About Us

TownHallOS is a civic technology platform dedicated to transforming how citizens engage with their local government by making the process intuitive, accessible, and action-oriented.

Mission

TownHallOS aims to simplify the complexity of connecting with government representatives, tracking legislation, and organizing community action. It empowers citizens by translating complicated legislative processes into clear, actionable information, thereby amplifying their voices and fostering stronger democratic participation.

Vision

The platform envisions a democracy where every citizen understands policy decisions, connects directly with their representatives, and effectively advocates for change. TownHallOS strives to be a catalyst for responsive governance and true accountability of elected officials to their communities.

Our Story

TownHallOS was founded by Shahaan Mirza, who experienced firsthand the frustration of trying to track local legislation affecting his neighborhood in 2024. He found government systems complicated and discouraging, revealing a broader civic disconnect where information was abundant but inaccessible due to outdated interfaces, jargon, and bureaucratic barriers.

Inspired by this challenge and his involvement with the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Community, Shahaan envisioned a platform that would convert complexity into clarity and individual concerns into collective action. In early 2025, he assembled a team of civic tech experts, designers, and community organizers to build TownHallOS, launching its first version in spring 2025 focused on making local government accessible and actionable for all.

Our Journey

The Inspiration

2024

After struggling to track local legislation affecting his community, Shahaan Mirza envisioned a platform that would make civic engagement accessible to everyone.

Research & Development

Early 2025

Extensive research into civic tech solutions and development of the initial Policy Explorer prototype to test with community members.

TownHallOS Founded

March 2025

Launch of the initial platform focused on making local democracy more accessible, starting with the Policy Explorer beta.

Alpha Release

Mid 2025

Release of the Policy Tracker feature and Representative Finder, enabling citizens to follow and understand local legislation, with community feedback driving improvements.

Community Growth

Late 2025

Expanding our reach to more localities and counties, fostering meaningful dialogue between citizens and representatives.

Our Team

Shahaan Mirza

Shahaan Mirza

Executive Director

shahaan@townhallos.org

As a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum and an experienced AI and ML Product Manager, Shahaan brings a unique perspective to civic technology. His background in both tech entrepreneurship and community engagement drives TownHallOS's mission to make democracy more accessible.

With a Master's in Tech Entrepreneurship from the Illinois Institute of Technology and experience in building user-centric products, Shahaan leads the vision of transforming how citizens interact with their local government.

Sanil Jain

Sanil Jain

Lead Developer

sanil@townhallos.org

As a Software Engineer at Capital One, Sanil Jain brings a strong background in software engineering in distributed systems architecture. Sanil spearheads the technical backbone of TownHallOS. His expertise in cloud-native solutions and API design ensures our platform maintains enterprise-grade reliability while handling millions of civic interactions.

With a Bachelor's in Computational Modeling and Data Analytics from Virginia Tech and published research in quantum computing, Sanil combines academic rigor with hands-on experience.

Ready to Make a Difference?

Join us in making democracy more accessible and effective for everyone.

Get Started for Free