From Origin to Opportunity: The Watch Duty Story

LA Climate Week 2025 Event

In an era where climate change drives increasingly frequent and devastating wildfires, access to reliable, real-time information can mean the difference between safety and disaster for communities on the frontlines. Watch Duty is a non-profit, non-partisan, and non-government organization focused on disseminating public safety information about nearby wildfires and firefighting efforts in real-time from verified sources.

Join us for an insightful conversation with John Mills, CEO and Cofounder of Watch Duty, as we dive into the critical intersections between technology, public safety, and mission-driven innovation.

We will explore key topics including:

• Watch Duty's Origin Story: Discover the inspiration behind the app and the journey from concept to reality.
• Delivering Real-Time Wildfire Information: Understand the challenges, lessons learned, and future steps in providing critical updates.
• Business and Operational Strategies for Growth: Learn about the strategies that fuel Watch Duty's expansion and impact.
• Watch Duty's Role in LA Wildfires: Gain insights into the app's crucial role during recent wildfires and the team's key takeaways.
• Future Vision and Public-Private Partnerships: Explore Watch Duty's vision for the future and the potential for strategic collaborations.
• Philanthropy and Sustainable Funding: Discuss innovative funding models and solutions for supporting impactful initiatives.
• The Role of Future Business Leaders: Understand how business acumen, technology, and entrepreneurial thinking can address critical social and environmental challenges.

Whether you're a student passionate about social entrepreneurship, a future founder with a vision for tech for good, or a corporate professional exploring mission-driven innovation, this conversation will provide valuable insights, inspiration, and opportunities to engage!

*Please bring your ID to check in to the event for security purposes*

John has changed the way we live with fire through his 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Watch Duty. John spent many years in Silicon Valley focusing on underserved markets that had been overlooked by technologists. In 2012 he founded Zenput as CTO, focused on retail food services operations which was acquired in 2022. After living in San Francisco for 16 years, he moved off-the-grid to Sonoma County in 2020 where he was faced with the terrifying reality of life in the wildlands without the information needed to make informed decisions. Having developed software for over 30 years beginning at age 8, John found himself with a life or death problem he had to solve not only for himself, but for his community. He spent more than a year understanding the problems and then together, with his team, created Watch Duty in just 80 days. Today Watch Duty has a team of over 200 active and retired wildland firefighters, dispatchers, first responders, and reporters supporting millions of citizens and first responders who rely on the Watch Duty App across the American West to stay safe.

Host or Publisher UCLA Anderson Energy and Cleantech Association