Background
After work in media, technology, and memory institutions (all areas of abiding interest), I joined the MacArthur Foundation in 2011 to build what became the Discovery grants program, and have since worked in the Foundation’s American Democracy, Philanthropy, and 100&Change programs. In 2024, I retired as vice president, knowledge management, at Lever for Change, a MacArthur affiliate that operates 100&Change and other open competitions, and which has inspired more than $2.5 billion in charitable giving. Prior to my time at MacArthur, I worked for organizations focused on digital media and innovation, including UC Berkeley’s School of Information Management and Systems, the Internet Archive, the Netherlands Institute of Sound and Vision, and the Preserving Digital Public Television Project at Thirteen/WNET. I currently serve on the boards of the Internet Archive Europe, Invest in Open Infrastructure, Kahle/Austin Foundation, and Better World Libraries.
Press and commentary about past projects
- Sesame Street in the Middle East: MacArthur announces $100M for refugee education December 2017
- The Re-Emerging Art of Funding Innovation Stanford Social Innovation Review, Gabriel Kasper & Justin Marcoux, Spring 2014
- The Era of Deep Archiving Begins New York Times, David Streitfeld, March 20, 2013
- Jeff Ubois and Personal Digital Archiving Library of Congress: The Signal, Mike Ashenfelder, February 13, 2012
- Thoughts on Cultural Institutions Masters of Media, Catalina Iorga,14 November 2010
- Video search still a tough nut to crack Computer World, Joab Jackson, 4 May, 2010
- Responsible Archiving Rants.org, Karl Fogel, September 24th, 2007
- Venerable Club Makes Comeback East Bay Daily News (and Contra Costa Times), Martin Snapp, May 29, 2007
- Archive This The Scoble Show, Robert Scoble, September, 2006
- TV is History SF Bay Guardian, Annalee Newitz, October 31, 2006
- Historic Hillside Club Reborn San Francisco Chronicle, Andrew Gilbert, November 18, 2005
- Email forwarding amounts to ritual gift exchange The New Scientist, Will Knight, July 12, 2005
- A call for TV archiving Broadcast Engineering, April 12, 2005
- Identity swapping makes privacy relative USA Today, Elizabeth Weise, June 6, 2000
- The Future Of E-Mail Information Week, Gregg Keizer, December 31, 2003
- This Message Will Self-Destruct Wired News
- Fading Bits of History ABC News, July 9, 2001
Contact
Jeff Ubois
j @ u b o i s . c o m
