Ady Wickstrom
Twin Cities, MN - USA
League of Women Voters - Minnesota

Biography

I am currently the Webmaster and Technology Consultant for the League of Women Voters of Minnesota. Before becoming a League employee, I maintained our website (www.lwvmn.org) on a volunteer basis for about 7 years. I had almost 25 years in IT, 20 years at Deluxe Corporation as a COBOL Programmer for 5 years and a Systems Programmer for 15. Much of my work was in
mainframe security and coding system exits in Assembly. After leaving Deluxe, I worked at Fair Isaac for about 4 years, coding in Assembly at first and then migrating mainframe functions to web-based and Unix applications. I was laid off the day before the 2003 Election - YES!! - I needed election day off anyway.

I am also an elected official, serving in my third term as a City Councilmember in Shoreview. I serve on several boards/committees - North
Suburban Communications Commission, Ramsey County League of Local Governments, League of Minnesota Cities Improving Government Service Committee.

I have a degree of Bachelor of Science in Business, and a certificate in Information Systems Analysis and Design from the University of Minnesota.

What's a recent movie you've seen and enjoyed and why?

I haven't been to a theater in many years, but have a varied DVD collection. Some of my favorite movies are Soapdish, A Fish Called Wanda, and Dave - does it show that Kevin Kline is one of my favorite actors? In addition to comedies, I also have a lot of sappy romances, musicals and classics. Most of the time they are background noise while I code. If I actually watch one, I don't want to have to think.

What is "community" and why is it important to you?

It's important for people to have connections to other people as it gets harder, with more time spent sitting in cars and behind computers. Communities can be local neighborhoods and cities, as well as larger geographic areas through the use of email. It's always better after meeting the people I email in person - then I can imagine their face when sending or reading messages, making it much more personal.

Pick a favorite technology and explain how it makes the world a better place?

Even though I spend a lot of time on computers, I like the phone. I guess it's because I like to talk and hate to write (except code). Phones allow for better interaction than email because of the immediate response and being better able to clarify things. But I do not have a cell phone because sometimes I like to get away from it.

2-3 questions or issues that you hope we'll address at the "Deepening Online Deliberation" meeting?

Proliferation of mis-information
Hiding behind anonymity