Ruby Sinreich is a leader in nonprofit technology with over 3 decades of experience translating progressive missions into effective technological strategies, solutions, and support. Most recently she served as the Senior Director of Internal Technology and Security at MomsRising.
Ruby was a founding member of the leadership team for Drupal Diversity and Inclusion in 2016, and served as an advisor to DDI until 2021. In earlier days, she created the first website for the North Carolina Justice Center, was the first online field organizer at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, consulted on network-centric organizing strategies for Greenpeace International and the American Civil Liberties Union, and led the development and management of one of the most active Drupal Commons communities in the world at HASTAC.
Ruby is passionate about open source software and open space meetings. She is a life-long activist and organizer, who can sometimes still be found at protests and PTA meetings. In 2003 she founded OrangePolitics, a progressive multi-author blog with a vibrant community discussing local issues around her hometown of Chapel Hill, NC. After being the editor and czar for 10 years she recruited and collaborated with new editors, successfully transitioning herself out of leadership in 2013.
“Ruby is one of the most smart and principled people I know, and a real force in the community.”
– Doc Searls
As the Senior Director of Internal Technology & Security, Ruby was the key technical leader responsible for overseeing and advancing MomsRising’s internal technology and security initiatives. This included strategic planning, ownership of core internal systems, and the implementation of technical projects that ensured the organization’s operations remained secure and efficient. She partnered with senior management to recommend technology solutions, optimize resources, and align internal IT strategies with broader organizational goals. By providing both vision and hands-on leadership, this position maintained robust, reliable, and secure infrastructure to support MomsRising’s mission. Ruby guided decisions and strategies, and held ownership of key technical systems, including websites, collaborative workspaces and tools, communication platforms, intranets, documentation tools, device purchasing and management, databases, and essential utilities such as password and digital asset management.
Ruby was previously Director of New Media Strategy at HASTAC, an innovative interdisciplinary network that works to build understanding of how digital media is changing how we teach and learn. She provided expertise on Internet policy and trends, as well as day-to-day management and on-going development of hastac.org, a complex and heavily-used Drupal web site that served as the public face, community center, competition winners’ hub, and operational home of HASTAC.
Before that she served as the Co-Director of Communications at the Fellowship of Reconciliation, an interfaith organization working for peace and justice through active nonviolence since 1914. Her other professional experience includes social network analysis, blogger outreach, organizer capacity-building, web site design and development, online communication strategy, and all manner of trainings. Ruby has helped hundreds of nonprofits use technology more effectively in service of their educational, movement-building, and political missions. She has worked with organizations of all sizes and scopes including local women’s centers, statewide advocacy organizations, and national and international institutions such as Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Greenpeace International, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
“Ruby Sinreich turned concept into reality for [Social Source Commons in 2005]… Ruby made a huge impact by drafting the wireframes for the initial user interface. Drawing on her savvy sense of emerging internet trends, Ruby’s design set SSC on the course that it still tracks to this day.”
– Allen Gunn, Social Source Commons History & Appreciations
Ruby is also an engaging and informative public speaker and and “open space” (a.k.a. unconference) facilitator. She has been a speaker, panelist, keynote, or facilitator at over 40 different conferences. Ruby has spoken at DrupalCon, South by Southwest Interactive, Harvard’s Berkman Center, NetSquared, IPDI’s Politics Online Conference, the Nonprofit Technology Conference, and many other events for advocacy organizations and technology communities.
Ruby earned a BSPH from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1993, and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University in 2000. She is a queer single parent, practices Engaged Buddhism, and lives with her son and their cats in Durham, NC.
Please see résumé for more information and links.
