Grass Commons - About Us

About Grass Commons

Fri, 01 Apr 2005 11:18:52 -0800

Grass Commons, a 501(c)3 public interest charity, is building pipelines between those who can generate information about products and companies and those who can use that information to build a more sustainable economy and a better world.

Founders Ethan McCutchen and Lewis Hoffman, both accomplished software developers with extensive experience in large-scale web applications and database management, saw a gap between the information we need to shop ethically and the information we have when we shop. Grass Commons was formed to prove the Information Age consumer could do better.

Currently we’re focused on developing Wagn, a wiki which handles more structured data and more complex relationships than other wikis. We’re already using it to host Hooze, which has some product information. As Wagn matures, we’re restoring attention to nurturing Hooze into a thriving community of people sharing their experience with different companies and products.

Eugene, Oregon is home to a community of active citizens and organizations working toward sustainability with drafting boards, paintbrushes, hoes, calculators, hammers, microphones, spoons, pencils, and rubber boots. We’re adding a few more tools to the mix.

Mission Statement

Sat, 21 May 2005 13:03:17 -0700

our mission

To help people get the information they need to steer markets toward the common good.

our vision

To build open communities that give everyone the power to understand, shape, and feel connected to the marketplace.

Friends of Grass Commons

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 22:04:19 -0700

Grass Commons bears the fingerprints of all who’ve pondered, pieced apart, prodded, and pushed our ideas.

All of our projects are about forming connections — between concepts, between software, and most importantly between people. Nothing we do works when we’re alone, which is why we’re so grateful to be working together with so many who share our vision.

We owe a tremendous debt to every who has helped nurture Grass Commons and its designs. Special thanks are due the following:

Donors

Tue, 05 Apr 2005 14:10:33 -0700

Our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has supported Grass Commons’ efforts, including:

Saints NICK

Joseph C. McCutchen
Meyer Memorial Trust
Griff Miller
New Belgium Brewery
Brandon CS Sanders
Mark Rorabaugh and Ryan Whelan
Omidyar Network

NICKer Backers

Mark Arehart
Rudy Berg
Chris Bright
William Wallace and Mary Elizabeth Finlator
Roberta Hoffman
Josh Koenig
Justin Lowell-Bellew
Elizabeth McCutchen
Matthew and Nash McCutchen
Jean Russell
Leslie Rutberg
Darcy Strange
Holly Higgins Wilcher
Free Geek
Greenhome.com
Sage Creek Naturals

Grass Commons Staff

Tue, 05 Apr 2005 12:38:53 -0700

Executive Director: Ethan McCutchen

Ethan McCutchen co-founded Grass Commons to cultivate the Network of Integrated Consumer Knowledge (NICK), a fusion of his interests in sustainability and software. Having majored in music composition, taught English in Russia and Japan, studied cognitive neuroscience in Scotland, researched primates in Thailand, volunteered in several Latin American countries, and backpacked wherever else he could, Ethan now does most of his exploration online. He’s into system architecture, sustainability indicators, human and computer languages, collaboration, community music, voting systems, and incessant bad jokes.

Technical Director: Lewis Hoffman

Lewis heads all of Grass Commons’ software development. Previously with Two Radical Technologies (1998-2004) he led development on a powerful, modular, integrated suite of web applications called Advocacy Central. During that time he also completed his master’s in Computer Sciences from George Mason University, focusing on artificial intelligence. He’s also received degrees from Davidson College in German and Physics. An avid outdoor enthusiast and student of sustainability thinking, Lewis was drawn to the NICK project by both its technical challenges and its social and environmental importance. His current software interests include information retrieval and extraction, data integration, and the semantic web.

Board of Directors

Tue, 05 Apr 2005 12:29:11 -0700

Shari Aaron

Director of Development StartingBloc; Founder, Fresh Marketing

Chris Bright

President, Earth Sangha; former Senior Researcher, Worldwatch Institute

Lewis Hoffman, Founder and President,

Technical Director, Grass Commons; Systems Engineer, alonovo, CTO, Valid Query Incorporated

Justin Lowell-Bellew

Founder, Mana Mushrooms; Former Sales Associate, KLD Research & Analytics

Ethan McCutchen, Founder and Secretary,

Executive Director, Grass Commons; Director of Research and Analytics, alonovo; CEO, Valid Query Incorporated

Brandon Sanders

Founder, SolSeed; Technical Director, IBESI