I'm Jon Garfunkel. I live with my family in Westchester County, NY and am 25-year software industry veteran. Over the last couple of years (2025-26), I started building open source tools in my areas of interest: civic life and environmental conservation. This site is the hub for those projects. While this site is presently a solo effort, I'm looking for potential collaborators to grow the websites.
About the website structure. This site (and the companion projects nyseeds.org, civic-dashboards.org, and the Placekeeping app), follows the . This is contrast to the dominant weblog/newsletter mindset, where one would post a new idea as a new post, and generally present a chronological model. Here, the focus is on presenting the ideas as interconnected notes, with the as a key structural element.
Other groups with similar names. I'd had "civic engagement" in mind for years. A separate Philadelphia nonprofit already uses the name Civically Engaged, so I settled on Civilly Engaged, thinking of being civil alongside being civic.
Other people with similar names. There are a few other Jon Garfunkels out there. Most Jons are short for Jonathan; I'm just Jon, my given name; never Jonathan. The one I've heard of founded the K–12 program EduCulture on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle, which connects schools to their community through hands-on farm and food education. I'd long figured we were in distinct enough realms, and yet here I am in middle age as an amateur conservation educator.
How to follow me. I participate in the Metagov and BetaNYC online communities, and am a member of the Civic Tech & Engagement Exchange online communities and I administer the Civic Tech & Engagement Exchange on LinkedIn. Or email me at civillyengaged@gmail.com.