People in the news

Alec Ross

Senior Adviser on Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (since April 2009)

(Wendy Galietta/TWP)

Why He Matters

Ross may have launched his non-profit One Economy out of a basement, but he had high hopes for its future. His goals were so lofty that he sent dozens of cold emails to Bill Gates and other industry titans to convince them to invest in the fledgling operation. They did, and now One Economy is a multimillion dollar enterprise dedicated to closing the digital divide between social classes.

Entrepreneurial spirit and aggressive drive are Ross' hallmarks (his friend once gave him a framed photo of a pit bull as a gift). They are also the qualities that made him an asset to President Barack Obama 's 2008 presidential campaign, where he was one of the key architects of the candidate's technology policy.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Technology expert, President Barack Obama 's 2008 presidential campaign (2007 to 2008); Co-founder and vice president, One Economy (2000 to 2008); Special Assistant to the president, Enterprise Foundation (1996 to 2000)
Hometown: Charleston, W. Va
Alma Mater: Northwestern University, B.A., 1994

Spouse: Felicity
Web site

Path to Power

Ross grew up near Charleston, W. Va. He always had big dreams - in 6th grade, he told his teacher he wanted to be president. "He got real offended because they said, 'President of what?'" his mother Betsy told the Charleston Gazette in April 2009. "He said, the president.'"

He moved to Rome for a year in 7th grade to live with his grandfather, the commercial minister at the American embassy. "That year they spent in Rome was probably the most significant in his life," his mother told the Charleston Gazette in April 2009. He returned to the University of Bologna in his junior year of college and is fluent in Italian.

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After graduating in 1994 from Northwestern University, Ross moved to Baltimore to work for Teach for America. He has not left the city despite his new Washington job, because it keeps him "planted in reality."

In 1996, Ross accepted a position as special assistant to the president of the Enterprise Foundation, which develops affordable housing across the country. He focused on developing business, technology and fundraising strategies.

In 2000, he co-founded the non-profit One Economy, which uses technology to help low-income communities. The organization focused on providing thousands of low-income homes Internet access. It also created an online web site called The Beehive. The site, which is part networking service, allows users to access a range of resources, from personal finance advice to homework help.

The multibillion dollar organization was built with donations from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Cisco, Yahoo and AT&T.

The 2008 Obama Campaign

Ross joined Obama's presidential campaign in 2006. Though he had no formal training in technology, he was quickly tasked with developing the president's tech and innovation strategy. He assigned jobs to high-tech titans like Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and was praised for managing a team that cooperated. "He's a nice easy-going leader and he reflected the campaign's 'No drama Obama' ethos," Steve Spinner, an entrepreneur who served as Obama's link to Silicon Valley during the campaign, told The Washington Post in April 2009.

Ross was also one of Obama's science spokesmen on the campaign trail, defending the president's goals to increase research funding and to "restore science policy to the scientists."

The State Department

Ross was tapped to join the State Department in April 2009. In his new position, he worked to develop a set of digital diplomatic tools. Some potential projects included creating ways to use cellphone text messages to warn communities about impending natural disasters and utilizing social-networking sites to unite youth in warring tribes.

Some critics doubt that technology can solve concrete problems. But Ross argues that his work is simply one of many parts of the solution for global health problems, climate change and human-rights abuses. "I don't believe tech is an end into itself to solve problems," Ross told The Washington Post, "but it can be a critical part of the solution."

The Issues

Ross' main focus has been closing the digital divide by bringing broadband into the homes of low-income residents. Using technology, he has developed online hubs of information on jobs, health care and education.

In May 2007, he developed an ambitious proposal for providing every 6th grader in the U.S. a laptop. He argued that the plan, which estimates costing $2 billion a year, is vital to addressing the education gap and keeping the American work force competitive. "Giving our children the tools for computer literacy is the 21st century equivalent to teaching them how to read," he wrote in a May 2007 paper. "Achieving the American dream in this century increasingly requires fluency in the ways of this network."

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The Network

During the Obama campaign, Ross worked with technology advisers Julius Genachowski , now chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Blair Levin, now a telecommunications analyst. In his State Department job, he will partner with the Commerce Department's Lawrence Strickling, who helped Ross develop Obama's high-tech policy, and Rural Utilities Administrator Jonathan Adelstein.

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