95 Code for America Summit 2025
We're joined by Amanda Renteria (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-renteria/), CEO of Code for America to discuss their upcoming Summit event. We'll cover a bit about the event itself, the state of the civic tech ecosystem, and the impact that event could have on the space.<br><br>Resources and shoutouts<br>- https://codeforamerica.org<br>- https://summit.codeforamerica.org/<br><br>Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
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Transcript
Hello. I'm Ryan Cook, and this is Civic Tech Chat, a show that looks at the way technology, politics, and policy impacts the world around us. The tools we use, the way services are delivered, and how we talk about and set policy all shape our society. We'll gather around and have a chat about these things together and more. Before we get started, I do wanna let you all know that we've started a Discord for the podcast. There will be a link with an invite down in the episode description. Do feel free to go check that out. It's a small community right now, but hoping to grow it. It's a great way to reach out to me and let me know things that you might want us to cover or to just hang out and talk about civic tech. Amanda, thank you so much for joining us here again on Civic Tech Chat.
It's great to be with you.
Yeah. Yeah. For folks that, haven't haven't listened in a while, could you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about what you do?
Sure. My name is Amanda Renteria. I am the CEO of Code for America, and Code for America is a tech nonprofit that works with governments to deliver services better, more in a more modernized way.
And, Amanda, what would you say is your personal why? The thing that drives you to, you know, get out of bed each morning and do all that.
For me, it's always been, about the community and the people, whether it's the people I grew up with in one of the lowest income districts across the country, or whether it's the people who are trying to solve those problems at Code for America. I am in love with both, and this work actually brings it all together because our work is so user centered. Right? We really focus on who we're serving, and we combine it with the talent, the tech talent, the nonprofit talent, government talent, all working together to figure out how can we modernize government, in the way that really centers people.
For folks that might be new to the space, maybe less familiar with Code for America as an organization, how would you do how would you describe it and its mission?
So we've always been in the state in the space of how do you make government work for everyone. From the very beginning of Code for America, we first thought we need to get tech talent in there, and then we matured into, okay. Now we can build it on the outside and bring it in. And then in this last chapter, we've actually been working a lot more closely in partnership with government inside government. So this industry has really matured a lot. Code for America's role, we've always been in a place where we wanna do whatever is possible to help government get to where it can serve people well no matter what socioeconomic status you are. We think we should just, in America, have a modernized government, for the people.
And I guess as I mentioned maybe a bit early at the top, it is great to have you back on the podcast. I think you're now on on your third, which I I should have, like, one of those, like, frequent appearance cards where you get, like, a reward or something. Maybe, like, some swag. Jacket, like, Saturday Night Live. Oh, that would be great. A jacket. I need I need to get some some swag budget. But I think it's been a couple of years since the last one. Now we're talking about before we started recording. It's, you know, it's back in 2022, you know, a whole different whole different world. But, how's your adventure at CFA been since the last time we talked?
I feel like every year is new, a new challenge, that really faces us. And I think I've just I now realize that that is the norm, not the difference. And so, gosh, since 2022, we are so different today. Listen. I think the entire civic tech industry is different as of January 20 or so. What we are seeing is really tech be such a prominent feature within this administration that it really is changing civic tech and how we think about it for the future. And so, I enter this year really as almost a brand new CEO in a transformative space that is still evolving and defining itself. And so it's really exciting actually to talk to you at this time because I do think we are creating something that hasn't been done before. And I'm just super excited to be getting everyone together in Washington DC no less, to talk through this stuff.
That's really cool. You've been CEO since, I think, like, around, like, 2020, and it sounds like you've gone through several kind of transformations of a sort, whether at the org or yourself, and it sounds like you're referencing this one recently. What's something you've learned through all of this?
So I always have believe well, first of all, I started May 2020, which should have been a sign of all of my, like, you know, challenges to come. But I started in COVID. Right? So even my start was unusual. And what I have learned, probably one of the biggest things I've learned is how much code for America has benefited from learning how to be there in crisis and opportunity. Having come from government, right, where it's steady state for a lot of the work they do and moving to a place that is a social impact organization that is flexible and agile and can move in and shape things and recognizing that some of those moments, in fact, some of our most successful moments come at the time of crisis and opportunity. And so that's been a surprise to me. I would not have expected that COVID was just the beginning of crisis and opportunity. So yeah. But listen. I also just have fallen in love with the kinds of teams you build when that's the trajectory of an organization.
