Community Spotlight: Ryan Ko
Tech workers from across the Bay Area have joined TechEquity’s network and are giving their time, skills, and financial support to make their communities more equitable. We’re proud of our growing community full of smart, passionate, engaged citizens and we want to show them off!
Meet Ryan
I’m a Bay Area native from Fremont. A software engineer by training, I work as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where I advise governments, foundations, and companies on topics ranging from IT to organizational strategy. I moonlight as a progressive activist. With the little spare time I have, I play basketball, poker, and chess, as well as root for Bay Area sports teams.
What is your professional passion these days?
My professional passion is helping governments more responsibly deliver services to its citizens. Lately, I’ve been focusing on the large IT systems that drive health and human services such as Medicaid, SNAP, and TANF — working with my clients to ensure cost-effectiveness and quality of service delivery.
What does it mean to you to be a responsible citizen while working in tech?
Technology is responsible for so many wonderful advances in society — but each successive technological advance has significant implications (e.g., the impact of automation on employment, something I’ve spent a fair amount of time researching). As part of the tech community, I feel that awareness and understanding of these implications, from income inequality to digital privacy, is critically important. I try to stay abreast of these issues and pitch in where I can.
How has TechEquity impacted civic participation?
TechEquity is showing the first signs of a truly grassroots movement, led by rank-and-file members of the tech community. I can’t wait to see what the organization and team accomplishes next.
Why is it important for the tech community to become more civically engaged?
If we don’t — Silicon Valley will have some serious black marks marring its otherwise brilliant history. Simple as that.
Join members like Ryan
We are mobilizing the tech community to advocate for a tech-driven economy in the Bay Area that works for everyone. We believe the tech industry can and should generate widespread opportunity instead of inequality and displacement. When you become a TechEquity Member, you support our work to educate and activate tech workers on the most pressing issues facing the Bay Area. Become a Member today!
