Jennifer Pahlka @pahlkadot Twitter profile

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Jennifer Pahlka

11 months

“My pitch for this episode is simple: Jennifer Pahlka has written one of the best policy books I have ever read.” - Ezra Klein

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

Just when I thought today could not get any better:

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

The best time to modernize essential government systems was 15 years ago. The second best time is now.

Jim Manico from Manicode Security

@manicode

4 years

The governor of New Jersey just put out the call on live TV that he is desperate for Cobol programmers right now.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

I find this useful. The Dunning-Kruger Prayer: Let me be smart enough to know how dumb I am and give me the courage to carry on anyway. (Thank you @austinkleon .)

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

Technology modernization without policy and process simplification is borderline useless.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

7 years

So, to summarize. @Equifax breach happened 7/29. 3 execs sold stock the day after it happened, but didn't tell us until 9/7.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

9 years

Thor's other tools. http://t.co/EFhex7g6fi

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

12 yrs ago today, I filed papers with the state to form @codeforamerica . Now, under the amazing leadership of @AmandaRenteria , CfA is helping thousands of govts and millions of people. Happy birthday, CfA! Here's to everyone -- so many -- who have made it such a force for good.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

11 months

I just went to Kramer's on Connecticut Avenue, looking for a gift. I wasn't looking for my book, but then I realized I should see it on the shelves, and I didn't. I was so disappointed. Then I asked at the counter, and they said it was sold out. Wut.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 years

It is the greatest gift when someone says to you, "Yes, you can do this." Especially when the thing you're trying to do is hard. There have been several times in my life when someone said that to me, and it has made all the difference. I wish that gift for others.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 years

We as Americans should demand a delivery-driven government. What does that mean? It means learning to drive policy and operations around delivery and users, and completing the feedback circuit, accountable to real outcomes. Help us. Start here:

Delivery-driven Government

Principles and Practices for Government in the Digital Age

medium.com

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

My daughter is a poll worker in Oakland, my sister is a poll watcher in Ohio, and I'm helping the voter protection team in Texas. The Pahlka women are showing up for democracy. Not today, Satan.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

5 years

1/ Nearly 10 years ago, I became obsessed with creating a new kind of public service and bringing government into the digital age. So I started @codeforamerica .

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

11 months

I decided to get a box of ice cream bars to celebrate my book launch. I took them to the checkout and they wouldn't scan so they gave me to me for free. Free ice cream on a beautiful day in DC! Not sure it gets better than this.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

This one's going on the wall.

XKCD Comic

@xkcdComic

4 years

Dependency

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

People tend not to believe me when I tell them my husband is basically Martha Stewart, so get this: he is currently re-seasoning our (6) cast iron pans in a six-step that will take several days but as he says "is so worth it." SEE?

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

8 years

"Honey, tell Alexa to tell the Nest to turn the heat off!"

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 months

I am honored and excited to be working with the brilliant, public-minded folks at @NiskanenCenter . For the uninitiated, Time called Niskanen "The Most Interesting Think Tank In American Politics" It's a great fit for me because...

The Most Interesting Think Tank In American Politics

"Liberal democracy is in the balance"

time.com

Niskanen Center

@NiskanenCenter

6 months

We are pleased to welcome @pahlkadot to Niskanen as a senior fellow to help build our State Capacity Initiative! Her new book shows why we aren't meeting our policy goals and what to do about it. This Initiative seeks to execute the ideas in her book.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

Tell me this is not the best book title ever.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

5 years

Yeah, this does not end well. Teachers are buying their own toilet paper and school supplies. A company that already has billions in profit gets $750M in tax incentives in the same district. This cannot hold.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

If you voted in Harris County using drive-thru voting, sign up to stay updated on the court battle, including information about additional steps that may be needed to ensure your vote counted, if that becomes necessary. Go to or text DRIVE THRU to 21333.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

7 years

Litter. Only in the Mission.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 years

Home after a mind blowing #CfASummit , grateful for all the brilliance and heart and courage of everyone who showed up. Thank you!

