# Henry Poole

> Henry Poole is the co-founder and CEO of CivicActions, a professional services firm that has spent over two decades modernizing government digital services through open source software, agile methodologies, and human-centered design. A serial entrepreneur and open source visionary, Poole co-founded one of the first digital agencies (Vivid Studios) in 1993, published the landmark Affero General Public License (AGPLv1) in 2002 to close the 'ASP loophole' in open source licensing, and serves on the board of the Free Software Foundation. Under his leadership, CivicActions has become a trusted partner to major federal agencies including CMS, NSF, VA, and HHS, championing the principle that software built with public funds should be publicly owned.

- **Role:** CEO at CivicActions
- **Organizations:** CivicActions, Free Software Foundation, The Shift Network, Affero, Inc., Vivid Studios
- **Nationality:** American
- **Known for:** Co-founded Vivid Studios (1993), one of the first digital agencies in the US, Founded Affero, Inc. and published the landmark AGPLv1 open source license (2002), which closed the 'ASP loophole' and became foundational for SaaS-era open source licensing, Co-founded CivicActions (2003/2004), which has grown into a leading government digital services firm over 20+ years

## Career timeline

- **1993** — Co-founded Vivid Studios, one of the first digital agencies; served as technical editor for 'Demystifying Multimedia'
- **2000** — Met Richard Stallman to discuss the 'ASP loophole' in GPLv2 that allowed web service companies to use open source without sharing modifications
- **2001** — Founded Affero, Inc., pioneering open SaaS enterprise model
- **2002** — Published the Affero General Public License (AGPLv1) in March, closing the ASP loophole in open source licensing; joined the board of the Free Software Foundation in December
- **2003** — Co-founded CivicActions with Aaron Pava, dedicated to using free and open source software for social good
- **2017** — CivicActions became chief maintainer of DKAN, the open source data catalog platform used by major US government agencies
- **2020** — CivicActions acquired OpenConcept Consulting, expanding accessibility capabilities
- **2025** — Keynote speaker at DINAcon 2025 in Bern, Switzerland, speaking on digital sovereignty and the role of service firms in open source ecosystems

## Achievements

- Co-founded Vivid Studios (1993), one of the first digital agencies in the US
- Founded Affero, Inc. and published the landmark AGPLv1 open source license (2002), which closed the 'ASP loophole' and became foundational for SaaS-era open source licensing
- Co-founded CivicActions (2003/2004), which has grown into a leading government digital services firm over 20+ years
- Served on the board of the Free Software Foundation since December 2002
- Led CivicActions to win a $44M NSF contract and an $18M contract for CMS.gov and Medicare.gov redesign
- Established CivicActions as chief maintainer of DKAN, enabling government open data publishing
- Led acquisition of OpenConcept Consulting in 2020 to expand digital accessibility services
- Keynoted DINAcon 2025 in Bern, Switzerland on digital sovereignty

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Featured in 'Collaboration in Action - Open Source GovTech' blog post discussing government technology trends
- **2025-11** — Keynote speaker at DINAcon 2025 in Bern, Switzerland, on 'Digital Sovereignty at the intersection of national autonomy and international collaboration'
- **2025** — CivicActions celebrated 20+ years of advancing openness in government technology
- **2025** — Published reflections on CivicActions and open source contributions from 2004-2025 on Medium

## Links

- Website: https://civicactions.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/henrypoole
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/henrypoole
- GitHub: https://github.com/henrypoole
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/civicactions

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/henry-poole
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-16