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).
A Pipeline to Public Service ft. Rachel Dodell, Executive Director of Coding It Forward