Making Democratic Tools Available for Everyone; Alsina, Herzog, Mastronardi, Megill, Warren; RxC2020

How can we leverage technology so people can work more openly, effectively and legitimately to make better decisions and solve public problems? Community leaders across the globe are seeking input on important topics now more than ever. There are new tools that leverage the capacity, intelligence and expertise of citizens in the problem-solving process, combined with new advances in technology and science that can transform governance. As a result, the civic process becomes a lively exchange of ideas, restoring civility and quality to policy-making.

SPEAKERS
Victòria Alsina is an Industry Assistant Professor and Academic Director at the NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress and Senior Fellow at The GovLab. Alsina’s current research and teaching focus on finding innovative solutions to rethink public institutions, exploring how collaborative governance and civic engagement can change the way we govern, solving some of society’s most pressing problems at the intersection of the public and private sectors and helping communities and institutions to work together to solve public problems more effectively and legitimately. She advises numerous governments, organizations and private institutions on issues related to public sector reform and democratic innovation. At the Harvard Kennedy School, she is a Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, a Democracy Fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation,and an Associate at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. She holds a B.A. in Political Science and Public Administration from Universitat Pompeu Fabra; an MPA from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; an M.A. in Public Leadership from ESADE Business School; and a Ph.D. in Political and Social Sciences from Universitat Pompeu Fabra. She has been recipient of the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship.

Jonathan Herzog is a civil rights organizer, legal advocate, and Democratic congressional candidate in New York's 10th District. He has worked hand in hand with the Senior Adviser & Counselor to the Attorney General on New York's first-of-its-kind anti-corruption joint task force. He graduated first in his class at Harvard University, completed his MBA at NYU Stern, and served as co-President of Harvard Law School's student government, where he is a teaching fellow for legal and political philosophy.

Nick Mastronardi is an academic, public servant, and technologist. Nick served 10 years on Active Duty in the Air Force: on faculty at the Air Force Academy, as a Research Physicist and Technology Program Manager at the Air Force Research Laboratory, in the Pentagon in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and in the White House on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. Nick still serves as a Reservist for the United States Cyber Command. After active duty, Nick led data science projects for Amazon as a Senior Economist before returning to the public sector mission and founding Polco. Nick holds undergraduate degrees in Math & Physics, a PhD in Economics, and is the CEO of Polco and National Research Center. Nick’s current role is leading a talented team of technologists and industry experts at POLCO and NRC aligned in our mission to better connect local leaders and constituents through advanced policy polls, surveys, civic dialogue, and performance data.

Colin Megill is an entrepreneur who builds tools which empower people to explore high dimensional spaces — from the life sciences to democracies. He worked with scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to design and build nextstrain.org, which won the 2017 Open Science Prize, and is used by public health officials around the world to study virus evolution collaboratively in real time. He is CEO of pol.is, the digital democracy and public participation efforts of which were the subject of documentary programming by the BBC, and have been featured in The New York Times, Wired, MIT Technology Review, The Economist, Le Monde, Monocle, and The Guardian, as well as in recent books published by Penguin and Harper Business. He is a father and homeschool educator to three daring little boys.

Bill Warren is the co-founder of Peeps Democracy. Peeps created Peeps DAO, a cause-based, decentralized organization platform for nonprofits, political organizations, and social movements. Currently, Peeps is working on PeepsVest, which will be a way for friends, neighbors, and strangers to save together for a shared goal or purchase, all while earning interest. Prior to Peeps Democracy Bill spent a few years both in corporate law and working for political campaigns.