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

It is EXTREMELY encouraging to see the funding for USDS and TTS here. And after all these years of TTS doing a ridiculous reimbursement dance, for them to get to scale platforms like is huge. It will mean better service delivery. 👏👏👏 transition team!

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

Happy Friday! Some VERY good news: @AmandaRenteria is @codeforamerica 's new CEO! I am so excited to see her lead the org into it's next era of making much-needed change in how government serves people. Welcome, Amanda!

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

8 months

"State capacity is the ability of a government to accomplish policy goals." (Wikipedia)

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 months

From @mattyglesias : "The federal government doesn’t hire people to do things, it hires people to supervise grants that have rules that purport to require the people who get the money to do things.... 1/2

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

What is @USDResponse ? It’s help for governments during this crisis. COVID-19 is already overwhelming the data, digital, and operational capacities of government in a myriad of ways, and we have qualified people who can step in. Here’s a thread with what you need to know. 1/

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

5 years

"Every time you add a question to a form, I want you to imagine the user filling it out with one hand, while using the other to break up a brawl between toddlers." - wisdom from @werkstatte

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

7 years

Best. Opportunity. Ever. Head of Product for @codeforamerica !

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

2 years

My husband and my ex-husband are now half an hour into a debate about whether this cow is abnormally large. It's below freezing with a 25 mph wind out here. How's your day going?

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

This will break your heart. Read it anyway.

‘Heroes, right?’

Anthony Almojera, on being a New York City paramedic and the injustices of covid-19.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

5 years

You know what's nice? I love my job. We're looking for the right person to take my job, and that's really nice too :), but I still love it. I love the people, I love the work, I love the impact. Don't want to ever take something this amazing for granted.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

7 years

Iterative, user-centered and data driven isn't just for tech. Top policymakers and regulators know.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

Content strategists: government needs you now to help respond to the #Covid_19 crisis. If you can help on a volunteer basis, sign up with @USDResponse at We have a lot of requests for your particular skill set right now!

U.S. Digital Response

We place experienced, pro-bono technologists to work with government and organizations responding to moments of crisis, to quickly deliver critical services and infrastructure that support the needs...

www.usdigitalresponse.org

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

2 years

Paperwork favors the powerful.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 years

Digital services that work for real people shouldn't be government innovation. That's table stakes. But an airport kiosk for borrowing digital books is innovation. And it may or may not work. But good on @LAPublicLibrary for trying new things!

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

Today at 2pm ET I'll be giving testimony in the House Budget Committee Democrats' hearing on how Covid-19 has exposed the need for investments in govt tech -- adding my view that the policy and tech must be thought through together.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

7 years

“This salmon had become a metaphor for Silicon Valley itself.” This is hysterical and will cheer you up, I promise.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

There's a HUGE amount of money coming at legacy modernization. How do we spend it right? We're about to have our Kill It With Fire Moment.

Our Kill It With Fire Moment

The amount of money that is about to be thrown at modernizing government legacy systems is staggering. The rescue package alone allocates…

link.medium.com

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

7 years

@drvox

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

5 years

Tomorrow my baby turns 16. There's a huge difference between what this actually represents and what it FEELS like. Actual: I made a human and she survived for 16 years and counting. Feeling: OMG OMG OMG SOMEONE PLS HOLD ME HOW DID I MAKE THIS GLORIOUSNESS ALSO I'M SCARED AAAAHHHH

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

11 months

At the Partnership for Public Service!

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 years

"The waterfall method amounts to a pledge by all parties not to learn anything while doing the actual work." Classic line from @cshirky coming up a lot in our prep calls for @codeforamerica #cfasummit .

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

This the kind of news that hard to explain why it is SO GOOD, so if you don't know @ClareMartorana , just trust me. This is like really really-- no, I mean REALLY -- good.

Exclusive: Biden appoints Clare Martorana to lead the White House's digital efforts - Fast Company

The former health tech executive and U.S. Digital Service veteran will be charged with improving government websites and modernizing IT infrastructure and cybersecurity.

www.fastcompany.com

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 months

I consider it the highest honor that President Obama put Recoding America on his AI reading list despite the fact that the book does not discuss AI! :)

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 months

My new op-ed in @washingtonpost , in which we discuss the deep state, kludgeocracy, PRA, NEPA, lawyers, Schedule F, hiring reform, and trusting public servants. Gets a little spicy. LMK what you think!

