I care about democracy, people, and technology, and I love working where these intersect. I get very excited about new opportunities that digital enables, but often find myself sounding like a sceptic and sounding notes of caution when I think things are being done badly.

I read a lot, think more, and ask many questions. I’m trying to make myself write down more of these thoughts and questions, and to be better at sharing my ideas openly and earlier. I excel at sitting on a half finished blog post for months.

My day job is for The Democratic Society, where I head our Manchester office, lead our research and policy work, and on whose behalf I sit on the Steering Committee of the UK’s Open Government Partnership civil society network. I speak at various conferences and other events, and attend more meetings than I would like.

Prior to my current role, I worked with various NGOs and charities in roles relating to openness, knowledge, and science. I still carry out freelance consultancy related to my interests of open/collaborative science, and open data.

When I’m not working, I’m often travelling or training for triathlons (which is a relatively new hobby, and the result of an ever escalating series of physical challenges between myself and my partner). I’ve also recently taken up the violin – which is a fun challenge.

I can be found as @MLBrook on twitter, or on email at michelle@michellebrook.org.