Cayden Mak
WORK
Executive Director
18 Million Rising ◦ January 2017 – June 2021
Chief Technology Officer
18 Million Rising ◦ August 2015 – January 2017
New Media Director
18 Million Rising ◦ September 2013 – August 2015
Social Media Organizer
18 Million Rising ◦ September 2012 – September 2013
Field Organizer
CWA Local 1104 ◦ March 2011 – September 2012
Adjunct Instructor/Instructor of Record
State University of New York at Buffalo, Department of Media Study ◦ September 2009-May 2013
Courses:
- Introduction to Media Analysis
- Introduction to Film Interpretation
- Game Studies Colloquium (graduate and undergraduate)
- Pervasive Game Design (studio)
- Interactive Fiction (studio)
STUDY
Master of Fine Arts, Media Arts Production
State University of New York at Buffalo, 2009-2013 (incomplete)
My MFA research focused on play and the ways in which online organizing shifts our perception of public space.
Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy; Certificate in Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2005-2009
AWARDS & HONORS
- 2019 Everett C. Parker Award, United Church of Christ Office of Communication, Inc. The Parker Award is given in recognition of an individual whose work embodies the principles and values of the public interest in telecommunications and the media
SELECTED TALKS & CONFERENCES
- Digital Impact: Policy & Practice for the Nonprofit Sector in 2017 ◦ Stanford Center on Philanthropy & Civil Society ◦ January 17, 2017
- Keynote, Filipino Americans Coming Together (FACT) Conference ◦ University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign ◦ November 12, 2016
- We’re All Fans: How Online Fan Behavior Can Transform Social Movements ◦ Pop Culture + Social Change Summit, Silicon Valley Community Foundation ◦ October 26, 2016
- Digital CultureSHIFT: Moving from Scale to Power to Achieve Racial Justice ◦ Netroots Nation Keynote Plenary ◦ July 15, 2016 ◦ A transcript is available here!
- Moving Into Action: Raising the Bar for Co-Conspirators ◦ Netroots Nation Panel ◦ July 15, 2016
- Pop! Goes the Hegemony ◦ Netroots Nation Panel ◦ July 14, 2016
- Effective Civic Technology ◦ Funders’ Conference for Civic Participation ◦ May 25, 2016 ◦ A write-up of takeaways from our session is available here!
- Media Activist Salon ◦ Digital Humanities @ the Claremont Colleges ◦ April 15, 2016
- From Digital Divides to Language Divides: Towards Principles for Digital Language Inclusion ◦ RightsCon Silicon Valley ◦ April 1, 2016
- Epic Fail: We Share Big Mistakes So You Don’t Have To ◦ Netroots Nation Panel ◦ July 17 2015
- #NetworkNeutrality: Open Internet, Racial Justice, and Coalition Building ◦ New York University ◦ April 23 2015
- Games for Liberation: Strategies for Education towards Critical Consciousness Through Play ◦ International Symposium of Electronic Art ◦ 2012
PUBLICATIONS
- “Building Online Power” ◦ Perspectives on Anarchist Theory No. 32 ◦ 2021
- “How platforms and visuals shape narrative: A conversation with Cayden Mak” ◦ Narrative Initiative Blog ◦ February 19, 2020
- “Translation is Not Enough: Organizing for a Polyglot Democracy” ◦ Civicist ◦ September 2, 2015
- “Activating the Social Media Grassroots: Lessons in Cutlivating Online Communities” ◦ _Journal of Grassroots Fundraising ◦ January-February 2015
- Buffalo Disorientation Guide 2011 ◦ Instigator-in-Chief ◦ Fall 2011
- “On Love, and Its Place in the Academy” ◦ Chapter in Empowering Women in Higher Education and Student Affairs ◦ Stylus Press, 2011
- Cyborg Theory, Cyborg Practice ◦ Limited-edition fine art monograph, with Shasti O’Leary Soudant ◦ 2010 ◦ The written matter persists online in _Electric Literature_’s blog
MEDIA APPEARANCES
- Good Tips for Hard Times: Dealing with Anti-Asian Racism (Video) ◦ Games & Online Harassment Hotline ◦ May 8, 2020
- Twitter Activism as a Decolonial Project ◦ The Reappropriate Podcast ◦ October 8, 2014
- Is Digital Activism “Real” Activism? ◦ The Reappropriate Podcast ◦ September 9, 2014
SERVICE
- International Storytelling Center Board Secretary ◦ 2022, 2023
- Kairos Fellowship Board Chair ◦ 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
- Allied Media Conference Advisory Board ◦ 2017
- Kairos Fellowship Trainer ◦ 2016, 2017
- Save E. 12th St. Coalition ◦ Neighborhood organizing and participatory design ◦ See our affordable housing proposal here. ◦ 2016, 2017
- Allied Media Conference Content Coordinator ◦ 2013, 2014, 2015
- Bay Area Solidarity Summer Trainer ◦ 2015, 2016
- ChangeLab Core RaceLab ◦ 2015, 2016
- Youngist Advisory Board Chair ◦ 2015, 2016
- Media Lab at the National Student Power Convergence, Columbus, OH ◦ 2012