Jennifer Pahlka

{{Infobox person

|name = Jennifer Pahlka

|image = Jennifer Pahlka in 2016 by Christopher Michel.jpg

|caption = Pahlka in 2016

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1969|12|27}}

|birth_place = Port Deposit, Maryland, U.S.

|spouse = {{marriage|Tim O'Reilly|April 11, 2015}}

|children = 1

|occupation = {{hlist|Businesswoman|author|political advisor|}}

|years_active = 1995–present

|education = Yale University (BA)

}}

Jennifer Pahlka (born December 27, 1969){{cite web |title=Jennifer Pahlka |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/10/06/jennifer-pahlka.html |website=CNBC |access-date=February 6, 2022 |date=October 6, 2014}} is an American businesswoman, author, and political advisor. She is the founder and former executive director of Code for America. She served as U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer from June 2013 to June 2014 and helped found the United States Digital Service.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/08/healthcare-gov |title=America's Tech Guru Steps Down—But He's Not Done Rebooting the Government |magazine=WIRED |accessdate=October 30, 2017 |language=en-US|last1=Levy |first1=Steven }} Previously she had worked at CMP Media with various roles in the computer game industry. She was the co-chair and general manager of the Web 2.0 conferences. In June 2023 she released her book, Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better.

Early life and education

Born in Port Deposit, Maryland, Pahlka was raised in Austin, New Haven, and New York City. She is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science and Yale University.

Career

Pahlka spent eight years at CMP Media (now part of United Business Media), where she led the Game Group that was responsible for the Game Developers Conference (GDC), Game Developer Magazine, and Gamasutra.com. She oversaw the dramatic growth of GDC from 1995 to 2003. She launched the Independent Games Festival and the Game Developers Choice Awards. She was also the executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), an independent nonprofit association serving game developers around the world.

From 2005 to 2009, she was the co-chair and general manager of the Web 2.0 events for TechWeb, a division of United Business Media, in partnership with O'Reilly Media. In that role, she proposed the creation of the Web 2.0 Expo, and became the co-chair for the event. She also played a key role in managing the Gov 2.0 Summit and Gov 2.0 Expo.

= Code for America =

Pahlka founded Code for America, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that aims to make government better for all people.[https://techcrunch.com/2011/12/14/code-for-america-receives-1-5m-grant-from-google-to-help-the-government-harness-technology/ Code For America Receives $1.5M Grant From Google To Help The Government Harness Technology], Leena Rao, Techcrunch, December 14, 2011 According to the Washington Post it "is the technology world's equivalent of the Peace Corps or Teach for America… [offering] an alternative to the old, broken path of government IT."[https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-innovations/code-for-america-an-elegant-solution-for-government-it-problems/2011/12/16/gIQAXrIu2O_story.html Code for America: An elegant solution for government IT problems], Vivek Wadhwa, The Washington Post, December 18, 2011 In her 2012 TED Talk, Pahlka noted that we will not be able to reinvent government unless we also reinvent citizenship, and she asked, "Are we just going to be a crowd of voices, or are we going to be a crowd of hands?"[http://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_pahlka_coding_a_better_government.html Coding a Better Government], TED.com

Although remaining as an advisor and member of the board of directors, Pahlka stepped down as executive director of Code for America on January 31, 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://statescoop.com/code-for-america-jennifer-pahlka-steps-down/|title=Code for America chief Jennifer Pahlka to step down Jan. 31|first=Benjamin|last=Freed|date=January 24, 2020|website=Statescoop}} Subsequently, she left the board of directors in April 2023.[https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpahlka/ About Jennifer Pahlka], [LinkedIn.com]

= United States Deputy Chief Technology Officer =

Federal Chief Technology Officer Todd Park tried to recruit Pahlka to run the Presidential Innovation Fellows, a program loosely modeled on Code for America. In May 2013, Pahlka announced that she was taking the position of deputy chief technology officer for government innovation for the US government Office of Science and Technology Policy for one year. She described the opportunity as her "own fellowship year of sorts".Camille Tuutti (May 30, 2013) [http://fedscoop.com/pahlka-named-deputy-cto-of-innovation/ "Pahlka named deputy CTO of government innovation"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404013456/http://fedscoop.com/pahlka-named-deputy-cto-of-innovation/ |date=April 4, 2014 }}, Fed Scoop.

