By Nina Zipkin
Entrepreneur
In 2011, Rachel Haot became New York City’s first Chief Digital Officer under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. In her tenure, she planned hackathons to help the city rethink the space used for payphones across the city and relaunched the city’s website, one with more than amillion pages, serving millions of people in 70 different languages. During Hurricane Sandy, she helped coordinate hundreds of the City’s social media staffers across various agencies to drive a 24/7 team sending consistent, accurate safety messages, correcting rumors and misinformation in real-time. Relationships with private companies such a Google and Twitter made it was easier for New Yorkers to find evacuation zones on maps and to see essential messages.
Today, she’s taken her skillset to the state level as New York State’s Chief Digital Officer and Deputy Secretary for Technology. Her job – to help modernize government – is no easy task. But Haot says solutions can be forged through transparency -- especially open data programs – as well as through collaborations between the public and private sector. “Digital technology is changing the way that people find information and connect with one another,” she says. “For government to be effective and relevant it needs to embrace these changes, and that’s what our job is every day.”
Q: New York’s a vast state – with farms and college towns and one very big city. How can technology make government relevant to all those people?
A: If you go to NY.gov now anywhere in New York State, you’ll find a homepage that’s been completely customized to you and to where you’re located. You’ll find things like emergency alerts and traffic updates, because transportation is a number one need for the public. Then you’ll find job listings and job fairs close to you. After that you might find green markets and special attractions and sights you might see with your family. We’re converting an organization that has not historically been known for customer service into one that’s fully user-centric. That was the first update to NY.gov in 15 years. What we’re focused on is how [to] create the best user experience of government.
Read the full interview here.