About Us

The Internet Society – San Francisco Bay Area Chapter

The San Francisco Bay Area Internet Society Chapter is one of the largest Internet Society chapters in the United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, and the rest of the West by promoting the core values of the Internet Society. Our goals are to:

• Provide a platform for members to engage in Internet issues that include Internet governance, Data Protection, Privacy, Security, IoT, Internet Technologies, Standards, and Access;
• Promote the Internet Society’s core values;
• Interact with other ISOC Chapters and relevant Internet industry groups;
• Disseminate information on the issues of importance to Chapter members.

We are always looking for new members, please sign-up here and select “San Francisco Bay Area Chapter”. Membership is 100% free.

The Internet Society

The SF Bay Area ISOC Chapter was officially recognized by the Internet Society (ISOC) on February 16, 2009. ISOC is a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet-related standards, education, and policy. With offices in Washington, USA, and Geneva, Switzerland, it is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world. Here is their global mission:

Internet Society Mission: The Internet is a place of possibility and opportunity. It is where we collaborate and innovate for a better world. Where we share our hopes and strengthen our bonds. It is where we work, learn, and make progress. We are a global nonprofit organization empowering people to keep the Internet a force for good: open, globally-connected, secure, and trustworthy. We are the Internet Society.

Key Projects

• Current: Helping 9,000+ California Native American people get better Internet access. (Gizmodo | Indian Country Today | Kumeyaay.com)
• Current: Policy Chair Robin Gross hosts a well-regarded monthly Tech Policy Webinar series, mostly on first Mondays. RVSP for our upcoming events here.
• Past:
  • Major project: Bridging California’s Rural/Urban Digital Divide with Mobile Broadband (2017): At the beginning of 2017, the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter teamed up with the Geographical Information Center (GIC), California State University, Chico to carry out a research project, “Bridging California’s Rural/Urban Digital Divide with Mobile Broadband”. The project was funded by the generous support of the SF Bay Area ISOC Chapter through the Internet Society’s Beyond the Net funding program. The project was carried out in collaboration with Valley Vision and USDA Rural Development.

• Major project: Interplanetary Internet Collaboration with IPSING (2011 – 2015): In 2011, we undertook the task of “revitalizing” the mostly inactive InterPlanetary Networking  Special Interest Group (IPNSIG) in 2011. A brief timeline of the project’s evolution can be found here.

• • Community work: Board members regularly participate in ICANN convenings, help review applications for the Internet Society’s Early Career Fellowship, and participate in the Indigenous Connectivity Summit (2021). 
  • Governance: Since 2012, we have participated in ICANN’s NARALO. In 2016, our chapter signed onto a civil society letter in support of the IANA oversight transition and later celebrated that successful transition. Many of our members are active in IETF, ICANN, ISOC, and other major Internet governance spaces.
  • Outreach: We regularly engage in direct community outreach at relevant conferences and host important events.

Chapter History and Partners

• Current: Helping 9,000+ California Native American people get better Internet access. (Gizmodo | Indian Country Today | Kumeyaay.com)
• Current: Policy Chair Robin Gross hosts a well-regarded monthly Tech Policy Webinar series, mostly on first Mondays. RVSP for our upcoming events here.
• Past:
  • Major project: Bridging California’s Rural/Urban Digital Divide with Mobile Broadband (2017): At the beginning of 2017, the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter teamed up with the Geographical Information Center (GIC), California State University, Chico to carry out a research project, “Bridging California’s Rural/Urban Digital Divide with Mobile Broadband”. The project was funded by the generous support of the SF Bay Area ISOC Chapter through the Internet Society’s Beyond the Net funding program. The project was carried out in collaboration with Valley Vision and USDA Rural Development.

• Major project: Interplanetary Internet Collaboration with IPSING (2011 – 2015): In 2011, we undertook the task of “revitalizing” the mostly inactive InterPlanetary Networking  Special Interest Group (IPNSIG) in 2011. A brief timeline of the project’s evolution can be found here.