In her role as deputy chief technology officer, Pahlka managed Round 2 of the program and organized the creation of Round 3,{{Cite web|url=https://federalnewsnetwork.com/technology-main/2014/04/inside-the-presidential-innovation-fellows-program-a-qa-with-the-white-house/|title=Inside the Presidential Innovation Fellows program: A Q&A with the White House|date=April 1, 2014|website=Federal News Network}} but her principal goal during her year at the White House was to create something more equivalent to the UK Government Digital Service. She set in motion the creation of the United States Digital Service within the Executive Office of the President.{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/08/25/how-the-u-s-digital-service-could-upset-d-c-s-it-vendor-ecosystem/|title=How the U.S. Digital Service could upset D.C.'s 'IT vendor ecosystem'|first=Nancy|last=Scola|date=August 25, 2014|via=www.washingtonpost.com}}

= United States Digital Response =

In March 2020, Pahlka co-founded United States Digital Response, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization to provide technology volunteers to state and local governments whose systems were unable to respond adequately to the new demands put on them by the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization fielded thousands of volunteers.{{Cite web|url=https://www.naco.org/blog/us-digital-response-program-matches-volunteers-county-needs|title=U.S. Digital Response Program matches volunteers with county needs|first=Rita|last=Reynolds|date=April 3, 2020|website=National Association of Counties}}

= California Employment Development Department Strike Team =

In July 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Pahlka to co-lead a strike team with California Government Operations Secretary Yolanda Richardson to make recommendations for modernizing the backlogged state unemployment systems.{{Cite web|url=https://statescoop.com/california-newsom-unemployment-strike-team/|title=California Gov. Newsom unveils unemployment-tech 'strike team'|first=Ryan|last=Johnston|date=July 30, 2020|website=Statescoop}} The strike team issued its report in September 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.techwire.net/news/edd-strike-team-recommends-immediate-comprehensive-change-technology-updates.html|title=EDD Strike Team Recommends Immediate, Comprehensive Change, Technology Updates|first=Theo|last=Douglas|date=September 20, 2020|website=Techwire}} Among the problems uncovered by the Strike Team, it was found that poorly designed and outdated fraud protection techniques were denying benefits to millions because of minor discrepancies in documentation supplied by applicants. For instance, a middle initial appearing on an application when the full middle name appeared on a supporting document such as a driver's license, could cause applications to be flagged for manual review, yet adoption of a modern off-the-shelf identity verification system could solve the problem quickly.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wabe.org/so-hard-to-prove-you-exist-flawed-fraud-protections-deny-unemployment-to-million/|title='So Hard To Prove You Exist': Flawed Fraud Protections Deny Unemployment To Millions|first=Chris|last=Arnold|date=October 14, 2020|website=WABE}}

= East Bay Mini Maker Faire =

With Sabrina Merlo and Corey Weinstein, Pahlka is a co-founder of the East Bay Mini Maker Faire.{{Cite web|url=https://ebmakerfaire.wordpress.com/|title=East Bay Mini Maker Faire|website=East Bay Mini Maker Faire}} In comments to The Huffington Post, she made explicit the connection between her work on open government and the Maker movement, saying, "There is a certain generation who have grown up being able to mash up, to tinker with, every system they've ever encountered. So they are meeting their relationship with government in a new way, with a new assumption: We can fix it." {{As of|2015}}, The East Bay Mini Maker Faire attracts approximately 7,000 people annually.{{Cite news| last = O'Brien| first = Matt| title = Jennifer Pahlka, founder of Code for America, talks 'civic hacking'| work = San Jose Mercury News| accessdate = April 19, 2015| date = April 16, 2015| url = http://phys.org/news/2015-04-jennifer-pahlka-founder-code-america.html}}

