Justin Auciello
I build and operate civic signal systems: trusted, two-way information networks that help communities and institutions make sense of uncertain, contested, or fast-changing conditions.My foundation is planning. For more than 20 years, I have worked as a New Jersey licensed professional planner on complex land use, zoning, redevelopment, infrastructure, and regulatory matters.In 2011, I founded Jersey Shore Hurricane News, a two-way, community-powered information network built around local reporting, verification, and direct interaction with residents. During Superstorm Sandy, the pandemic, severe weather, infrastructure disruptions, and other community events, JSHN gathered reports, corrected rumors, identified needs, and helped people understand what was happening.That work led to recognition from the White House as a Champion of Change and to seven years of reporting at WHYY on coastal resilience, infrastructure, disaster recovery, environmental risk, and public policy.After Hurricane Maria, I brought the same two-way approach to humanitarian information work in Puerto Rico, where I designed and field-led Información Como Ayuda. I later served as a Global Information Ecosystem Advisor at Internews, supporting information ecosystem assessments across five continents.The same question runs through much of this work: how do communities and institutions understand what is happening when information is fragmented and no single organization has the full picture?That question is at the center of my Civic Signal Framework. It looks at how local knowledge, institutional knowledge, verification, and response capacity can be connected so communities have a clearer picture of what is happening and what can be done.I am now documenting the principles and methods behind that work so they can be studied, adapted, and applied elsewhere.