Ethan WardProduct strategist and journalist

I help teams build products people trust and come back to.

I lead product strategy and growth, from user research to launch and the numbers that decide what happens next. I also report on AI with support from the Pulitzer Center and Omidyar Network. My AI newsletter, The Thread, won a 2026 Online Journalism Award.

Work with me See my AI work
Ethan Ward smiling in a black suit, leaning against a brick archway.
Ethan Ward in a gray double-breasted suit and sunglasses, looking down.
Ethan Ward in a black suit, sitting on stone steps and smiling.
  • 2026 Online Journalism AwardExcellence in AI Innovation, for The Thread
  • 18Awards in journalism and storytelling
  • Pulitzer Center and Omidyar NetworkGrants for AI accountability reporting
  • 10.64%Average click-through rate across 39 issues of The Thread
Featured in and worked with USA TodayABC7 Los AngelesSlateFast CompanyKCRWACLU SoCalHUD

What teams hire me for

Consulting projects, contract roles and full-time roles. Every project starts with the people using the product.

  1. 01

    Product strategy and growth

    Products tend to grow until the team running them can’t keep up.

    Research, roadmap, launch and measurement, with the success metric agreed before anything ships. I’ve relaunched products around what the data showed and grown new channels from zero.

    I rebuilt a newsroom’s flagship newsletter so any trained staffer can produce an issue in about half a day.

    Start a project
  2. 02

    AI strategy and governance

    Teams often add AI before deciding what people will still do, or how to explain it to the people it affects. If users find out on their own, trust is hard to win back.

    Deciding where AI belongs in your product and how to explain it to the people it affects. MSc in human-computer interaction, AI Policy Certificate from CAIDP.

    “A really innovative idea that uses AI to find patterns across obituaries and turn them into meaningful cultural journalism.”
    Judges, 2026 Online Journalism Awards
    See my AI work
  3. 03

    Communications

    Organizations doing complicated work often describe it the way they’d explain it to each other, and the people they need to reach tune out.

    Messaging that makes complicated subjects clear to customers, employees and the press. Thought leadership, newsletters and campaigns. I know what reporters need because I’ve been one.

    Two 2026 Communicator Awards of Distinction, for an email series and an essay. Branded stories for Stacker Studio clients, syndicated to nearly 4,000 media partners.

    See comms work

How I work, on any product

  1. 01Research

    Pair what people say in surveys and interviews with what they do in the data, and let both set what gets built next.

  2. 02Decide

    Write the decision down: the recommendation, the evidence and the tradeoffs, so everyone can see why.

  3. 03Build

    Design for the team that runs it after launch, so the product keeps going when people change.

  4. 04Measure

    Track every part of the product from day one, and set the date the numbers decide what stays.

Selected work

Products, research and campaigns.

The ThreadAn AI-assisted newsletter run as a measured experiment, with a 54% average open rate across 39 issues. 4Newsletters, plus membership
and community channels AfroLAProduct and growth for a Los Angeles newsroom, from its newsletters and membership program to the reader experience on its site. 3Countries, from the U.K.
to Kenya and Nigeria Fighting Misinformation in AfricaPolicy white paper on AI misinformation for The Black Policy Institute. ~4KMedia partners
per story Stacker StudioBranded stories on AI for business clients, syndicated nationally.
Speaking

Talks on responsible AI and housing.

Ethan Ward in a red suit, speaking at a podium to a full hotel ballroom.
Keynote, Bellwether Housing’s Closer to Home Luncheon, Seattle

Keynotes, panels and interviews for conferences, funders and newsrooms.

Book a talk
  • Bellwether HousingKeynote, Closer to Home Luncheon
  • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentFair Housing Month
  • Slate’s “What Next” with Mary HarrisTwo appearances
  • KCRWGreater LA
Off the clock

I’m not on social media. Not even LinkedIn.

This is as close as it gets.

From the AI Governance Briefing

What happens when AI policy meets practice.

I write one when there’s something worth saying. Here are the latest.

Read the Briefing

Let’s work together

Tell me what you’re working on, what you need and when you need it. I take on product and AI strategy projects, contract and full-time roles, and talks. I reply within three business days.

Get in touch