Opinion | What causes such maddening bottlenecks in government? ‘Kludgeocracy.’

Public servants are frustrated that policies and procedures often take precedence over mission.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

So I shared the first draft of my book with my editor today. I feel fine. Totally fine. Yes, I'm really fine. I really am. Why, do I not look fine? I'm doing great. Really. I am.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 years

There are approximately 100m people in the country who will watch the dog if it means getting kids back with their parents.

Peter Alexander

@PeterAlexander

6 years

Here’s the verbatim exchange from today’s status conference in the Southern District of California, via @JuliaEAinsley

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

I'm headed to DC after a long spell away. I love DC. I will never not love it, no matter what happens. Those buildings are still full of people trying to serve the public. They still belong to the American people.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

I remember thinking when I met Courtney Brousseau ( @cbrewsayso ), while he was an undergrad at Berkeley and starting Code for Berkeley, that whatever the future has in store, we're going to be OK because people like Courtney will lead us. Like so many, I'm heartbroken today.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

10 months

I started @codeforamerica at 40. Wrote my first book at 50. Hope to do something cool at 60 too, and 70. (At 80 I plan to catch up on all of the episodes of The Simpsons I missed while I was doing other stuff.) Happy birthday, @ariannahuff !

Arianna Huffington

@ariannahuff

10 months

As I celebrate my birthday today, I'm reflecting on how much it’s built into our youth-worshipping culture that we have to do everything by the time we’re 30. But as I’ve learned first-hand, we can build our dreams at any age! 💜

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

As we begin to throw vast amounts of money at a persistent tech problem again, just a reminder that technology modernization without policy and process simplification is useless.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

5 years

@timoreilly @AshleyRParker @karaswisher DAMN, I'm a lucky woman. This makes me think of one of my favorite last book lines: "It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both." My husband is not only a true friend and support, but also has a helluva way with words.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

I'm cleaning out my desk at @codeforamerica and full of joy and gratitude. But also remembering with love and surprisingly still-present grief a few I loved who were on this journey with me but didn't make it this far. Jake and Carl, I miss you both.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

Over the past 7 weeks, I've had the honor of working with the incredible @CAGovOps team to help understand why too many Californians haven't received their unemployment insurance benefits, and what to do about it. Our work has now stopped the growth of the backlog, 1/x

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

This @codeforamerica team used clear, simple, cheap text message reminders to get up to 79% more people to show up prepared for safety net appointments in Louisiana. Amazing work!

Cell Phones as a Safety Net Lifeline — Code for America

codeforamerica.org

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 years

Dear people who make airplane wifi: Please make this service a little bit better. And then stop before it gets so good that we can do videoconference calls from a plane. Nobody wants that. Thank you.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

5 years

Proud that the amazing team at @codeforamerica helped make this happen.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

9 years

"When something bad happens, look for the helpers. You will always find people helping." - Mr Rogers

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

This is what happened on my teen's night to cook dinner. #humblebrag

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

@Erie "Tom’s beloved mother, who died when he was only 23, taught him to always give money to people who asked, because it could be an angel testing him. He always did. In lieu of flowers, please give money to the next person who asks." 😢

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

Elected officials and govt leaders worried about websites that don't work: take @Erie 's advice. Insist on (real) usability tests. Sit in on them. You should be able to use the site yourself, unaided. Normalize this practice. Bugs are normal --the point is to find and fix them!

Erie

@Erie

3 years

@chenderson Councilmember Henderson, on behalf of DC residents, please ask to sit in on usability testing of the new site before it goes live. 3-5 people is all it takes. Here’s a short write up: DC already has talent on hand that can do it. If needed, there’s help.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

5 years

A user-centered, iterative, data-driven approach as made a big difference in government technology. But the real benefit comes when it's also applied to POLICY. We're calling this delivery-driven policy. And we'd love your thoughts on it.