And along that way, what would be something that comes to mind that was a surprise?
Well, I I would say one of the big surprises over these last five years and really spurred by COVID is how much governments have actually built out their own tech. Right? So at the beginning, there was a few CIOs. Now we have chief AI officers. And so and that's just in the course of five years. And so that has really allowed, our work to be much more or closer to systems of record. Right? Closer to actually delivery. No longer pilots and prototypes, but actually getting in there in partnership, sitting with folks working on government systems.
When you describe it like that, it sounds like a complete, like, night and day and capabilities in a very short time.
Yeah. But it's great. It's almost like at the beginning, we're just kind of, are we okay? Do you know who I am? Do you know who you are? And now we're at a place where it's like, let's build it together.
And that's pretty cool. That is very cool. And I think you've been kinda getting into this a bit. But to to ask the question more directly, you mentioned the idea, like, Pacific tech space is completely different. How is your view of that chi that ever changing space kinda changed over your time so far?
Yeah. We're growing up as an industry. Right? We're no longer new. We people, in fact, were in the headlines as modernization. Right? We're in the headlines as tech infrastructure at a national level. And so I think that's one of the biggest thing is we're no longer knocking on the door or to get into government, but sitting there. And now, we're thinking about how do you deploy this in the right kind of way, in our human centered way, as opposed to, you know, asking to be at the table.
Let's, go ahead and hop into our main subject today. The the thing that it sounds like you're quite excited about, which is Code for America summit. For folks that maybe they have been to a summit or maybe they're just hearing about it through this podcast, what is it, and why is it important?
So I'm particularly excited about it because as I was mentioning before, we're in a transformative time for technology and government. And the idea of coming together in a convening with like minded folks who have been in this sector for fifteen years, who have been wanting to see this kind of movement and understanding of tech, it's just great to be in community. And especially when the world is uncertain as it is right now, resilience comes from being together, figuring out how we're gonna solve problems, which is the second part. So one is the convening aspect. The second part is really the solutions and best practices and really sharing what's happening around the country and even around the world. And so that part is also different this year because there's so many good examples of innovation and modernization that is already happening at the state level. And then the third thing is, I think we could all use a little bit of fun. So we are gonna have, tarot reading and trivia, and there's happy hours spread out around our, Code for America summit. And so I'm just excited because all three of those things feel, incredibly important in the world and time we're in right now.
Well, I I I have to follow-up and ask, you know, I mean, are you gonna sit down and get a tarot reading that's from it?
I am super scared of knowing the future. I like that it's a mystery. Like, if I knew it, I might act differently.
What is it they say? Was it in a there's a sci fi show where they have that, like, kinda catchphrase where it's like, oh, no spoilers. Right. This year, Summit is happening, in a time which you kind of alluded to at the beginning, mentioning, like, this year is different perhaps in other years. And maybe for some, it's a it's a challenging time in tech and government spaces. What impact, if any, do you see kinda current events having on the event?
So just from the very top on what do I even say when I welcome folks. Right? Because in the room, we're gonna have folks who have left the federal government or left government work because either they chose to because it wasn't linked to their values or other different reasons or because they have to because of recent cuts to government. So there's that aspect of just bringing together, I think, at times where people are feeling very unsettled. But it's also really interesting to be coming together when the power center, Washington, DC, our nation's capital, is really being reconfigured at this moment, not just agencies and who they serve and how they serve them, but the underlying infrastructure is changing at, like, right in front of us. And so being that being ever present or really omnipresent around us in DC, I think, adds to the relevance, the responsibility, and overall the hopefully,
the importance of joy right now when the world is swirling around us. Did you figure out, like, what you wanted to what how you wanted to open?
I know. I'm not. I haven't. I mean, that's what's also different about this summit is it used to be we could talk about what our theme was in January, and it would stick all the way through. This time around, it feels like if I wrote that in January, it would not be relevant now. And so I'm still getting a sense of how I wanna open. And the truth is, I think we've gotta acknowledge the space we're in and acknowledge the way people are feeling. And so I think that's an important aspect that is different this year where you do have this real sense of loss, uncertainty, some frustration. And at the same time, there's also a lining around what is possible because things are changing so much.
