Susan Mernit
@smernit.bsky.social
Tech OG, #AI coach, non-profit development consultant. Proud board member Hack the Hood and A New Social. Avid reader, hiker, power-lifter, cook. Queer as F. #Resist. Newsletter: susanmernit.substack.com Blog: susanmernit.com/blog
Took forever to write, but it's up: my Style Granny go-to summer clothing sources, new and vintage — and the fun of feeling good in what I wear. susanmernit.substack.com/p/style-gran...
Style Granny 16: Curvy, Petite, Older: Fun-to-Wear Brands Working For Me This Summer
Cover Your Bases #97
susanmernit.substack.com
Lived experience: AI reducing the need for research staffers; what does that mean for the nonprofit sector? susanmernit.com/2026/06/ai-h...
AI Helped Me Do 30 Hours of Work in 4 Hours — What Does That Mean for The Nonprofit Sector? - Susan Mernit
One consultant. Four hours. Work that would have taken a senior researcher 35–60 hours. What happens to the nonprofit knowledge worker pipeline when AI compresses that equation — and the savings don't...
susanmernit.com
Good news to share
A New Social@anew.social · 3mo ago"The end result of all of this is that we grew from 2k users to almost 150k, added a ton of heavy new functionality, and still managed to optimize and cut down costs from $.15 per active user per month to just $.03 or so." - @snarfed.org breaks down all the work he's done to optimize Bridgy Fed 1/
This issue focuses on AI because it's overdue. I've spent the better part of the last six months working seriously with Perplexity as part of my daily workflow, and I've been meaning to write it up properly. susanmernit.substack.com/p/cover-your...
Cover Your Bases #93: How I Use Perplexity and Claude
(And how you can integrate them into your workflow as well)
susanmernit.substack.com
Just got a new scam: an invitation to apply to a conference in another country as a specialist in my field, with forms for an interview, meeting, etc. Awed by the level of research they did in selecting targets--compared to the awful job of actually trying to appear credible.
Digging into the new 2026 Stanford HAI AI report from the perspective of what it means for small nonprofits--a 4-part series, starting here: susanmernit.com/2026/04/2026...
What the 2026 AI Index Actually Tells Small Nonprofit Leaders (And What It Doesn't Tell) (1 of 4) - Susan Mernit
The 2026 Stanford AI Index Report has real implications for small nonprofits — but the headline numbers require careful translation. Here's what the data actually means at your organizational scale.
susanmernit.com
The well-documented and precise level of ICK and grift @jenniferweiner.bsky.social is documenting—and I only got to read the free part—is such a compelling, and uneasy read: open.substack.com/pub/jennifer...
open.substack.com
More writing! We went thrifting in Round Top, Texas! Here’s my Style Granny post about the thrifting, the trip, and the experience of leaving one bubble (Bay Area) for another (deep Texas). susanmernit.substack.com/p/style-gran...
Style Granny 10: Three Days Thrifting in Round Top
Aka Cover Your Bases #88
susanmernit.substack.com
New Cover Your Bases Newsletter #87, focused on good things to read and watch: open.substack.com/pub/susanmer...
CYB #87: Some great things to read and watch (and a little weightlifting)
It’s spring, and life feels paradoxical.
open.substack.com
More fun with Style Granny posts: fashion, thrifting, family, with kind of with a dose of MAGA. susanmernit.substack.com/p/style-gran...
Style Granny 9: Packing for a 5-Day Girls' Trip to Round Top, TX
AKA Cover Your Bases #86
susanmernit.substack.com
Appreciating the value in this essay. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/o...
Opinion | I Saw Something New in San Francisco
nytimes.com
#AI can help with post-award grant work—but only if you have a system in place. Here are five practical ways to use it for reporting, calendars, budget review, and more, based on a workshop I did for #Instrumentl last week. susanmernit.com/2026/03/how-...
How to Use AI for Post-Award Grant Work — Without the Guesswork - Susan Mernit
Learn five practical ways to use AI for post-award grant work, from tracking requirements to drafting reports, using a simple AI Binder workflow.
susanmernit.com
Yeah, I've totally gotten into #vintage! A great self-care focus area. Here's the latest post in that thread: susanmernit.substack.com/p/style-gran...
Style Granny 8: How I’m Storing My Vintage Woolens This Spring
AKA Cover Your Bases #85
susanmernit.substack.com
Boosting. I did civic tech support work for @knightfoundation.org projects for many years.
Knight Foundation@knightfoundation.org · 5mo agoThis isn’t new territory for us. In 2019, a @knightcolumbia.org paper by @masnick.com argued that the social web needed open protocols. That idea helped spark Bluesky. From ideas to infrastructure; that’s why we invest in research on how information shapes public life.
Going to read deeply about this. Good on you, @knightfoundation.org
Knight Foundation@knightfoundation.org · 5mo agoWe invested in Bluesky’s Series B and wrote about why. We see a possibility for a social web that protects speech, creates opportunity for publishers and creators and enables research on the information landscape. Read @iohn.bsky.social's full take: kf.org/kfbluesky @bsky.app
#fashion Style Granny #7: what I’m wearing this summer, what I’m leaving behind, and how my summer wardrobe is evolving from last year. open.substack.com/pub/susanmer...?
Style Granny #7: What I'm Wearing This Summer (And What I'm Leaving Behind)
Cover Your Bases #84
open.substack.com
A new newsletter, Cover Your Bases with movie recs--and thinking about leaving ChatGPT. open.substack.com/pub/susanmer...?
CYB #83: There is nothing vague about Nouvelle Vague
Plus things to watch, eat, and do—and whether I’m leaving ChatGPT
open.substack.com
Stupid begets stupid. Great reporting in awful decisions. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/a...
When DOGE Unleashed ChatGPT on the Humanities
nytimes.com
"It is as if the nation were being soaked by a torrential downpour, water rolling over umbrellas and into boats, soaking everyone’s clothes—and the leader whose job it is to lead them through the deluge insists that it is... in fact, ...the sunniest day ever." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
The State of the Union Revealed a Sad Reality
Donald Trump misused the annual presidential tradition in ways so radical as to call the ritual itself into question.
theatlantic.com
Which of these is not like the other? "Just as President Trump has said, he's been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein," --White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson--and this-- www.npr.org/2026/02/24/n...
Justice Department withheld and removed some Epstein files related to Trump
An NPR investigation finds the public database of Epstein files is missing dozens of pages related to sexual abuse accusations against President Trump.
npr.org
New blog post on obstacles for nonprofits using AI to turn their usage into a shared practice. susanmernit.com/2026/02/an-a... #ai #nonprofitai
An AI Checklist Isn’t the Solution: Shared Agreements Are - Susan Mernit
AI adoption is high, but impact stays limited when teams avoid shared decisions. Clarify boundaries, verification, and accountability in one workflow.
susanmernit.com