• • Community work: Board members regularly participate in ICANN convenings, help review applications for the Internet Society’s Early Career Fellowship, and participated in the Indigenous Connectivity Summit (2021). 
  • Governance: Since 2012, we have participated in ICANN’s NARALO. In 2016, our chapter signed onto a civil society letter in support of the IANA oversight transition and later celebrated that successful transition. Many of our members are active in IETF, ICANN, ISOC, and other major Internet governance spaces.
  • Outreach: We regularly engage in direct community outreach at relevant conferences and host important events.

Chapter History and Partners

Origins  

The SF Bay Area Chapter was founded by Zaid Ali and Franck Martin. They first worked together as Internet pioneers and were instrumental in networking the island of Fiji and bringing the island nation online in the 1990s. Years later, in California, they reconnected again in the tech industry in Silicon Valley, California. Together they began recruiting the 25 members necessary to start an official ISOC Chapter in Silicon Valley. Many applications for approval to the global ISOC organization were attempted over several years. The Chapter finally received official approval from the Internet Society Headquarters on February 16, 2009, and quickly became one of the largest ISOC Chapters in the world. Read the Founding Application. 

Past Sponsors and partners:

1. California State University, Chico’s Geographic Information Center
2. Catalyst UX
3. Google
4. ICANN
5. Internet Society Foundation
6. IEEE WIE ILC
7. Southern California Tribal Chairman’s Association
8. USDA Rural Development
9. Valley Vision

Board Succession

Chair

1. Jessica Dickinson Goodman, 2021 – Current
2. Supheakmungkol Sarin, 2020 – 2021
3. Fatema Kothari, 2019 – 2020
4. Susannah Gray, 2017 – 2019
5. Leah Symekher, 2014 – 2016
6. Michael Snell, 2013 – 2014
7. Zaid Ali, Co-founder, 2009 – 2013

Vice-Chair

1. Joel Valencia, 2021 – Current
2. Fatema Kothari, 2017 – 2019
3. Susannah Gray, 2016 – 2017
4. Konstantin Kalaitzidis, 2014 – 2016
5. Leah Symekher, 2013 – 2014
6. Annalisa Roger, Co-founder, 2009 – 2013

Treasurer

1. Delia Sabau, 2018 – Current
2. Ken Krechmer, Co-founder, 2009 – 2018

Board Secretary

1. Tessa Eng, 2021 – Current
2. Vipul Singh, 2020
3. Misako Manca, 2017 – 2017
4. Ken Krechmer, 2012 – 2016
5. Sophia Bekele, Co-founder, 2009 – 2012

For full board officer membership historically, please see this document:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1i8TxejCpXLpXjDzDuIr3CtgD33B319UmhrnFjeyU4pY/

ICANN-NARALO Representatives

The SF-Bay Area Chapter has participated in the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) community as an At-Large Structure (ALS) since 2012. Within ICANN, the At-Large Community acts on the interests of the Internet’s end users and works to ensure that the Internet continues to serve the global public interest. ALSes are grouped together on a regional basis in Regional At-Large Organizations (RALOs). The SF-Bay Area Chapter is part of the North American Regional At-Large Organization (NARALO), which encompasses Internet end-users in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Together with other regions, NARALO has a direct impact on ICANN’s direction and works to ensure that Internet operations and governance serve the public interest. Because Internet issues vary greatly from region to region across the globe, the ALSs bring locally relevant topics to ICANN and can report back at chapter level on what is currently being discussed on the global stage.

1. Robin Gross, 2021 – Current
2. Leah Symekher, 2014 – 2021
3. Eve Edelson, 2015
4. Susannah Gray, 2016
5. Konstantin Kalaitzidis, 2014 – 2016
6. Annalisa Roger, Co-Founder, 2009 – 2013

Find out more about our current Board members.

Founding Sponsors:

• .Green
• Afilias
• Avonsys
• Big Promoter
• Hurricane Electric
• Internet Society
• LinkedIn
• Message Systems
• Nuezra
• VeriSign

Founding Board Officers 2010

1. Zaid Ali, Chair
2. Annalisa Roger, Vice Chair
3. Ken Krechmer, Board Treasurer
4. Sophia Bekele, Board Secretary
5. Franck Martin, Board Member
6. Ted Hardie, Board Member

Find out more about our Founding Board and Founding Members.