Jennifer Pahlka

Jennifer Pahlka is the author of Recoding America: Why Government is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better and a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center and the Federation of American Scientists, where she works on improving the ability of government to achieve its policy goals. She founded Code for America in 2010 and led the organization for ten years. In 2013, she took a leave of absence to serve as U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer under President Obama and helped found the United States Digital Service. She served on the Defense Innovation Board under Presidents Obama and Trump. At the start of the pandemic, she also co-founded United States Digital Response, which helps government meet the needs of the public with volunteer tech support. She received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, and was named by Wired as one of the 25 people who has most shaped the past 25 years. Jennifer is a graduate of Yale University.