Selected events:
- DrupalCon North America 2021
Lightning talk: Five Things Drupal Developers Need to Know About Site Building - Bay Area Drupal Camp 2020
Co-presenter: Making a better community, better software, and a better world - DrupalCon Global 2020
Program committee member, Site Building track
Co-presenter: Volunteer-led strategies for helping the Drupal community - DrupalCamp Asheville 2020
Presenter: Five things that site builders need developers to know - Bay Area Drupal Camp 2019
Co-presenter: “But I’m Not Privileged” Why diversity, equity, & inclusion are everyone’s problem - DrupalCamp Colorado 2019
Co-presenter: “But I’m Not Privileged” Why diversity, equity, & inclusion are everyone’s problem - Nonprofit Technology Conference 2019
Co-organizer of pre-conference sessions by and for the Drupal community - Bay Area Drupal Camp 2018
Co-presenter: Drupal Diversity & Inclusion: Building a Stronger Community - DrupalGovCon 2018
Co-presenter: Drupal Diversity & Inclusion: Building a Stronger Community - Nonprofit Technology Conference 2018
Drupal Community Facilitator - DrupalCon North America 2017
Co-presenter: Baby Steps, Lessons Learned & Big plans for Drupal Diversity and Inclusion
Discussion leader: Security Strategies, Nonprofit Summit
Discussion leader: Drupal as a Tool for Social Change
Grant and Scholarship Selection Committee Member - NCTech4Good Unconference, 2011 – 2016
Unconference leader/facilitator.
Leadership Team member. - Ignite NTC 2011
“How to think like a network (a.k.a. Five aspects of effective networks in five minutes)“ - “The Unfinished Work”: Advancing New Strategies in the Struggle for Civil Rights 2010
Panel moderator: New Media and Messaging for Social Justice Advocates. - THATCamp RTP 2010
Unconference leader/facilitator and event co-organizer. - 2010 Conference & Public Policy Forum for North Carolina’s Nonprofit Sector 2010
Workshop co-presenter: “We are Media.” - N.C. Tech for Good Conference 2010
Speaker: “How to think like a network.” - UMR Communicators Conference 2010
Keynote speaker. - Ignite Raleigh 2009
Featured speaker: “Network-centricity in 5 minutes“ - National Conference for Media Reform 2008
Panelist: “Organizing for Change on the Social Web“ - Women Who Tech 2008
Panel moderator: “Build An Online Campaign And Change The World“ - Nonprofit Technology Conference 2008
Session designer and speaker: “Don’t Push the River, It Flows by Itself“ - ConvergeSouth 2007
Panelist: “We do agree to disagree“ - Yearly Kos 2007
Panelist: “Politics 2.0: How Social Networks and New Media Are Changing Politics” and “Promotion, Publicity, Powncing and Partnerships” - Personal Democracy Forum 2007
Panel moderator: “Is Cyberspace Colorblind? Addressing Race and Class Online“ - Nonprofit Technology Conference 2007
Session designer: “The future of online engagement”
Panelist: “The Community Driven Nonprofit: Web 2.0 Applied”
Panelist: “User-centric web publishing: Using RSS, tags, and microformats to give your stakeholders the content they want” - Politics Online Conference 2007
Panelist, “The Last Kingmakers: Local Blogs” - Berkman Center/Sunlight Foundation Working Meeting, 2007
Panelist and participant, “Local Candidate Information in the Internet Era” - Alliance for Regional Stewardship fall forum 2006
Panelist, “Communicating Regional Issues in a New Media World” - Net Squared Conference 2006
Panel immoderator, “Activism: when emailing your congressperson doesn’t quite feel like enough…“ - IFIwatchnet Council Meeting 2006
Presenter and facilitator, Network-Centric Advocacy - South by Southwest Interactive 2006
Panelist, “Revenge of the Blogs: Election 2008“ - N-TEN National Technology Conference 2006
Session designer and workshop facilitator, “The Future of Online Communications“ - Co-hosted online event at TechSoup: Impact of Web 2.0 on nonprofits, 2005
- Southeast regional meeting of Connect US 2005
Presentation on network-centric advocacy - Regional N-TEN conference (DC) 2004
Presentation on online advocacy - Regional N-TEN conference (NC) 2004
Presentation on choosing a vendor - PlaNetwork Interactive Conference 2004
Panelist on online advocacy strategies - University of North Carolina Executive Education Program 2003
Panelist on community blogging, - Federation of State Conservation Voters Leagues National Meeting 2002
Curbside consulting on web site development - Duke University Certificate in Nonprofit Management 2000 – 2003
Developed and taught HTML class for nonprofits - BlueCross BlueShield Healthy Community Institute 1999 – 2005
Presentations and curbside consulting on nonprofit web sites