Delivery-Driven Policy

Policy designed for and in the digital age

pahlkadot.medium.com

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

5 years

Congress asked the @InnovationBoard what the Dept of Defense should do about getting good at software. Our answer is out, and its useful for everyone thinking about software acquisition reform. Also, your move, Congress. #SWAPstudy #SWisnotHW #nerdalert

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

7 years

Many vendors are an active part of modernizing govt to work for all its people. But not all.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

Fantastic news that @mina_hsiang will be the next administrator of the @USDS ! She's a powerful and inspiring leader, and the inspiration for our concept of delivery-driven policy at @codeforamerica (see ) Huge congrats to Mina, the USDS team, and all of us!

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

11 months

ToooooooooooooooDAY!

Henry Holt & Company

@HenryHolt

11 months

RECODING AMERICA by @pahlkadot is out now, a bold call to reexamine how our government operates—and sometimes fails to! @ezraklein says, "This is one of the best policy books I've read." Get yours here:

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

How about we declare February Public Servant Appreciation Month? So many of them have been working 16 hours a day for close to a year now. I know several who have been pulling all-nighters lately. Their jobs are hard, their tools are often terrible, but they keep going. For us.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

11 months

So many people ask me why someone who could work at Google or wherever would CHOOSE to work in government. @laurenalisa explains it so well here. It's not just "giving back." It's what you get, too.

Why I quit my job at Google to work in local government

In 2017, I left my job as a UX designer at Google. I hope my experiences can encourage others considering this career change.

laurenjong.medium.com

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

5 years

Surely we've now overproduced reusable water bottles (mostly due to the need for a place to put corporate logos) at such a rate that we've wiped out whatever ecological footprint benefit we were going for. Can we stop now? Pretty please?

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

7 years

Why I’m Going to the White House Today.

Why I’m Going to the White House Today

Today, along with the heads of several tech companies, I will be attending a meeting at the White House convened under the auspices of the…

medium.com

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

5 years

This is awesome: How I changed the law with a GitHub pull request, from @joshdata

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 years

Sometimes, to reclaim government, we must become part of it. My piece in @voxdotcom today.

How computer software can make policy, explained by family separation at the border

And the power that tech workers wield in government policy.

www.vox.com

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 years

Exciting news about @codeforamerica and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and other partners

Delivering Government Services in the Digital Age, with support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Did you know that our government safety net keeps more than 50 million Americans above the poverty line each year? In this holiday season…

medium.com

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

Can we get some serious LOVE for public servants? We routinely fail to appreciate them and their incredibly difficult and important work.

Bryan William Jones

@BWJones

4 years

Dr. Fiona Hill is… *amaaaaazing*. She is precisely the sort of person you want in diplomacy. Ethical, razor sharp, analytical, well prepared, factual, well spoken, complex, and deeply reflective.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

If you're looking for a movie to watch tonight, consider Charlie Wilson's War.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 months

The best time for me to have read Caro's The Power Broker was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. Finally listening to it. And wow! So many thoughts and feelings. Also, still 41 hours to go.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

11 months

So I have little graphics illustrating some of the core concepts in Recoding America. Should I print some of these up as stickers? Which ones? And which concepts still need a graphic? (Please don't say policy vomit. There's no way to illustrate that well.)

Core Concepts — Recoding America

Get a high level overview of the ideas that drive Recoding America.

www.recodingamerica.us

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 years

“I have been marching for women’s rights for 50 years, and it’s sometimes a bit discouraging to be here. But I don’t know what the alternative is. This is democracy. This is patriotism.” - MY MOM, quoted in the NYPost while protesting on Capitol Hill.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

11 months

ICYMI, here are the 3 books I recommended on the Ezra Klein show this week. The first one has a subtitle so long it doesn't fit in a tweet, but it's called Implementation and it's like one of the stories in my book but from 1973, and told in even greater nerdy detail.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

2 years

Soon, @AmandaRenteria will go on stage at #TED2022 to share @codeforamerica 's plan to reinvent our nation's safety net. I could not be happier or more proud. The team has really earned this. The country really needs it. And Amanda is a dream come true for a mission that matters.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

2 months

During covid, plenty of govt agencies stood up applications for programs using low-code/no-code tools like Airtable & Typeform with help from volunteers at @USDResponse and others. Those forms often asked fewer questions that were more clearly worded than comparable legacy forms.

