Introducing Our New CTO: A Video Interview with Jonathan Porat

 [00:00] Amanda Renteria: Well, I think, Jonathan, this is the worst held secret in all of civic tech, but it’s partly because we were so excited to have you on board and be joining us. And of course, your style is all ready to jump in, which we already see you thinking ideas and having a vision. But let’s just start off with what your professional journey has been and what actually brought you to Code for America. 

[00:32] Jonathan Porat: Yeah, this is all super exciting for me, Amanda, and it’s rare to be able to move from a dream job to another dream job. And I’ve spent my whole career in public sector working for government. Recently, I was the chief technology officer for the state of California. And even though that’s a big sounding title, I really view that role as figuring out how we can use technology to better provide services to California residents. 

So I was proud to release the state’s first digital strategy that then culminated into a strategy around how the state would use things like artificial intelligence or even thinking about things like blockchain or quantum computing. It taught me a lot about, how can we be innovative while bringing along and making sure we’re meeting the needs of everyone, and not just focusing on the exciting new technology that might be out there. 

[01:22]  Amanda Renteria: Yeah, I think about your experience, and it’s unusual that you’ve been both, you’ve been at the federal level, the state level, the local level, and you’ve been on this journey while technology has been changing. And what I even hear in when you’re talking about the technology is not just even making it meet people where they are, but being nice about it.  Like figuring out how can technology actually show up as a helpful tool, not just a tool to help you navigate? 

One of the things I’ve been thinking about just as you come into Code for America is the state of civic tech. It’s grown, it’s changed.  We’ve really started partnering with states across the country. I think one thing that people don’t know out there is, yes, you worked for the state of California, but you had relationships all across the country. We have seen much more of a real camaraderie with all states, red, blue, everything across the board, because you’re facing very similar issues on the backend of things. 

[02:21] Jonathan Porat: So I will be honest, that was a real priority of mine stepping into the CTO role. And definitely a privilege of working in California was we had access to these amazing academic institutions to industry very easily. But I would say coming in, there was a little bit of a bubble outside of some preordained conferences and meetups and things like that. 

So I really made it, as I said, a priority to go out and make relationships not just across the country, but even internationally. There’s so many incredibly innovative states, cities, counties out there trying different things to meet what is initially a unique problem to them. But in a lot of cases, when you talk about it, you realize we’re kind of dealing with these same fundamental questions about things like data privacy, or how do you provide services more efficiently? 

There was a lot we could learn from Rhode Island and the city of Boston and the state of New Jersey and the state of Maryland and vice versa. And then on top of that, the part that I find really exciting, and this is something that’s always tricky from a policy perspective, is how do you then translate those things into something that will represent your communities? 

And I think Code for America, in particular with Summit coming up again, we’re seeing a real opportunity for you all to convene those really important discussions because there’s all of these great technologists that are plugging away within their governments and coming up with all of these great insights around design and delivery and security. And there’s a real opportunity to share that information nationally and take advantage of all the great work that’s happening. 

[03:57]  Amanda Renteria: It is also a real opportunity to see how different states tackle things. The collective view of that and the collective coming together to figure out, “How do we solve some of these same problems together will actually help us design what should be for a future?”

[04:13] Jonathan Porat: It is very difficult to provide national level technology solutions and technology guidance policies because things are so different as you go across those states. And so this is an opportunity for groups like Code for America to step in and provide that guidance and say, “We have evidence, we know what works.” 

[04:33]  Amanda Renteria: All right, we have a lightning round now, so let’s see if you’re ready for this. So here we go. Welcome to Code for America. Like it’s all a lightning round. All right. So finish this sentence. “The future we build is ______.” 

[04:48] Jonathan Porat: Is based on people. 

[04:50]  Amanda Renteria: Zero unread emails or 10,000? 

[04:54] Jonathan Porat: Unfortunately, 10,000 is way too … I’m at the, I’m at the thing where it’s just like you have too many emails. I don’t know if you’re like this, Amanda, hopefully not, but like on my phone, I have so many like tabs open on my browser. It’s just the smiley face. It’s just like we’ve stopped keeping track. 

[05:10]  Amanda Renteria: Make up on the spot, here you go, make up an official tagline for Code for America. 

[05:15] Jonathan Porat: Government that works for you.  

So one thing that I love about Code for America is not only are  you creating or are we creating innovative technology, things that are really gonna help people, but there’s a focus on impact and sustainability. How do we make sure that this is something that will actually help people and not just utilize new technologies, and how do we make sure that it’s feasible and something that a government can actually take on and own? So I’m looking forward to building out more technology that actually works for residents. 

[05:42]  Amanda Renteria: So Jonathan, we’re so excited to welcome you to Code for America. Can’t wait till June 1. 

[05:47] Jonathan Porat: Me too. Thanks, Amanda.