Howard Dean’s revolutionary online organizing effort. He graduated from the University of Vermont with a B.Sc. in information systems.

Joshua Wachs, Managing Partner at EchoDitto, has been merging creativity and technology for the last 21 years. In 1987, after graduating from Emerson College with a degree in Mass Communications, he founded a Massachusetts custom database development and consulting company. For more than 12 years, Wachs was President, CEO, and visionary behind Natural Intelligence, Inc. Known nationally and internationally for its innovative custom technology, Natural Intelligence was recognized for pioneering software in the Java world, creating Roaster, a first-to-market Java Development Environment and clean-room virtual machine for the Macintosh. Despite demanding career activities, Wachs is an active participant in a wide variety of community activities. He was an early supporter and contributor to a variety of industry volunteer networks, including The Boston Computer Society. He was a member of the YEO (Young Entrepreneurs Association), is on the Board of Directors for Voice of the Turtle, and was a corporate sponsor of Public Radio. He can be found Twittering at http://twitter.com/schwachs.

Before joining the team as EchoDitto’s Finance Manager, Mark Archibald held several roles in both the Finance and Transportation fields including Corporate Service Center Manager, Manager of Industrial Engineering, and Divisional Administrative Center Manager. None of these roles taught him more than his first entrepreneurial endeavor at age 9 as the President and CEO of Mark’s Mowing Company based in Altamont, NY. Mark received his BA in Aviation Management, Flight Operations, and Accounting From Daniel Webster College in Nashua, NH. He may be known as the funny guy, however he aspires to someday be the coolest guy in the office. When he’s not busy crunching the EchoDitto numbers, you could probably find him competing on the volleyball court. Other interests include his family, the Red Sox, hanging out with friends, and riding his Harley.

Déja Augustine, soft-spoken Software Architect, has been whispering the subtle language of computers since he wrote his first text-based adventure game using BASIC on an 8086 at the age of seven. Whether developing cross-compilers, online game engines, web services, or data-driven websites, the subsequent decades found Déja keeping close to his roots. Even while earning his BA at the University of Wisconsin - Madison (Major: English, emphasis Creative Writing, Joint Major: History/History of Science, Certificate: European Studies), he continued to work full-time, in both the public and private sectors, developing and teaching courses on software and technology. Whether guest lecturing in a course on database architecture to UW Library and Information Studies grad students, working with subject-matter experts to develop a training course on radiation therapy planning and delivery software, or developing an accessible online community to connect visually impaired K-12 students from across the state of Wisconsin, Déja seeks to put his knowledge to work to better the world around him.

Bryn Bellomy, Software Architect, began his career as a software developer writing simple computer games when he was 12. He spent his next ten years self-employed as a freelance web designer in Houston. Bellomy is a recent graduate of Georgetown University, where he studied political theory, cultural theory, and philosophy. Bellomy traveled to Kantolomba, Zambia in 2007 to assist an NGO in setting up a small microfinance bank and developing an adult curriculum for business, English, and public health. With this intoxicating experience under his belt, he decided to direct his energies toward supporting progressive causes and international development organizations by joining the EchoDitto team in Washington, DC.

Travis Black, Software Architect, is a development ninja with an arsenal of tools in his belt including PHP, Ruby, and even small doses of Python. He began his web development career in high school building websites for rock bands, including his own. Black began his professional career learning PHP at a Northeast Louisiana e-commerce company in 2005. Travis is also an active member of the Symfony/Doctrine community and a frequent contributor to both projects. He organizes the Symfony Showdown, a 48 hour Symfony programming competition, and can often be found speaking at meetups and user groups to teach others about the technologies he uses most often.

Project manager Matt Burge has been online ever since he can remember, embracing the ever changing scope of the online world. Prior to joining EchoDitto he managed the development of applications for large corporations including financial forecasting tools, relationship management software and social media websites. Matt also worked closely with his clients to plan, manage and execute multi-faceted marketing campaigns. Matt holds a B.A. from St. Mary's College of Maryland where he studied economics and political science with an emphasis on international studies. During his free time he enjoys hiking and camping, aimlessly beating on his keyboard attempting to make beautiful music, and trying to keep his puppy under control.

Juan González, Project Manager, is an internet innovator and a social media strategist. He created the Play by Post platform, an interactive methodology for user generated content on the internet, and founded Aelyria, an original web-based creative social network for fantasy world writers, artists, and musicians. Prior to this work, Juan gained extensive experience in program management by overseeing the offshore development operations for a global consulting firm. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he holds a B.A. in History and Government and is a subject matter expert in Islam and the Middle East and a certified specialist in global mobility and immigration. He is a passionate open source advocate and online community activist, actively involved in numerous online causes and organizations.

Tony Guzmán, Project Manager, is a lifelong activist. Tony was born and raised in San Francisco and received his BA in history at San Francisco State University. Upon graduating, he moved to Las Vegas to become a community organizer in the anti-nuclear movement. Tony led campaigns to stop the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump and nuclear weapons testing in Nevada. He also helped found a national network of youth and students committed to nuclear abolition called Think Outside the Bomb. In 2007, Tony continued his slow trek east by moving to Salt Lake City to work for a nonprofit organization called DharmaTech that provides website and database solutions to progressive nonprofit organizations. In 2010, Tony jumped at the chance to join the EchoDitto team to continue his passion for strengthening the intersection between social change and technology. Tony has a soft place in his heart for baseball, Mexican food, and hip-hop.