Matt Stoller

@matthewstoller

2 months

The state of Utah replaced its complex UnitedHealth Group operated Medicaid reimbursement system with a four question Google form. And it works.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 years

Is it possible to work out deep boiling rage through gardening? I'm about to find out, sisters.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

11 months

We are all at the same conclusion. Fix hiring. Fix promotion criteria. Invest in people. It is jobs 1, 2, and 3 at this point. “Our infrastructure for recruiting, hiring, promoting, and retaining them has been sorely neglected.”

rumon carter

@rumon

11 months

I’ve been getting asked a lot what we can do to address the issues raised in @pahlkadot ’s book, including, as commonly: “What’s the *one* thing we can do?” As she observes in the great thread following this post, “there is no silver bullet;” however… (1/2)

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

This is HUGE. Can you imagine how much this needs to change? "Across fed govt, 90% of competitive, open-to-the-public job announcements relied solely on an applicant's answers to a self-assessment to determine whether their experience made them eligible for the position."

U.S. Digital Service

@USDS

3 years

Today @USDS , @USOPM & @USGSA launched a hiring dashboard and dataset to bring transparency to job seekers and help HR professionals track assessments and selection outcomes for competitive jobs posted on USAJOBS.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

5 years

I was subscribed to the White House email newsletter in 2013. When Trump took office, I realized I was still subscribed, and decided (after a few months of shock) to keep reading them. I'm glad I did. They do not represent reality, but they do help me understand something. 1/

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

5 years

Proud to support @SenKamalaHarris "s Digital Service Act to bring government into the digital age and serve all Americans as they should be served, with dignity and respect.

Kamala Harris Wants to Give States Millions to Overhaul Tech

The Digital Service Act of 2019 would help state and local governments hire the talent they need to fix the often outdated tools and websites Americans use every day.

www.wired.com

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

Why is JPEGS all caps and smaller than PDFs? This is going to drive me crazy.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 years

"I think the question is not whether Facebook is terrible. The question is why do we convince ourselves that a mobile advertising platform is a civic institution?" - @aschrock

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 months

Just to be clear, pretty much everyone I know who has read or is reading The Power Broker is doing so because we are obsessed with the interplay between state capacity and the abuse of power. How to get results without Moses-like despotism IS THE WORK.

Bike Delaware 🚲

@Bike_DE

6 months

@mattyglesias @pahlkadot When state capacity is badly abused - as it was during the urban freeway era - it can have lasting negative consequences.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

Here's my set up in my grandparents' house in Bacliff, TX for today's congressional testimony. #makeitwork

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

6 months

THIS I amplify this message with unwavering support for the civil service and love for government. I can only assume that's the perspective of this commenter as well. We have to stop murdering the mission.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

7 years

One of the least visible long term effects of leaving government systems decades behind.

Things you may find hard to believe (or not)

I’m a fountain of stories about how government can do better. They’re not rants… at least I hope they’re not. The maddening things that…

medium.com

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

“What good governance and the good society look like is now inextricably linked to an understanding of the digital.” - @steiny These words, from 2012, are worth revisiting as the nascent Biden administration makes plans to #buildbackbetter . 1/x

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

3 years

I bought an old laser printer off NextDoor and the manual has a whole section for DOS users. Also most of the manual is about the many fax functions, including broadcast faxing. Everyone give me your fax numbers, I'm gonna start a newsletter.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

Hello from @codeforamerica 's final all hands of the year. We are celebrating helping over a million people this year alone and making government work better for people and by people. Happy holidays from this amazing, growing team!

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

The only makeup I've worn in two weeks is the "touch up my appearance" filter on zoom.

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Jennifer Pahlka

@pahlkadot

4 years

The elections process is working. The media is basically working. The courts are working. Some basic organs of democracy functioning so far. #statuscheck

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