John Mills

John Mills, the founder of Watch Duty, a nonprofit app aimed at providing crucial information during wildfires, shares his inspiring journey. He discusses the creation of the app in response to his community's needs and highlights the significance of human connection over AI in emergencies. John emphasizes the importance of ethics and legacy in philanthropy, urging a shift towards collaboration. With a background in woodworking, he reflects on the lessons learned from childhood projects, advocating for innovative hiring and creativity in solving real-world problems.

John Mills, Co-founder and CEO of Watch Duty, a nonprofit that provides real-time wildfire alerts, shares his journey from Silicon Valley to building a vital public safety tool. He discusses the platform's success during the LA wildfires, highlighting how it enables first responders to communicate effectively. John emphasizes the importance of empathy in entrepreneurship and the challenges of scaling a nonprofit in disaster response. He also explores the necessity of innovative solutions outpacing government tech to enhance community safety during wildfire emergencies.

John Mills, a civic tech pioneer and founder of the wildfire alert app Watch Duty, shares his inspiring journey after witnessing a wildfire without any official alerts. He details how he rallied retired first responders and radio operators to create a system that delivers critical alerts faster than government warnings. The conversation dives into the app's incredible early success, the challenges of gaining official adoption, and plans to expand beyond wildfires to other natural disasters. John's passion for community-driven solutions shines as he highlights the importance of speed and trust during emergencies.