In this series you’ll hear stories from USDSers and learn why they decided to join, why they stay, and how their work is making an impact for all Americans.
Michael Land (he/ him), Director of UX Design, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Previously with the National Park Service. From Forest, VA.
Unlike a lot of USDSers, I have worked in and around government my entire career, mostly on environmental issues. Fresh out of college and armed with a degree in biology, I did a stint in state government as a fisheries scientist at the College of William and Mary. During my down time from field research, I began to tinker around on the web, building websites for the College.
Eventually, I moved to Annapolis and began working as the Director of Web for the Chesapeake Bay Program, a multi-governmental, Bay restoration program focused on restoring the Chesapeake Bay, our nation’s largest estuary, where I led efforts to communicate Bay science and education through a series of digital products. …
We’ve been working with HHS and are finally able to release facility-level data for hospital utilization, aggregated weekly.
First published by HHS on HealthData.gov.
By: Kristen Honey, Chief Data Scientist and Senior Advisor to Assistant Secretary for Health, HHS; Amy Gleason, Data Strategy and Execution Workgroup Lead, USDS; and Kevin Duvall, Deputy Chief Data Officer, HHS
This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published COVID-19 hospital data at the facility level for each week, going back to August 1st 2020. This information was previously aggregated by state. This new data and its data quality are paramount to the U.S. pandemic response. COVID-19 models, analyses, and predictive analytics can only be as good as the data they ingest. …
In this series you’ll hear stories from USDSers and learn why they decided to join, why they stay, and how their work is making an impact for all Americans.
Jeremy Wilcox (he/ him), Procurement @ USDS HQ. Previously Forrester Research. From Toronto, ON.
What’s your background?
I grew up in Canada, in the suburbs of Toronto. My father drove a forklift in a warehouse and my mother worked as a resource librarian with a rehab center for children with disabilities. I grew up with a strong work ethic thanks to my parents. Nothing would be handed to me.
I was fortunate to intern fulltime at Microsoft for 8 months while still in high school in the ’90s, working in finance, and that experience altered my decision to major in Business rather than Accounting, at Geneva College. …
In this series you’ll hear stories from USDSers and learn why they decided to join, why they stay, and how their work is making an impact for all Americans.
Joe Giordano (he/ him), Technical Recruiter @ USDS HQ. Previously Kforce. From Gainesville, FL.
What’s your background?
After college I found myself working as a technical recruiter, and instantly fell in love with the opportunity to make a living by building relationships and working with people to optimize their career paths. Recruiting is a profession that not many necessarily set out to follow, but it’s a great way to make an impact on people’s lives and is a very rewarding job. I worked for nearly four years at two recruiting agencies before joining USDS.
What inspired you to join USDS?
To be perfectly honest, I didn’t have any intention of ever leaving my previous job. But when a former colleague, now the USDS Director of Talent, reached out to me in early 2019, I was intrigued by this idea of a government agency that worked to improve various services that have such a huge impact on so many millions of lives across the United States. When I was told that the background and skillset I had in recruiting could be a part of that, I was hooked! …
In this series you’ll hear stories from USDSers and learn why they decided to join, why they stay, and how their work is making an impact for all Americans.
Kirsten Green (she/her), Acquisition Strategist @ USDS HQ. From Port Saint John, Florida.
What’s your background?
I started my federal career in 2000, working as a secretary supporting a project management office at the National Park Service in Denver. Since then, I have dabbled in contracting, finance & budget, human resources, training, helpdesk support, system administration, and as a contracting officer. I have had the honor of serving in the following amazing agencies: National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, the General Services Administration (GSA), GSA’s Technology Transformation Service, and the awesome and amazing USDS.
Prior to USDS, what’s the coolest project you’ve worked on? …
In this series you’ll hear stories from USDSers and learn why they decided to join, why they stay, and how their work is making an impact for all Americans.
Jordan Ginn (he/ him), technical recruiter @ USDS HQ. Previously at a tech startup and his first tour at USDS. From Tacoma, WA.
What’s your background?
I started my post-college career as a teacher in the south Bronx for two years then transitioned to social work trying to assist folks in getting themselves in the workforce and off TANF. That put me in the employment space which eventually became headhunting for corporate clients. (I sold out and figured I wanted to make more than a nonprofit salary). However from headhunting, to internal recruiting, to middle management — I never fully felt comfortable in corporate America, despite many successes. …
We’ve hired our third cohort this year. People continue joining USDS from tech communities across the country to do the greatest good, for the greatest number of people, in the greatest need.
When you join USDS, you become part of a community that extends to life after your tour of duty. Since we were founded by the President in 2014, over 500 people have served, modernizing government, shifting culture, and showing what’s possible. Nearly 80% of our staff have joined during this administration to try and make a difference in people’s lives.
Technologists from across the country, representing diverse communities, skillsets, and backgrounds are joining USDS because of our mission. This fall, folks are joining to respond to COVID-19, support Medicare patients, and help America’s Veterans.
Meet the newest members of the U.S. Digital Service family — recruited from tech communities across the country. Prior to joining they were Facebookers, consultants, Presidential Innovation Fellows, and video game industry professionals. …
In this series you’ll hear stories from USDSers and learn why they decided to join, why they stay, and how their work is making an impact for all Americans.
Alissa Bookwalter (she/ her), Deputy Director, Talent Management & People Operations at USDS HQ. Previously General Dynamics. From Grove City, PA
What’s your background?
I’ve spent a good portion of the past 10+ years supporting & consulting for various defense health programs. I’ve been so fortunate to work with the DoD and the United States Olympic Committee, supporting wounded, ill or injured Service members and veterans at the DoD Warrior Games (Go Army!), …
In this series you’ll hear stories from USDSers and learn why they decided to join, why they stay, and how their work is making an impact for all Americans.
Glennette Clark (she/ her), Design Researcher at DHS Digital Service. Previously contractor at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. From Elizabeth City, NC.
What’s your background?
My first years after college were spent as an intern at teacher’s union, a desktop publisher for a science education publisher and marketing assistant at an international charity. I have a degree in Journalism and an MBA in Strategic Design. I started UXCamp DC in 1990 which won the “Talent Cultivator” award from TechWeek100.
I have always been an advocate for diversity and inclusion in technology. …
In this series you’ll hear stories from USDSers and learn why they decided to join, why they stay, and how their work is making an impact for all Americans.
Shelly Smith (she/her), UX researcher, USDS HQ. Previously with the City of Seattle. From Seattle, WA.
What’s your background?
I went to art school! I started out my professional career as a web and UI designer and was lucky enough to grow my skills as the industry matured. Over time I folded more and more human-centered design practices into my work. My current emphasis is on research. I love digging into problems and learning about people’s experiences.
I’m also a classically trained fine artist. I have an active scientific illustration practice in addition to my UX designer and researcher work. I make drawings and paintings of microorganisms found in water and soil samples. Recently I did a virtual art activation series with the Arlington Art Truck program in Arlington, VA. …
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