Ana Sisnett: goodbye to a pioneer and a friend
14:07, 14 January 2009
.. Posted in Personal.. Link
I've just learned that Ana Sisnett has passed away.
I met Ana when I was still a newcomer to Austin, Texas. Inevitably, I found myself in the offices of Austin FreeNet, which Ana lead. She was an instant supporter of the idea of virtual volunteering -- while other traditional nonprofits balked, Ana just nodded her head and said, absolutely, this was valuable and she wanted to participate somehow. As I wrote to a mutual friend today, Ana Sisnett made me feel groovy whenever I was talking to her. When I would be at a conference back in the late 1990s and Austin Freenet would be mentioned -- as it inevitably was at any nonprofits & tech conference in the day -- I would get excited, thinking, yeah, I actually *know* the rock start Ana Sisnett you are talking about! Ana was often called upon by media, researchers, nonprofits and policymakers and ask to participate in conferences and other gatherings regarding equitable access to tech. But she was also an author and a poet and an activist. One of the comments on her obituary in the Austin American Statesmen calls her "Buddha Ana." Well said.
She's in one of my favorite photos of all time, a photo I have framed on my work desk, a photo that, when I look at it, I think of all the wonderful times I had in Austin, Texas once upon a time, as it captures the spirit of the tech and nonprofit community there, a spirit I've seldom found elsewhere.
Ana died yesterday at her home in Austin after a three-year battle with ovarian cancer. She was 56. What a much better place the world is because of her.
