Announcing NMV’s New President, Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman

Published

By Christie George

In the categories:

I couldn’t be more proud of the work NMV has done over the past decade to create a center of gravity for progressive innovation. We’ve supported nearly 90 founders as they’ve launched new projects using tech and media to make the world better. The organization is on strong footing, and while it’s strange to announce a leadership transition in the midst of the growing COVID-19 crisis, I’m pleased to share that Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman is going to be NMV’s next president. I’ve known Taren for years, but for those of you who will be meeting her for the first time, here’s why I’m so excited about her leadership.

Taren is a brilliant founder and technologist who understands how tech and media can solve some of our biggest problems.

As the founder of SumOfUs, Taren understands what it takes for a startup to successfully address the biggest problems facing our democracy. She also knows firsthand how vital early funding can be for an organization’s sustainability. With seed funding from NMV, Taren grew SumOfUs to a global organization of 5 million members running winning campaigns around the world. Then, in 2017, she served as our Entrepreneur-in-Residence, supporting organizations like Swing Left and Mijente as they scaled their operations. And just last year, Taren contributed her expertise as a member of our Investment Committee during our open call diligence process. She’s been a part of the NMV community and a leader in the progressive movement for a long time, and I can’t wait to see what she’ll achieve as our new president.

Taren joins NMV at a pivotal moment as we continue to fund innovative approaches to messaging, movement building, and mobilization – work that is all the more urgent given the 2020 election cycle and COVID-19 pandemic. Her experience as a rapid-response campaigner and deep connections across the movement have already been and are going to be invaluable as we all grapple with COVID-19. If you haven't seen it yet, check out this piece that Taren, Eli Pariser and others put together last week.

This pandemic could destabilize our democracy, derail movements for change, and disproportionately impact our most vulnerable communities. At a moment when funders have a huge responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen, I’m honored to take over the helm of New Media Ventures. NMV has been the heart of progressive innovation for the past decade, and we need that now more than ever.

— Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman

Taren is a brilliant founder and technologist who understands how tech and media can help solve some of our biggest problems. I’m eager to see her build on NMV’s track record in this critical time. For more from Taren on how she and NMV are poised to meet the challenges ahead, check out her Medium post here. I feel confident about NMV's future knowing that Taren will be leading the way.