Rebuilding Government Aldrich

As regulatory battles rage over data privacy and monopoly laws, we often think of Silicon Valley and Washington D.C. as separate worlds. Yet nothing could be farther from the truth. Historically, technologies like silicon chips and the Internet were rooted in huge government investment, leading to America's ascendance as a technological and military superpower.
In this episode of Rebuilding Government, I’ll be chatting with DJ Patil—an expert on public-private cooperation on technology. He was former Chief Data Scientist of the U.S., where he pioneered national data initiatives across precision medical care, police transparency, and national security. DJ is currently the CTO of Devoted Health, a healthcare company serving seniors, and he previously built the first Data Science team at LinkedIn.
Based on his wide-ranging experience, DJ has a real empathy for the challenges that these different sectors face in using technology for social good. We chat about his pathway to public service, what data ethics can learn from medicine, and advice for college students seeking a high-impact career.
*Find us on Twitter @RebuildingGovt and your host @jasminewsun.
*
Relevant resources:
* DJ Patil on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Medium @dpatil
* Precision Medicine Initiative https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/precision-medicine
* The 5 Cs of data science https://medium.com/@dpatil/ethics-data-science-ff21d0c29346
* Tuskegee syphilis experiment https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm
* Henrietta Lacks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_Lacks
* Nuremburg Code https://history.nih.gov/research/downloads/nuremberg.pdf
* The Power by Naomi Alderman
Rebuilding Government is a podcast in collaboration with UNIT Innovations (@unitinnovations) and Teske Media (@teskemedia).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rebuildinggovernment.substack.com

Civic life in America is on the decline. In the past few decades, trust in the media and politicians has decreased dramatically. Adults volunteer less often, and kids are less likely to take a civics class in school. It’s not that people don’t talk politics -- but that we no longer feel equipped to take up our problems with the people in power.
Today, I’m talking to writer and activist Pete Davis, who’s dedicated his life toward this problem. He's campaigned for minimum wage increases and prison reform, founded a venture-backed tiny house startup and a neighborhood social media platform, and is now forwarding a national policy platform to mobilize grassroots democratic reform around the country.
His work is organized around two frameworks: democracy, equal participation in power, and solidarity, a commitment to forging a shared destiny. We chat about the problem with NextDoor, connecting local to national issues, and how college students can develop a mission.
Find us on Twitter @RebuildingGovt and your host @jasminewsun.
Relevant resources:
* Find Pete on Twitter @PeteDDavis or his website http://civicideas.org/
* Democratic Policy Network: https://www.democracypolicy.network/
* Current Affairs Podcast: https://www.currentaffairs.org/podcast
* An Unreasonable Man, a documentary about Ralph Nader
* Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam
Rebuilding Government is a podcast in collaboration with UNIT Innovations (@unitinnovations) and Teske Media (@teskemedia).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rebuildinggovernment.substack.com

Today on Rebuilding Government, I’ll be chatting with Rachel Dodell, the Executive Director of Coding It Forward, and Nik Marda, a Stanford student and 2019 Civic Digital Fellow, about bringing young technologists into government.
We all know that government technology isn't always the most up-to-date. But it may shock you to learn that only 7 percent of U.S. federal employees are under the age of 30.
The nonprofit Coding It Forward is trying to change that. Their trademark program is the Civic Digital Fellowship, a technology, data science, and design internship program that sends innovative students to DC to solve pressing problems in federal agencies.
We discuss the birth of Coding It Forward, government hiring, and how a stint in Washington offers incomparable experience for the mission-driven student.
Find us on Twitter @RebuildingGovt and your host @jasminewsun.
Relevant resources:
* Find Rachel on Twitter @rdodell and Nik @nrmarda
* Coding It Forward: https://www.codingitforward.com
* Civic Digital Fellowship interest form: https://www.codingitforward.com/fellowship
* PICTURE grant proposal: https://inspire2serve.gov/_api/files/343
* The Techlash Has Come To Stanford, Slate https://slate.com/technology/2019/08/stanford-tech-students-backlash-google-facebook-palantir.html
* Weapons of Math Destruction, Cathy O'Neil
Rebuilding Government is a podcast in collaboration with UNIT Innovations (@unitinnovations) and Teske Media (@teskemedia).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rebuildinggovernment.substack.com

Today, I'm talking to Rohan Pavuluri, founder and CEO of Upsolve, a legal aid nonprofit that helps Americans file for bankruptcy for free online.
Bankruptcy is central to the American economy. The option of a financial fresh start has empowered risk-taking entrepreneurship and given a path out to families struck by emergencies, like job losses or medical bills. Yet ironically, it can cost over $1000 to file for Chapter 7 (https://upsolve.org/learn/should-i-file-for-chapter-7-bankruptcy/) bankruptcy, blocking the option from those who need it the most.
Despite being started only three years ago, Upsolve (https://upsolve.org/) is already the largest bankruptcy nonprofit in the United States—serving 10 times as many people as the next largest organization. They scale complex paperwork through the power of the Internet, helping thousands of low-income Americans file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy for free. Check out our conversation on failures in the legal system, nonprofit funding, and how Rohan is rebuilding government.
Find us on Twitter @RebuildingGovt and your host @jasminewsun.
Relevant resources:
* Upsolve: upsolve.org (They’re hiring!)
* Rohan Pavuluri @RPavuluri
* Gideon’s Trumpet by Anthony Lewis
Rebuilding Government is a podcast in collaboration with UNIT Innovations (@unitinnovations) and Teske Media (@teskemedia).
Special Guest: Rohan Pavuluri.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rebuildinggovernment.substack.com

*Today's guest is Frederick Hutson, the cofounder and CEO of Pigeonly, a simple, affordable way to stay in touch with those incarcerated. *
Frederick talks about how expensive it is to communicate with loved ones in the corrections system and how Pigeonly is helping solve these problems. He also touches on his path into the space from being incarcerated to starting a company solve the problems he has seen first hand.
Find us on Twitter @RebuildingGovt and your host @jasminewsun.
Relevant resources:
* Find Frederick on Twitter @IAMFastFreddy
* Pigeonly https://pigeonly.com
Rebuilding Government is a podcast in collaboration with UNIT Innovations (@unitinnovations) and Teske Media (@teskemedia). Special Guest: Frederick Hutson.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rebuildinggovernment.substack.com

Today's guest is Zac Bookman, the cofounder and CEO of OpenGov, a cloud platform that supports government budgeting, performance, communications, and reporting.
Government accounting probably isn't something that we think about too often. It might not be the flashiest thing in politics, but it's the system that allocates every dollar that goes to roads, schools, and so many everyday interactions with government.
And yet, before platforms like OpenGov, this system managing our taxpayer dollars didn't work so well—government tech lagged decades behind the rest of industry, and there was little competition. To learn more about the problems and solutions, we'll chat about Zac's early career in foreign policy, why bureaucracy seems so slow, and how to foster a culture of genuine civic engagement.
Find us on Twitter @RebuildingGovt and your host @jasminewsun.
Relevant resources:
* Find Zac on Twitter @ZacBookman
* OpenGov https://opengov.com
* The Good Earth, Pearl Buck
* John Chambers, OpenGov Board of Directors and @JohnTChambers
Rebuilding Government is a podcast in collaboration with UNIT Innovations (@unitinnovations) and Teske Media (@teskemedia).
Special Guest: Zac Bookman.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rebuildinggovernment.substack.com