Luke Fretwell is a champion of open, accessible technologies that drive inclusive and collaborative democracy.
He is the founder and maintainer of GovFresh, a media and innovation lab focused on the intersection of design, technology and democracy.
He is also co-founder of ScanGov, a government digital experience platform.
He is the co-founder of ProudCity, a platform that empowers U.S. local governments to deliver better digital services. In its esteemed GovTech 100 list, Government Technology annually recognizes ProudCity as one of the nation’s leading civic technology companies.
Luke has helped early-stage government-focused companies gain momentum, including FedScoop and StateScoop, where he stood up editorial and digital operations, and the open data platform company NuCivic (acquired in 2014), where he led product marketing.
He served as product designer for California’s Alpha team, an innovation project by the State of California to re-imagine CA.gov. He also worked with the state onCode California, aimed at creating internal awareness around open source software and culture.
He founded Agile Government Leadership as a community project that brought awareness to open and agile methodologies for better digital service delivery by government. AGL is now Technologists for the Public Good.
Luke worked as a technology journalist and has written for TechCrunch, Government Technology, FCW, FedScoop, StateScoop, and has been referenced by media outlets, including The Washington Post.
A civic hacker at heart, he’s built a number of open source, community-based projects, including ScanGov (government digital service monitor), Proudly Serving (local government digital services handbook), GovPress (government WordPress theme) and CityCamp (global civic technology unconference).
Beyond civic technology, Luke led the rebrand and product design for Inspire.com; was a designer, marketing and product manager for Technical Communities; and managed writing and press-related functions for the American Society of Association Executives.
His past volunteer service includes mentoring youth with Fairfax County’s (Virginia) Befriend-A-Child program; hosting a Bosnian refugee family with the International Rescue Committee; and providing hospice care support with Pathways Home Health and Hospice.
Luke graduated from George Mason University with degrees in government and politics and international studies. He was editor-in-chief of the GMU newspaper, The Broadside, where he led staff to win the university’s first national Associated Collegiate Press honors.