infrastructure for
community care
building digital tools for mutual aid networks,
centered on trust, equity, and collective resilience
vision
In the LA fires, a simple spreadsheet became a lifeline for 100,000+ people. Now we're building infrastructure to scale this impact.
Community care is a networked phenomena. We all exist in relation to each other, be it kith or kin. Mutual Aid is the radical enactment of the inherent human drive to share goodwill with their neighbor.
FireAid's map became a "cartography of care"—revealing LA's mutual aid networks and the latent goodwill of its people. Moving forward, we need infrastructure that centers trust and equity through language justice, inclusive interfaces, and crowd-sourced intelligence.
case study: FireAid
A real-time map of LA's mutual aid response to the 2025 fires
FireAid transformed a community spreadsheet into an accessible interface that helped 100,000+ people give and receive aid during crisis.
platform
data sovereignty
Secure privacy and sovereignty of mutual aid group data, ensuring community control over information sharing
participatory design
Design that dissolves barriers to participation, meeting people where they are with intuitive, inclusive, and meaningful interactions
sharing protocols
Transparent protocols that enable mutual aid networks to share knowledge and resources—fostering transnational solidarity
join the network
Help build infrastructure for transnational networks of solidarity and skill exchange.
Whether you're an organizer, developer, or community member, there's a place for you in shaping this vision.
about
mutua brings together expertise in digital infrastructure, computational design, and community-driven development to build tools that support mutual aid networks.
Johan Michalove
Founder & Lead Developer
A researcher and systems designer exploring the intersection of mutual aid and digital infrastructure. Through projects like FireAid, NeedMatch, and Puulse, Johan investigates how technology can support community care and political organizing. His technical experience spans robotics—having launched a widely-adopted open source race car and worked on JPL's Mars Rover Operations—to teaching roles at Cornell, University of Washington, and the ANU. His PhD research at Cornell University draws on post-structuralist philosophy and semiotics to understand digital territories as realms of meaning-making, bridging theoretical concepts with practical applications in mutual aid networks.
Virginia Zangs
Liaison - Design & Community Lead
Virginia is an architect, computational designer, and researcher exploring the intersection of spatial and digital systems to create intentional, community-driven spaces. Her work spans cultural institutions, design studios, and research think tanks, bridging architecture, computation, and participatory design. As a liaison for community stakeholders, she focuses on building partnerships, fostering trust, and facilitating connections to support resilient and equitable networks.