100+ Women in Government & Technology

By Sarah Granger

I like making lists, so when GovFresh invited me to put together a list of women involved in government and technology efforts, I jumped at the chance. But although top ten lists are wildly popular, I’ve met so many incredible people working on Gov 2.0, open government, e-gov efforts that I thought the world needed a better glimpse of the breadth of involvement women have at all levels of government, in nonprofits, academia, conferences, media and the private sector. The hope is that this list will allow event organizers, members of the media, other list makers, etc. to easily build a diverse representation in their projects.

I published another list a few years back of top women in tech policy &/or politics on The Political Voices of Women blog, and there are a few cross-listed here, but the goal here was to take out the partisanship and just focus on ongoing efforts of women using technology to empower government and the public process. While I was researching, I did compile more names of women involved in Europe and Australia. That will have to be another list, but it was exciting to find even more amazing women, particularly through this post by Carrie Bishop.

Here’s the disclaimer: although I did ask around and use several different resources to build this list, I’m sure there are people I missed. So I welcome additions at any point. This is all about being inclusive and expansive. That’s another reason that the list includes Twitter info for as many of the women as I could collect, so it’s easy to find them. Many of those women are involved in multiple ways, so some have been cross-listed in 2 or 3 categories. Each group is alphabetized. If anyone is mis-categorized or does not wish to remain on the list, please drop me a line @sairy on Twitter or via email, sarah(at)sarahgranger(dot)com. Additions, please add in the comments.

Government staff, Gov 2.0/government tech public sector

  • Emma Antunes (NASA) – @eantunes
  • Beth Beck (NASA) – @bethbeck
  • Alissa Black (City/County of SF) – @alissa007
  • Sarah Bourne (Mass.gov) – @sarahebourne
  • Kirsten Burgard (Office of Information & Technology)
  • Michelle Chronister (GSA)
  • Mary Martha Churchman (DOT)
  • Casey Coleman (CIO GSA) – @caseycoleman
  • Cammie Croft (DOE) – @kookycam
  • Linda Cureton (CIO NASA) – @curetonl
  • Gretchen Curtis (NASA Nebula) – @gretcurtis
  • Mary Davie (GSA) – @marydavie
  • Katie Dowd (State Dept) – @katiewdowd
  • Amanda Eamich (USDA) – @amandare
  • Megan Eskey (NASA) – @meganesque
  • Kristy Fifelski (City of Reno) – @kristyfifelski
  • Rachel Flagg (Washington State) – @rachelflagg
  • Kate Geyer (Mass Open Data) – @parsnipsoup
  • Bev Godwin (GSA) – @BevUSA
  • Lisa Grant (FEDSIM, GSA)
  • Suzanne Hall (Western Hemisphere Affairs Bureau, State) – @suzkph
  • Barbara Haven (California Dept. of Technology Services) – @bhaven
  • Evonne Heyning (NOAA) – @amoration
  • Virginia Hill (NIH)- @GinnyHill
  • Elizabeth Hochberg (GSA)
  • Jeanne Holm (NASA JPL)
  • Chris Johnson (NASA – US Space & Rocket Center)
  • Melissa Jordan (SF Bay Area Rapid Transit)
  • Sarah Kaufman (NY Convergence, Metropolitan Transit Authority)
  • Cara Keithley (Ohio Dept. of Commerce) – @carakeithley
  • Caitlin Klevorick (State Dept) – @caitlinbk
  • Gwynne Kostin – @gwynnek
  • Carolyn Lawson (State of CA Office of CIO)
  • Randi Levin (City of Los Angeles)
  • Carmen Medina (CIA)
  • Beth Noveck (White House Deputy CIO)
  • Hope O’Keefe (Library of Congress) – @lentigogirl
  • Julia Rosen (HHS)
  • Tracy Russo (DOJ) – @tracyrusso
  • Katelyn Sabochik (White House; formerly DOI)
  • Amanda Scott (US Trade Representative)
  • Sonal Shah (White House Office of Social Innovation & Civic Participation)
  • Katie Stanton (State Dept) – @kateatstate
  • Teri Takai (DoD; formerly CA CIO)
  • Haley Van Dyke (FCC)
  • Merici Vinton (Serve.gov) – @merici
  • Michelle Viotti (NASA JPL)
  • Stacey Walker – @staceywalker
  • Jess Weiss – @jessweiss
  • Veronica Wendt (US Army) – @v_vern
  • Lovisa Williams (State Dept) – @lovisatalk

Elected Officials involved with Gov 2.0 efforts

  • Debra Bowen (Secretary of State, California) – @dbowen
  • Pam Broviak (City of Geneva, Illinois) – @pbroviak
  • Sally Lieber (former State Assembly Member, California) – @sallylieber
  • Claire McCaskill (US Senate, from Missouri) – @clairecmc
  • Jill Miller Zimon (City Council, Ohio) – @jillmz

