Mario Armstrong

Mario Armstrong is a technology commentator for NPR's Morning Edition, explaining the world of gadgets, gizmos and gigabites through regular conservations with show hosts Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne.

Armstrong — much like the technology he loves — has always been an amalgamation of many different things: radio, TV and online media personality, motivational speaker, public servant and social entrepreneur. Through all of these media, he translates technology for non-tech audiences, covering the stories, headlines, issues, gadgets and newsmakers of the day through the lens of technology.

In addition to contributing to Morning Edition, Armstrong hosts and syndicates his own technology talk shows on XM/Sirius radio, USTalkNetwork.com, and public radio stations WYPR and WEAA. He produces a weekly segment on technology that airs on NBC WBAL-TV and Small Business Television.com, and has appeared on CNBC, PBS, C-SPAN and CNN.

Armstrong has worked in the tech industry for more than 12 years. He was the first Chief Technology Officer in Baltimore City government for then-Mayor Martin O'Malley, and served as the IT Director for the State of Maryland's Tourism Department. He currently heads Mario Armstrong Media, LLC, a technology-media company that creates content for traditional, mobile and online media outlets for syndication and offers tech consulting, digital lifestyle events and public speaking.

Stating that his passion is to bridge the digital divide between the haves and the have-nots, Armstrong has delved into the world of social entrepreneurship by starting the social network company TechTechBoom.com, and hiring 11 teenagers to develop, design, market and manage it. Armstrong is also a co-founder of the Urban Video Game Academy — an educational non-profit program that uses the allure, interactivity and development process of video games to increase students' interest and academic achievement in science, technology, English and math.