Andrew Rasiej named Chairman of NYTM Board of Directors
February 25th, 2010 · Comments - innonate
Hi Fellow NY Tech Meetup Members,
Last January, when I started organizing the NY Tech Meetup, I did so with your support to leverage our amazing community to serve the broader New York technology community. As part of that, I worked with Scott Heiferman and dawn barber — the co-founders of NYTM — to pull together a Board of Directors which could help lead our organization forward. You can meet our Board members here.
Today, we are very proud announce that we’ve elected Andrew Rasiej as Chairman of our Board of Directors.
Below, please find the Press Release on the mater. We’re lucky to have Andrew help lead us, and I’m excited to start announcing some of new programs and initiatives we’ve been working on on both the board and grassroots level.
Best,
Nate
NY TECH MEETUP NAMES ENTREPRENEUR
ANDREW RASIEJ CHAIRMAN OF BOARD OF DIRECTORSNew York, NY – February 25, 2010—The NY Tech Meetup announced that Andrew Rasiej, a longtime New York resident, business person and social entrepreneur, has been elected Chairman of the organization’s Board of Directors.
With more than 12,000 members—including entrepreneurs, software engineers, marketers, venture capitalists, and the people who serve this group—The NY Tech Meetup has become the world’s largest Meetup—among nearly 100,000 independently run Meetups globally. Its mission is to: “Advance the New York technology community for its people and the world.”
Each month, over 700 members gather in a standing room-only auditorium to preview the latest advances and companies that are transforming our commercial, media, and societal landscape.
NY Tech Meetup was established in 2004 by Scott Heiferman and Dawn Barber. Heiferman started Meetup.com in 2002 and used it to start the NY Tech Meetup. Heiferman is currently the Chairman/Founder/CEO of Meetup.com and turned over his position as NY Tech Meetup “organizer” to Nate Westheimer, who was elected by the members in a special election. In addition, a board of directors was formed, which, in turn, voted Andrew Rasiej as Chairman.
There is currently no specific term for this position but the organization plans on issuing new governances to allow for member input on board selection and terms of service.
“I am honored to be given an opportunity to help lead the New York Tech Meetup because I know that among our members are the leaders who will help bring 21st century innovation to New York City, and the country at a critical time in our history,” said Rasiej.
“Andrew has a long history of dedication to New York City and its tech industry and will us help advance our mission to promote the positive impact that technology can have on our city, bringing innovation to the lives of all New Yorkers,” said Westheimer. “Look for exciting new events and developments from us in coming months as we broaden our reach in an effort to maximize our impact and grow our organization’s membership further.”
The NY Tech Meetup is the most networked and connected community of New Yorkers who are focused on building businesses, applications, and innovations, which are the key to building an economically competitive City of New York in an increasingly connected and globally competitive world.
Rasiej is the founder of the Personal Democracy Forum, MOUSE.org, Irving Plaza, The New York Nightlife Association, The Digital Club Network, NetGuard, the co-founder of TechPresident.com, a senior technology advisor for The Sunlight Foundation and a member of the board of PopTech. In 2005 he ran a ground breaking, innovative, and highly publicized campaign for NYC Public Advocate on a platform to reinvent the office as a network of public advocates and to bring low cost Wifi to all New Yorkers.
Further information about NY Tech Meetup may be found at:
http://www.meetup.com/ny-tech/about/comments/?op=all
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Press Contact:
Andy Morris
The Morris + King Company for NY Tech Meetup
212 561 7465
andy.morris@morris-king.com
CommentsTags: Andrew Rasiej
More Visas for Startup Founders
February 15th, 2010 · Comments - innonate
Part of what makes New York City a special place to do a startup is the unmatched diversity which resides in the Greater New York area. People come from all over the world to live here, work here, and — most important in our tech community — start businesses and innovate here.
This is why I’m excited about a new project Bred Feld and other industry leaders are spearheading, called StartupVisa.com
From a recent post on their blog:
Entrepreneurship, the primary engine of our prosperity in the last two decades, is endangered by our immigration policy, which makes it very difficult for some of the brightest and most motivated individuals to stay in our country. The StartupVisa movement is trying to unleash the power of immigrant entrepreneurs to create jobs, wealth and innovation in the United States. We are a group of entrepreneurs, technologists and venture capitalists passionate about creating visa reform that allows immigrant entrepreneurs to contribute to the US economy by starting new companies.
If you believe in Visa Reform and believe the World’s Entrepreneurs should find an open door in New York and the rest of the USA, please check out StartupVisa.com and get involved.
Also, if you are an immigrant entrepreneur and have already started a business in the US, please tell your story here.
European Tech Meetup
February 9th, 2010 · Comments - adam
Last month, Scott and dawn invited Saul Klein, founder of Seedcamp, to Meetup HQ for a special NY Tech Meetup about European startups.
The event was sold out, so if you didn’t get to attend but wanted to see what went down, check out this video made from the folks at techfluff.tv about the event.
CommentsTags: Saul Klein·Seedcamp