Open government Policy/advocacy, nonprofit sector, academic researchers

  • Kate Bladow (Pro Bono Net)
  • Heather Blanchard (Crisis Commons) – @poplifegirl
  • Danah Boyd (Berkman Center) – @zephoria
  • Judy Brewer (W3C)
  • Deborah Bryant (OSU Open Source Lab) – @debbryant
  • Danese Cooper (Wikimedia Foundation, OSI)
  • Jessy Cowan-Sharp (OpenGov Tracker/Sunlight) – @jessykate
  • Kety Esquivel – @ketyE
  • Judith Freeman (New Organizing Institute)
  • Julie Germany (George Washington School of Public Management) – @julieg
  • Kathy Gill (University of Washington) – @kegill
  • Abby Goldberg (Digital Democracy) – @digiabby
  • Sarah Granger (USACM) – @sairy
  • Leslie Harris (Center for Democracy & Technology)
  • Bryna Helfer (National Academy of Public Administration)
  • Mary Hodder (UC Berkeley) – @maryhodder
  • Emily Jacobi (Digital Democracy) – @digidem
  • Cara Keithley (Franklin University) – @carakeithley
  • Lorelei Kelly (New Strategic Security Initiative)
  • Tina Lee (Stanford) – @mstinalee
  • Elizabeth Losh (UC Irvine)
  • Ellen Miller (Sunlight Foundation) – @ellnmllr
  • Jen Pahlka (Code for America) – @pahlkadot
  • Stormy Peters (GNOME Foundation) – @storming
  • Megan Rhyne (Virginia Coalition for Open Government) – @opengovva
  • Paulette Robinson (National Defense University)
  • Denice Ross (Greater New Orleans Community Data Center)
  • Gabriela Schneider (Sunlight Foundation) – @stereogab
  • Sarah Swensson (Orange County Transportation Authority) – @RailSafeSarah
  • Nancy Watzman (Sunlight Foundation) – @nwatzman
  • Veronica Wendt (NDU) – @v_vern
  • Heather West – @heatherwest

Writers, bloggers, other media, government & tech conference organizers

Gov 2.0/government tech, consultants in the private sector

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About Sarah Granger

Sarah Granger has 20 years of experience in the intersection of technology and government, including policy, politics, new media and open democracy projects. An award-winning writer and new media strategist, she is a contributing editor at techPresident, The Huffington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle at SFGate.com. She was a contributing author of Ethical Hacking and she has edited four books on government 2.0, mobile security, cryptography and biometrics. Sarah is the former Project Director for the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, and she served as a senior strategist for Project One Page, a smart crowdsourcing platform. Previously, Sarah directed the first blog launched by a national politician, and she worked in cybersecurity for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and California Maritime Academy after finishing a degree in "Technology & Society" at the University of Michigan. She advises public sector organizations on new media and technology through PublicEdge. Last year, Sarah led a Core Conversation at South by Southwest Interactive on "Whitehouse.gov 2.0: Upgrading to Open Source Government." She has been a speaker or organizer for Gov 2.- Expo, Gov 2.0 Camp LA, Netroots Nation, 140 Twitter, Cybersalon, ACM Policy, U.S. Policies for the Information Society, CA Data Camp and the Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference. She served as a delegate to the World Summit on the Information Society at the U.N. in Geneva in 2003 and she is a council member of the U.S. Association for Computing Machinery (USACM) public policy committee and digital government working group. Sarah can be found at SarahGranger.com and on Twitter as @sarahgranger.

27 Responses

  1. Ron Pringle

    Great list of women in Government & Technology! It’s nice to see people I know on there like Kristy Fifelski and Pam Broviak.

    Two people you missed are Susan Christophersen and Carol Spencer, who serve as officers on the National Association of Government Webmasters board of directors. Susan, the board’s secretary, and Carol, our treasurer, also sit on the Executive Committee.

    Both have been instrumental in helping NAGW plan our national conferences and guiding our organization towards bigger and better things at the local government level.

    Again, great list, well done!

  3. Sarah Granger

    I just received this addition via e-mail:

    Christina Goodness, serving under the Chief of Staff and CIO of UN Peacekeeping Operations (& an NYU adjunct professor).

    On Twitter: @goodnotes

  5. Evonne @amoration

    Just a note that I have been a contractor for local gov and State Dept but not NOAA beyond occasionally enjoying their work in Second Life. I focus on interactive production for global engagement including mixed reality, streaming conversations, virtual worlds. Thanks for the listing!

    Evonne Heyning @Amoration

  6. Uniongal

    Wow, I made the list, however, I work for the department of veterans affairs, in the office of information and technology. But, wow, thanks for the mention. If you’re a US government employee(state, local, or fed) and do drupaly or joomlaish stuff, drop me a line. You might like our Drupal4Gov group for sharing open source best practices, lessons learned, and even some code.