Dominique Hodo is an Operations Coordinator in the D.C. office. While pursuing a B.A. in Law and Society from Penn State University, she has worked in real estate, finance and event planning. Growing up in mainframe rooms made her a technology enthusiast, while working with Habitat for Humanity and Hurricane Katrina relief influenced her passion for social change. During her free time, Dominique enjoys reading philosophy and poetry, playing guitar and going for the 250 marker at the driving range.

Lisa Howey is a savvy web designer from New Hampshire who believes that design can effect positive change in the world. Her professors at Alfred University encouraged designing for the greater good and she is happy to join the team at EchoDitto. She began her online career at WhippleHill Communications in Bedford, NH designing award-winning websites for Independent Schools. When she is not hard at work you can find her outside running her dog, jamming out to some good tunes, or watching the Celtics.

Systems Administrator Alan Ivey has been exploring technology since using a Commodore 64 when he was six years old. While still in college, he was accepted his first sysadmin job in DC as a contractor for NASA Headquarters. Before joining the EchoDitto team, Alan spent a year leading volunteer-based teams at Momentum Christian Church for video editing, graphic design, and website development. While not at EchoDitto, his time is spent finishing school at the University of Mary Washington College of Graduate and Professional Studies, building websites for non-profit organizations, and playing music.

Jeremy has been an activist ever since he accidentally ate the red pill instead of the more harmless blue one. He's been an advocate for an assortment of human rights issues, including (but not limited to) debt cancellation for developing nations, closing the School of the Americas, decent groundwater standards in Indiana, and sustainable globalization. In college, he became both horrified and fascinated by the idea of artificial intelligence and studied Cognitive Science and Logic in order to prove the uniqueness of human free will. Once set loose in the real world, he decided to use his programming skills to motor the movement for a just world, and so learned the LAMP stack in order to become a more effective Drupalista. He is passionate about open source, Linux, bicycles, motorcycles, and any type of cycle, generally. He loves fixing machines, empowering technologies, philosophy, and poetry. He is currently holding a steady job in order to fund his wife, Charity Ryerson, as she studies to become a human rights lawyer.

Madeleine Perry has been avidly writing and reading since she was very young, and joined EchoDitto with a B.A. in English from Washington College in Chestertown, MD. Most recently, Madeleine worked as a researcher for Conflicts Forum, an organization dedicated to opening and fostering new relationships between the West and the Muslim world. Her interests include writing, reading, baseball, and playing the violin. She is an avid participant in many online communities, especially those relating to her beloved Chicago Cubs.

Jenn Schlick, Front-End Developer, found her passion for design at an early age. She cut her teeth in screen printing, designing and selling t-shirts to save an acre of rainforest. She received a degree in Journalism from the University of Maine, where she helped to establish the Student Innovation Center for student entrepreneurs. Jenn began her career working in technology start-ups and was a freelance designer and usability consultant before joining EchoDitto. She is an avid reader and bicyclist.

Patrick St. John, Creative Director, has been designing and art directing for more than a decade. He has worked in a variety of mediums, including publications, advertising, web, and video. A graduate of Moravian College in Graphic Design & Political Science, Patrick has always sought to link "doing good design" with "doing good." He was heavily involved in student organizing within the larger environmental, labor, and economic justice movements. After college, he moved down to Washington DC to design and organize with social justice non-profits and activist groups, including People For the American Way, the National Black Justice Coalition, and the Schott Foundation. He joins the Boston office to help build out EchoDitto's design and creative capacity.

Before coming to EchoDitto, Web Developer Paul Venuti spent several years as a technical writer, a job which allowed him to make good use of his innate technological understanding and his BA in English from Boston College. Not content with just writing about software, however, he started building his own websites, and eventually started doing the same for a few non-profit organizations. Paul was attracted to EchoDitto's list of progressive, socially responsible clients, and is excited to be putting his energy toward causes and organizations he believes in. During his down time, Paul enjoys running, brewing his own beer, following the Red Sox, and making a dent in his ever-growing list of books to read.

Katie Wiese is an Office Administrator at EchoDitto. She has her BA in creative writing from Western Washington University and is currently pursuing her MFA in creative nonfiction at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. She saunters into the Boston office every once in a while to make word jokes … balancing out the Dittos’ nerd jokes. And will usually throw in a rhyme. If there’s time. Otherwise, she is deep in the midst of researching her forthcoming book and reveling in Ditto Culture.

Software Architect Ethan Winn has been developing multimedia and internet technologies since 1994, when he supported customers using one of the first available web browsers, SlipKnot. The SlipKnot web browser, released prior to Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer, allowed individuals without dial-up connections to browse the fledgling web using pre-internet era file transfers such as XMODEM and Kermit. Winn went on to work in music production, assisting engineers developing many of the major labels' hits in the 90's. In 1999, he began building websites and programming custom content management systems specialized for marketing music via the emerging viral marketing ecosystems of the web boom. Ethan built his first site with the Drupal open source CMS in 2001, and in 2005 decided to refocus his work on projects with socially responsible, visionary organizations build on open source platforms.