Will Byrne


Will Byrne is an activist and entrepreneur. Will was named one of Forbes’s 30 Under 30, and his writing has appeared in Forbes and Fast Company.

Career

Early career

Prior to founding Groundswell, Will worked in journalism at Der Spiegel as well as the American Academy in Berlin, Germany, before joining Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign.

Obama for America

During his work on President Obama's 2008 Campaign, Will utilized online and offline community organizing tactics. While doing this work, Byrne and his co-founders saw the impact of community organizing in the political sphere. Rather than joining the administration after Obama was elected, Will went on to develop these tactics as a social entrepreneur.

Groundswell

In 2009, Will, Max Harper, Marcus Ryan, John Lauer, Kristen Psaki, and Tony Ficarotta co-founded Groundswell after working on President Obama’s 2008 campaign. Groundswell is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. that uses collective buying power to drive positive social change, especially in the clean energy sector.

Stanford Design School

In 2015 Will joined the Stanford Design School as a Civic Innovation Fellow.

Honors and awards