    Kirsten Burgard
    I’m on Twitter as @uniongal

  7. Shannon Moore

    Don’t forget Stephanie Schierholz, Social Media Manager at NASA HQ — @schierholz on Twitter

    She and Beth Beck are a tour de force at helping ordinary folks like me experience OUR space program in new and exciting ways, through social media and NASA events such as the incredibly wonderful and memorable NASA Tweetups at Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center and elsewhere.

  8. lewis shepherd

    Great list! Thanks for the effort in compiling. Some additions suggested from the intelligence world:

    Lisa Porter (Director, IARPA)
    Regina Dugan (Director, DARPA)
    Dawn Meyerriecks (Dep. DNI for Acquisition & Technology)
    Tish Long (Director, NGA)
    Casey Henson (CTO, DIA)
    Priscilla Guthrie (CIO, ODNI)
    Kelcy Allwein (DIA)

  9. Neal Rauhauser

    Must have Beth Becker @Spedwybabs blogger on DailyKos, Coffee Party National Team, Blog Workers Industrial Union organizer, PeanutButterPAC board member, Progressive PST social media strategist.

    And @DarcyGBurner, DailyKos blogger, WA-08 Congressional candidate, head of Progressive Congress.

  10. Summer Nemeth

    Hi! I’m Summer Nemeth, @imagineelection. I’m the founder of Imagine Election, a nonpartisan voter guide, and I spend most of my time writing the code that drives it. Thanks for the great list!

  11. AnneMarie

    Tracy Russo is at Dept of Justice, Heather Cronk is formerly NOI and now Get Equal @hcronk, Nikki Sutton is formerly NTIA and now is at the White House (but not Twitter), Anthea Watson is with the Voter Information Project…good list to track!

  12. Veronica Wendt

    Thanks for including me on the list. I would add:

    Dr. Paulette Robinson (National Defense University) -@pjrobinson

    She is one of the founders of the Federal Consortium of Virtual Worlds (FCVW) and continues to push the boundaries on the art of the possible with her vGov initiative.

  17. Robert Richards

    Great list! I also recommend adding these three advocates of free public access to legal information:

    Erika Wayne, Stanford University Law Library, @evwayne : leader in the Law.gov legal open government data movement, and advocate of PACER reform ;

    Mary Alice Baish, Director of the American Association of Law Libraries’ Government Relations Office, @mabaish ; advocate of free public access to legal information; see the blog: http://aallwash.wordpress.com/ ;

    Emily Feldman, Advocacy Communications Assistant at American Association of Law Libraries’ Government Relations Office, http://j.mp/bamJ06 ; advocate of free public access to legal information.

  18. Sarah Granger

    Thank you everyone for all of your kind words and additions. I have also received a lot of e-mail and Twitter direct messages with still more information that I’m working on compiling.

    I’m developing a Twitter list for those on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/sairy/gov20women. Please continue to send me Twitter account info so we can make sure everyone’s on that.

    I’m also thinking of putting together a Google doc where the list could be editable and easy to update (a great idea from Laurel Ruma). What do you all think? Would you look there, or is it enough to have this post and comments plus a Twitter list?

  20. Gwynne Kostin

    Great list and great women. Thanks for including me! I am humbled to be standing side by side with my amazon sisters. :-)

    A few more warriors to add to the list:
    Sheila Campbell, the amazing Dean of Web Mgr U and one of FastCompany’s most influential women in tech @sheiladcusa
    Erin Edgerton, smart smart woman working on WH new media team @eedgerton
    Janice Nall, can you say amazing CDC health marketing web20 comms, and coming soon to a new leadership role in e-gov? @janicenall
    Sarah Roper, director of the award winning usa.gov at GSA and budding mobile apps maven

    Looks like women are rocking the gov2.0 space, no?
    best,
    Gwynne

  21. Heather Coleman

    I’m so honored to be on this amazing list. Thank you Sarah for taking the time to compile it. I hope to catch up with you more on Twitter and maybe meet in person at some point. It’s hard sometimes being outside the beltway (based in Fredericksburg, VA) to make all the great DC events and keep up with the networking. That’s why social media is so great, helps me keep in the loop.
    Now the task of following all these fabulous women (if I’m not already). And yes,Gwynne – “women are rocking the gov2.0 space!”

  22. Sarah Granger

    Also another follow-up note: I am creating an email list of women in government & technology. Anyone on the Govfresh list or Twitter list are welcome to join. Please email me. sarah(at)sarahgranger(dot)com.

  24. Elizabeth Hochberg (@SheofDC)

    Thanks for the shout-out – it’s so nice to have my contributions appreciated.

  27. Molly Walker

    This is a great resource. Thanks for compiling it and congrats to all the women on the list!

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