Bart Decrem

1992

Bart Decrem

Plugged In

http://www.pluggedin.org

East Palo Alto, CA, USA

Community Improvement & Economic Development, Education & Youth Leadership

The Bold Idea:

Bridging the digital divide between East Palo Alto, CA and the surrounding Silicon Valley.

Biography:

Born and raised in Belgium, Bart moved to the US and got a law degree at Stanford. After graduation, he stayed in East Palo Alto, a low-income community just miles from the heart of Silicon Valley, and started Plugged In, one of the nation’s first digital divide programs. During a visit in 2000, President Clinton honored Plugged In as a model for programs around the world.

Bart left Plugged In in March of ‘99 to co-found Eazel, an open source start-up that helped make the Linux computer operating system easier to use. Among other projects, he coordinated the creation of the GNOME Foundation.

In March 2001, he moved to Korea, working as Vice President of Business Development at Linux One, Inc, a Korean provider of Linux-based hardware solutions and as Vice President of Business Development for Hancom Linux, a maker of Linux-based productivity solutions for desktop PCs and handheld devices.

From the creation of the Mozilla Foundation in July of 2003 until the launch of Firefox 1.0 in November, 2004, Bart headed marketing and business affairs for the Mozilla Foundation. He coordinated Firefox marketing activities and business affairs, including the Firefox 1.0 launch and several key business partnerships.

After leaving Mozilla, Bart founded Flock, which is building the web browser that lets you connect with friends. He worked as Flock’s CEO until the Summer of ‘06.

He currently works as an advisor for a number of projects and startup companies and he serves on the board of directors of the McCullum Group, a Fund of Funds with a social mission.

In addition, Bart has worked on a number of other projects, including chairing the Community Technology Centers Network, co-founding Full Circle Fund and serving on the Community Technology Advisory Board for SBC/Pacific Bell. He has authored a report and follow-on article on the state and prospects for Linux on the desktop.