It’s very nice to meet you 👋

Some things to know about me:

I am a technology lawyer living in New York City. Beyond work, I travel a lot (you can see some recent travel pictures here instagram.com/danielfromtoronto/) and volunteer for causes I care about (currently on the board of Giving What We Can Canada and More Neighbours Toronto). I am originally from Toronto, Canada.

I am incredibly curious — interested in learning about and exploring nearly everything. 

I am also incredibly passionate — the things I care about, I pursue with great intensity. 

I have a tendency to place all the things I’m thinking about or exposed to into broader systems and spend a lot of time focusing on system dynamics and optimization.

This website has two purposes:

1 – To share a historical anecdote that resonates with me:

After the Soviet invasion of Lithuania, the Jews, left with nowhere to go, needed to find a way to flee the Nazis/Soviets. Unable to find a single place that would take them, which prevented them from getting a Soviet exit visa, a group of Jews learned that to enter the Dutch colony of Curaçao, no visa was needed — although, unfortunately, the discretion to enter was up to the Dutch consul general, who would not allow any non-Dutch Jews to enter. Despite this, a small group of Jews convinced the Dutch consul to write on their passports, ‘Curaçao, no visa needed,’ which then enabled this group to procure a Soviet transit visa and leave the country, ultimately saving their lives (you can read about what happened to them here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Ghetto)

Having ‘Curaçao, no visa needed’ written in one’s passport is definitely not a visa. But by stating a fact about the universe, and especially by stylizing it by excluding ‘admittance at the discretion of the governor’, it changed the world and saved thousands of Jewish lives. This is part of how I identify my purpose — by learning about various facts of the universe, stylizing them in certain ways, and then bringing them to light in a way that adds value to people’s lives.

2 – By exposing a huge part of my life here, I hope to provide a gentle nudge to those who may view it, encouraging others to embrace their quirks and to put themselves out there.

If you ever want to chat or hang out (being on this site suggests we have a lot in common), I’d love to connect — please email me at daniel mm frank at gmail dot com or reach out if you are visiting Toronto. I’d also love if you provided me with anonymous feedback.