Edgewalking Gender, Technology, and Community

September 26, 2020 Eamon Armstrong

Life is a Festival #81 [In Community]: Andrew Murray Dunn (Siempo)

Listen to the Podcast

Last month I spent several days in silent meditation at Azure Village in Southern New Mexico near Gila National Forest. My host was my friend and fellow traveler Andrew Murray Dunn. As we emerged from silence we jumped right into a podcast, sitting out in the expansive desert landscape as the summer monsoons rolled in.

On the show we talk about Andrew exploration of his feminine self who he calls Ava Rose, a subject very dear to my own Two Spirit journey. We talk about Andrew’s work in ethical technology, creating an Android launcher called Siempo in an attempt to create a better homescreen for the plant and override the dopamine slot machine that is our modern mobile experience. We debrief on our days of silence and speak of the animal allies we met along the way. Finally we talk about Azure Village and Andrew’s role as Village Co-lead, an conversation that continues the miniseries I have been presenting on land-based communities.

Professionally, Andrew identifies foremost as a Wellness Technology Advisor. He co-founded the Digital Wellness Collective industry trade association, advises startups and nonprofits in the humane tech space, and has lectured for the Transformative Technology Academy on ethical and inclusive models. He is also working with the One Nation Party USA, headquartered at Azure Village. Andrew studied Operations and Information Management at UPenn/Wharton, Marketing at TechStarts Startup Institute, and Leadership and Awakening at Luminous Awareness Institute.

Andrew has been on a journey since we recorded this, involving rituals in Mexico and a spiritual homecoming in New York City. He wrote a big blog post on reckoning with a womanizing past and has been exploring how the energy of patriarchy can be softened in institutions like greek life and business school education. For more on his work and thinking, check out his writing on Medium.