Nick Norman

Experience

Nick's work has primarily taken place at the intersection of institutions, universities, nonprofits, and technology organizations. Some projects were built from the ground up, others scaled within movements and existing global ecosystems. His experience stretches from building the communications program for Open Library, a community-led digital library serving nearly 15 million readers worldwide, to a multi-jurisdictional digitization project with UC Berkeley and the Internet Archive.

He is also the creator of The Relational Infrastructure Framework for Social Impact and its companion podcast, which explores how relational and social conditions can determine whether complex projects get off the ground, sustain momentum, and scale.

Here are selected projects from Nick's work.

• $3M Crisis Housing Model — Cross-Sector Design & Implementation →
  At the height of the 2008 recession, Nick designed a transitional housing model from the ground up inside a corporate hotel headed toward closure — mobilizing the community, securing executive buy-in, and generating $3M in combined funding within 30 days.

• Open Library — Communications Program Build →
  As Communications Lead Fellow, Nick built the communications program from the ground up for the world's largest community-led nonprofit digital library, now serving nearly 15 million readers worldwide. After establishing the outreach, participation, and engagement infrastructure, he was honored with the title Communications Fellow & Lead-Emeritus.

• AI & Community Intelligence — Archival Research Project →
  Working with a preservation initiative to help define how AI can surface connections across fragmented historical records through the lens of community — not just data. The challenge is not the technology itself but understanding how relationships, identities, and human networks live inside documents so that what gets built reflects how communities actually work. Contact for specifics.

• UC Berkeley & Internet Archive — Digitization Partnership →
  Part of a multi-institutional digital preservation initiative spanning government documents at UC Berkeley, rare religious texts at the Graduate Theological Union, and prototype microfiche scanning at the Internet Archive. Received the 2024 Anthem Community Voice Award for Best Use of Technology.

• California Local  Digitization Project — Documentary Feature →
  Featured in a short documentary capturing the scanning work at the Institute of Governmental Studies Library, preserving California government publications as a searchable public collection.
  

• Decentralized Web Camp — Global Convening & Production →
  As Associate Producer, helped convene 500+ participants from across the decentralized web ecosystem for one of the first major in-person tech gatherings post-COVID, rebuilding key partnerships with the Ford Foundation, Filecoin Foundation, and Ethereum Foundation in the process.
  

• 25th Anniversary Campaign — Internet Archive →
  Supported the Head of Partnerships from concept through launch on a global public campaign during a landmark legal case about digital access and preservation. Co-developed the creative strategy, coordinated major ecosystem partners, and managed day-to-day execution — resulting in coverage across 40+ media outlets and formal recognition by the U.S. Congress.
  

• Wayforward Machine — Public Interactive Experience →
  Part of the content and campaign team behind an interactive experience transporting visitors to the year 2046 to witness a world where digital access has been lost. Anchored a global social campaign spanning hundreds of pieces of content, amplified by 14 partners, and covered in more than 30 news outlets worldwide.