Why we exist
With the Ranks was founded by members of the Bernie 2020 technology team. Together, we supported one of the largest organizing operations in history, helping funnel thousands of volunteers to take real on-the-ground action and raise millions of dollars from small donors.
On the campaign we built and optimized berniesanders.com into a powerhouse fundraising and organizing vessel, built an in-house relational organizing app called BERN that provided a critical organizing lifeline when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and supported an operation of hundreds of staff and thousands of volunteers with a team of only 7.
Along the way we learned a thing or two about the intersection of organizing, data, media and technology - most importantly that building a technology operation is hard, especially under the intense time and monetary constraints most campaigns and organizations find themselves.
We started With the Ranks to create a better place to build organizing tech - and to make sure organizations of all sizes and budgets can have access to it. After all, change can only happen from the bottom up.
What we do
We go to work every day looking to build things that help people organize to solve big problems.
We love to build and host high-performing websites and apps, develop cohesive tech strategies to organize at scale, run A/B tests to optimize websites, improve accessibility and page speed on existing websites, run peer-to-peer texting campaigns through our self hosted fork of Spoke, build and maintain open source tech tools, and a whole lot more.
We support candidates, nonprofits, businesses, labor unions and anyone else who is not afraid to stand up for workers and the planet.
See what we've been up to lately ⤳
Who we are
With the Ranks is 100% worker-owned, built by good people from across the globe.
Aashish is a software engineer and led work on our open-source texting platform, Spoke, even before he officially joined With the Ranks! Aashish joined the political texting space as a volunteer texter for the Bernie 2020 campaign, and has since used his experience as an organizer and engineer to support texting programs of all shapes and sizes.
When he's not living on the internet, you can probably find Aashish at a gym working on his jumpshot 🏀 building Lego sets that are way too big for his shelf 🧱 or dreaming about his next ski trip ⛷️
Alan is an experienced architect and technical project manager. With over two decades in software development, he has accumulated a diverse portfolio of innovative digital experiences - ranging from political campaigns to global content platforms. His past work includes engineering critical tools for Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign, architecting and developing comprehensive state voter guides, launching global VOD platforms, and leading integrations for major media and telecom companies.
Basketball and travel adventures will always capture his interest. But Alan's driving force for the foreseeable future is taking on the challenge of guiding his three kids towards approaching life with honesty, humor, and compassion.
Bob is a software engineer with a passion for building fast, scalable, and user-friendly applications. He has worked across startups, political tech, and community-driven platforms, focusing on impactful solutions. From voter guides to custom-built apps, he thrives on solving complex problems with clean, efficient solutions and designs.
When he’s not coding, Bob is on the mats coaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, helping kids and adults build confidence through training. He also enjoys playing music, chess, reading, and spending quality time with his friends and family.
Chris is a designer and developer from Cookeville, Tennessee. Formerly the CTO of Bernie 2020, Chris has worked in organizing tech for almost a decade, helping campaigns and non-profits of all shapes and sizes figure out just what they're doing on the internet.
When he's not working, Chris loves repairing vintage tech, slowly renovating his old house, putting on the occasional DJ set, cheering on the Tennessee Titans and traveling with his wife Abby and dog Ollie.
Sukhada is a full stack software engineer. She started her career in Silicon Valley, working at startups like Reddit. Her foray into political and non-profit work began as a volunteer for the Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign, and she hasn't looked back since then! Her work has included building and supporting organizing tools, website development and fundraising optimization.
When not at work, Sukhada is usually trying out a new boardgame with her friends, watching the Premier League with her husband, or out on a walk with her dog.
Want to work with us? See what openings we have available ⤳
How we run our cooperative.
We believe in the power of cooperatives to fundamentally change the way we live and work, and With the Ranks was built to provide a more sustainable model for building organizing tech. Here are a few core beliefs we have about how our business should operate:
Every worker should have ownership in the business
From democratic decision-making to co-ownership of the business, With the Ranks is owned and run by its workers. That means that everyone involved cares deeply about our work and shares equally in our successes and failures. And when the business does well, we share equally in those profits.
Our pay and benefits should be fair and competitive with industry standards
We can't expect talented people to work on big problems unless we support them adequately. We aim to pay our workers competitive wages and offer generous benefits, and everyone at With the Ranks makes the same salary.
We're slowly building out our benefits offerings, most recently adding dental through our friends at the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives.
Tech alone won't save us
Technology cannot solve the world's problems alone, but it can help scale organizing efforts. We aim to support good organizations of all sizes, regardless of their budgets, and move as many people to action as possible.
Want to know more? Read our full operating agreement here ⤳
About our name
Our name is based on a quote given by Eugene Debs in 1918:
If you go to the city of Washington, and you examine the pages of the Congressional Directory, you will find that almost all of those corporation lawyers and cowardly politicians, members of Congress, and misrepresentatives of the masses — you will find that almost all of them claim, in glowing terms, that they have risen from the ranks to places of eminence and distinction. I am very glad I cannot make that claim for myself. I would be ashamed to admit that I had risen from the ranks. When I rise it will be with the ranks, and not from the ranks.
It is a reminder that no matter where we go, we exist to support all good causes - not just the people at the top.
Get in touch
Whether you're working on a good cause or just want to say hi, drop us a line!