User Profile for Michael Wood-Lewis (Michael Wood-Lewis)

Bio: Michael Wood-Lewis, along with his wife, Valerie, co-founded Front Porch Forum in 2006. In its pilot area, FPF is hosting 130 contiguous neighborhood forums covering all of metro-Burlington, Vermont. After only six months, 20% of the city has subscribed and people are making wonderful use of this free community-enhancing service.

Previous professional experience includes steering a trade association of New England utilities to a position of national prominence. He also led a consortium of municipal leaders from across the country in developing environmental technology. And Michael has worked in low-income areas across the country, supporting entrepreneurs in starting businesses and creating jobs.

He is active on the advisory board of Burlington Telecom, a cutting edge municipally owned "fiber optic to the home" utility, providing data, voice and video.

Michael brings to bear an unusual combination of technical background (MS engineering University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), business experience (MBA), and 20 years of community organizing. His passion, during this era of personal isolation and cultural homogenization, is helping neighbors connect and foster community within their neighborhoods.

The Five Sisters -- his home and Front Porch Forum's flagship -- was named a top ten neighborhood in the United States last year. In addition to his young family, Michael is perhaps most proud of the community recognition he's received, including several hometown leader awards and being named a Vermont father of the year.

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