PORTLAND, OREGON -- June 6, 2020 -- Free Geek announces that its Executive Director, Dan Bartholomew, has notified the Free Geek Board of Directors of his decision to step down from the role.
Since 2016, Dan has been instrumental in driving many new initiatives that have improved the lives of those in the Free Geek community, through sustainable reuse of technology, enabling digital access, and providing education to create a Free Geek community that empowers people to realize their full potential. Dan joined Free Geek as its first Executive Director, helping the organization thoughtfully transition from a collective-based management model to a CEO/manager model. This change provided stability to the organization and has had a lasting impact, by providing a solid foundation to support on-going growth.
Under Dan’s leadership, Free Geek achieved a number of key accomplishments that contributed to its expanded impact:
- Proudly served as a member of the Digital Inclusion Network, a regional working group focused on digital equity, and actively participated in the creation of the region’s Digital Equity Action Plan, which was adopted by both the City of Portland and Multnomah County.
- Became founding members and key participants in several national organizations including the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), Partners Bridging the Digital Divide, The National Cristina Foundation, and the Alliance for Technology Refurbishing & Reuse (AFTRR).
- Was formally recognized for its community work by Mayor Ted Wheeler of the City of Portland in a public statement encouraging local residents and businesses to donate their electronic waste to Free Geek and support its mission.
- Named a 2018 Recycler of the Year by the Association of Oregon Recyclers while being awarded the Alice Soderwall Reuse and Waste Prevention Award for its service to the community.
- In 2019 alone, Free Geek:
- Received 1,135,780 pounds of hazardous electronic waste, with 71% recycled and the remaining items refurbished.
- Gifted 1,306 computers back to the community to individuals and organizations in need of digital access
- Provided 4,131 total learning hours to over 1,605 participants.
- Supported 2,625 volunteers, who completed over 28,250 working hours.
Ryan Harvey, Chairman of the Board at Free Geek, stated: “Dan joined Free Geek at a critical time, when it needed to evolve its management model and establish a solid financial position to support its future goals. Dan leaves at a time that Free Geek is well-positioned to tackle new challenges that are critical to further its mission, to sustainably reuse technology and close the digital divide for the communities it serves. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Dan for his contributions as Executive Director and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
The Free Geek Board intends to appoint an Interim Executive Director while establishing a Search Committee with the goal of permanently filling the Executive Director role in the second half of 2020.