About the CTRL Foundation
In a world where attention is fragmenting and people are emotionally degraded rather than enriched by technology, the Center for Technology to Restore Liberty—the CTRL Foundation—stands for a fundamentally different vision. We support technology that aligns with how humans naturally think and communicate. The tools we fund let stories unfold, knowledge accumulate, and ideas persist beyond the ephemeral scroll of a feed.
The goal is a digital world where everyone, regardless of technical skill or economic status, can create, meaningfully contribute, and connect through tools designed for deep expression—not shallow engagement. Our credo is that online digital infrastructure must serve human potential rather than constraining it, full digital creative tools should be accessible to all, and technology must amplify our most meaningful capabilities instead of exploiting our vulnerabilities.
The CTRL Foundation [EIN 33-4637485], a tax-deductible 501(c)(3), is helping to support the launch of Gides, a new social media platform that is dedicated to human upgrading. In return for our initial support, CTRL gets a permanent role in the corporate governance of the company, influencing platform decisions along the way in the direction of long-term human benefit. By maintaining oversight over the next generation of social media, we ensure that human flourishing—not revenue optimization—guides the design decisions made at Gides.
The Board
Chairman
Jeremy Medford
Boston, MA
Secretary
Matthew Nystrom
Denver, CO
Treasurer
Russell Hunter
Salt Lake City, UT
President: Michelle Medford
“We sense and see it all around us, in our family members, coworkers, our community. This fatigue, this nagging sense that social media has failed us. The promise of online connection has left us hollow and addicted. But we can, and will, change this. The CTRL Foundation will help us take back control and restore the connection that we lost, to ourselves and others.”
The evolution
Our Backstory
As told by Jeff Medford, Founder of the CTRL Foundation
Gides was born from a moment of clarity during a vacation in Andalusia, Spain with Melissa Jenerette. While visiting historic sites, she turned to me and said, “Someone needs to make an app for these.” In that instant—like a Matrix-style download—a vision crystallized in my mind. I saw a platform where anyone, anywhere, could create and share rich, multimedia guides—not just for tourists sites or museums—but for any experience or knowledge they held. This spark ignited my dream to democratize digital creation, with the goal of making rich, flexible, multimedia posts for the web. With the help of designer Matthew Nystrom, the journey towards reimagining social media began.
As I traveled to over 50 countries, the need for a correction became starkly apparent through a profound encounter in rural Moldova. I saw a young boy selling flowers in the woods who looked remarkably like my own son. The contrast in their lives was striking: My American son had the entire digital world at his fingertips, but this Moldovan child’s ability to harness the internet for his benefit was constrained by technology, language, and economic differences. This digital divide illustrates a fundamental inequity: creating, sharing, and accessing knowledge online remains complex, technical, and exclusive. Gides was invented to fix this.
The final insight in this journey occurred in January 2023 when I encountered the music of REN, whose unflinching rejection of music-industry pressures to sell out for money resonated deeply with me. My wife Michelle, who was born and raised in Namibia, Africa, encouraged me to steer my vision for a renewed internet towards a mission-first approach. She named the foundation, using CTRL as the metaphor, amplifying the sense of loss over creative and emotional control that we all feel. As a result, the CTRL Foundation will ensure that Gides will restore control to users and that its values always remain aligned with human flourishing.
The Present.
The Future…
Founding Donor: Douglas R. Andrew is a nationally-recognized educator, bestselling author, and transformational speaker whose life’s work centers on helping people unlock their potential. Through more than a dozen books, thousands of educational videos, and decades of keynote speaking, Doug has dedicated himself to teaching principles of meaningful living, personal development, and lifelong growth. His focus on liberty and vast experience as a communicator across mediums led him to recognizing the profound importance of CTRL’s mission. Beyond his professional work, Doug and his wife Sharee have mentored thousands of young people and volunteered extensively in youth suicide-prevention efforts, reflecting their belief that education and compassion changes lives. Doug’s commitment to sharing knowledge and elevating others through effective communication is the reason he chose to become the founding donor to CTRL.
If we simply try to get existing platforms to change, we will fail. So we will create a better way to share.
The CTRL Foundation will dismantle the barriers that lock you out of the open internet, enabling you to teach, create, and connect in ways that elevate you and your community.