Craig Newmark, Craigslist

Craig Newmark is a self-described nerd, pioneer of the Web, speaker, philanthropist, and a strong advocate of the use of technology for the public good.  In 1995 he founded craigslist, which has become one of the world’s most-visited websites with around 50 billion pages views per month.  In 2011 he founded craigconnects, his personal Web-based initiative to stand up for organizations “getting stuff done” in areas Craig is passionate about.  These include veterans and military families, open government, public diplomacy, back-to-basics journalism and fact-checking, consumer protection, and technology for the public good.

Craig currently serves on the board of directors of the Center for Public Integrity, Sunlight Foundation, Consumers Union/Consumer Reports, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.  He also serves as an advisor on the use of technology to more than a dozen other non-profit organizations and government agencies.

Craig's philosophy for craigslist, of providing free online classified ad space to people “trying to help each other out," has led to one of the Internet's greatest success stories. While he stepped away from the management of craigslist more than 10 years ago, Craig has continued to do customer service for the company each and every day for 17 years in order to stay, he says, "connected to what's real" The best way to reach Craig is through the craigconnects website, http://www.craigconnects.org.