Recognition

In recognition of her contribution to digital open government in the United States, Pahlka was awarded an Internet and Society Award from the Oxford Internet Institute. For her work re-imagining government for the 21st century, Pahlka was named a 2011 HuffPost Gamechanger.[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/huffposts-2011-game-chang_b_1031454.html?ref=2011-game-changers#s421114&title=Business_and_Tech HuffPost's 2011 Game Changers: This Year's Ultimate 12], Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post, October 26, 2011 She was a celebrity judge for the Federal Communications Commission Apps for Community contest, along with Marc Andreessen and Newark Mayor Cory Booker.{{Cite web |url=http://appsforcommunities.challenge.gov/details/judging |title=Apps for Community: Judging |access-date=December 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120701112141/http://appsforcommunities.challenge.gov/details/judging |archive-date=July 1, 2012 |url-status=dead }} She was elected an Ashoka Fellow in 2012.{{Cite web|url = https://www.ashoka.org/fellow/jennifer-pahlka|title = Jennifer Pahlka|date = |accessdate = October 24, 2014|website = Ashoka Fellows|publisher = Ashoka|last = |first = }} In 2012, she gave a keynote speech at South By Southwest Interactive in 2012.{{Cite web |url=http://sxsw.com/node/9742 |title=Code for America's Jennifer Pahlka to Inspire with SXSW Interactive Keynote |access-date=December 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108035005/http://sxsw.com/node/9742 |archive-date=January 8, 2012 |url-status=dead }} In the same year she was featured in TechCrunch's list of "The 20 Most Innovative People in Democracy".{{Cite web|title=The 20 Most Innovative People in Democracy|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/11/03/the-20-most-innovative-people-in-democracy-2012/|website=Tech Crunch|date=November 3, 2012 }}

In 2018, Pahlka accepted the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship on behalf of Code for America.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/04/13/601789304/advice-from-five-women-and-a-guy-who-won-1-25-million-dollars-to-do-good|title=Advice From 5 Women And A Guy Who Won $1.25 Million To Do Good|work=NPR.org|access-date=April 19, 2018|language=en}} She was featured among the 2018 "America's Top 50 Women In Tech" list published by Forbes.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/jennifer-pahlka/?list=top-tech-women-america |title=Jennifer Pahlka |work=Forbes}}

== Personal life ==

She married technical author, investor, and publisher Tim O'Reilly in 2015.{{Cite web| title = Tim O'Reilly on Twitter: "Last night at the reception for my wedding to the incomparable @pahlkadot!| accessdate = February 17, 2016| url = https://twitter.com/timoreilly/status/587226466984812544}} She has one daughter.

{{As of|2024}}, Pahlka lives in Oakland, California.{{Cite web |last=Jennifer |first=Pahkla |title='Not your house. My house': A home invasion and its agonizing aftermath - The San Francisco Standard -- Jennifer Pahlka - Published Aug. 10, 2024 • 6:00am |url=https://sfstandard.com/2024/08/10/home-invasion-oakland/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240811011851/https://sfstandard.com/2024/08/10/home-invasion-oakland/ |archive-date=2024-08-11 |website=sfstandard.com/|date=August 10, 2024 }}

Publications

{{cite book|title = Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better|publisher = Metropolitan Books|location = New York|year = 2023|isbn = 978-1250266774}}

References

External links

[http://codeforamerica.org/ Code for America] official website
[http://civiccommons.org/ Civic Commons], a project of Code for America
[http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/06/changing-government-and-tech-with-geeks/ Changing Government and Tech with Geeks], Nick Bilton, The New York Times, July 6, 2010
[http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/151/icitizen-bonus.html?page=0,1/ How an Army of Techies Is Taking on City Hall], Anya Kamenetz, Fast Company, November 29, 2010
[https://web.archive.org/web/20110410140735/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_16/b4224034173933.htm Innovator: Jennifer Pahlka], John Tozzi, Business Week, April 7, 2011
[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/19/us/19iht-letter19.html?ref=wikipedia Remaking Government in a Wiki Age], Chrystia Freeland/Reuters, The New York Times, August 18, 2011
[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/huffposts-2011-game-chang_b_1031454.html?ref=2011-game-changers#s421114&title=Business_and_Tech HuffPost's 2011 Game Changers: This Year's Ultimate 12], Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post, October 26, 2011
[https://techcrunch.com/2011/12/14/code-for-america-receives-1-5m-grant-from-google-to-help-the-government-harness-technology/ Code For America Receives $1.5M Grant From Google To Help The Government Harness Technology], Leena Rao, Techcrunch, December 14, 2011
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-innovations/code-for-america-an-elegant-solution-for-government-it-problems/2011/12/16/gIQAXrIu2O_story.html Code for America: An elegant solution for government IT problems], Vivek Wadhwa, The Washington Post, December 18, 2011
[http://blog.ted.com/2012/02/29/possum-problems-and-building-better-government-jennifer-pahlka-at-ted2012/ Possum problems and building better government: Jennifer Pahlka at TED2012], TED Blog, February 29, 2012
Jennifer Pahlka is named one of Government Technology's magazine [http://www.govtech.com/top-25/Jennifer-Pahlka.html Top 25: Doers, Dreamers and Drivers of 2012].