As far as folks that tend to find themselves walking through the doors for Summit, what sort of folks do you tend to see doing that? Like, who who tends to come to Summit?
Yeah. So, we have a pretty good mix of folks. Last year, we had about 40% government folks. We had about 66% who were brand new to Summit. Overall, we had about a thousand folks coming from not just The United States, but, other countries as well. And so this is a space where if you believe government can work for everyone and you're a part of making that happen in some kind of way, this is a place for you. So we do find folks from government at all levels of government. We we find social impact groups here who are talking about how can we make sure we're serving all people, particularly those that are hardest to reach. And we have people who are thinking about what kind of policies can really drive the civic tech movement going forward. And then, of course, we have a lot of tech in the room to talk about what is possible and have really honest conversations about what worked and what hasn't worked. And this year, I'm particularly excited because we are trying to build a lot more two way conversations. So not just on the stage, but really in our breakout sessions, making sure we're giving people the space to bat around solutions and ideas a little bit more, especially because we're in a time right now where we are paving a new path forward, in civic tech.
I do have to say, my my experience going to some of these in the past has been, like, if you go if you end up in the right, like, breakout session, can leave them feeling like, man, like, we can conquer anything. If we just get these folks to, like, work together. I feel like it's, like, it's a very infectious feeling from what I've seen in the past. Yeah. I appreciate you saying that. And our hope is that again. Right?
That's what I love the idea that we leave people with hope and inspiration, and I hope that happens again this time. Honestly, that just happens organically. So I'm looking forward to that again.
Speaking of of of excitement, what, has you excited about this year's rendition of Summit?
So, I'm excited about the representation that we're gonna have. We're gonna have a Georgia, Texas. So we have a couple of different states that we haven't had at Summit before. We also have quite a bit on AI and not just like last year when we were asking what's gonna happen with AI and really making sure we don't lose our humanity in it all. But this year, it's gonna be people actually utilizing AI and what they're learning at the early stages of it. That's super excited exciting. And then we have the demo lab, which is brand new this year, which is that what I was talking about before, which is we have demos and then you have a two way conversation about what worked, what didn't, what ideas we have. So this focus on really thinking about solutions using all of the emerging technologies, and the wisdom in the room, I think, is really exciting and exactly what we need to be seeding at this very moment of transformation.
Oh, that's really cool. Actually, just thinking about the capabilities of those tools and how much they've changed since last year is probably it's gonna be wild to see the difference in the types of, things folks are bringing to those presentations.
That's right. That's right. I'm looking forward to it too.
And, in the past, y'all have kinda had tracks that kinda, like, follow the themes. Maybe someone's, like, interested in a particular, like, practice area or a concern that they could kinda follow along. What sort of setup like that is there this year? Yeah. So we have a couple different tracks.
People, power, and community, and, really, that's bringing people together to create a problem solve, thinking through. In in that case, I expect we're gonna see quite a few people who have been in government and really wanna make sure to be in community with others who are doing this kind of work. Second is emerging technology and innovation. This is a lot of our AI work that we will be demonstrating from the stage, but also in our workshops. Third is policy administration. So this might be a particularly hot topic to really hear what's going on down the street. But, also, an important aspect here is we're gonna have a lot of states in the room who they themselves are working through different aspects of their own policy, and administrative efforts. And then lastly, service design and delivery, which we are always in that space because we wanna make sure, we're doing all we can to make sure government is delivering for people.
It's really cool to hear that there's that state activity. Also, I think it's, like, very easy to kind of just think about the black hole as the federal government,
when there's, like, all kinds of other efforts in other places too. Right? That's right. I mean, I think that's what's giving me probably the most hope as I think about this first half of the year is while the federal government is transforming and things are different, we are seeing states really step up and look to be ready for it. Not just that they've been doing that over the last several years, but the confidence that we have in talking to states about, like, we can figure this out. Right? And Code for America, can you partner? Or is there another organization that can partner? And so the ecosystem has matured where people are helping each other out. And states, I think, know, when I think about COVID versus now, they're much more ready for change, than they ever have been.
Maybe one of the goals of a gathering like this is, like, in those hallways, folks from those states can, like, find those connections that maybe they wouldn't have otherwise.
Yeah. No. And especially in much more remote environment. That's exactly right. I mean, this serves as the, you know, the water cooler talk that lasts for two days, and you get to meet some interesting people, and it does lead to partnerships down the road. That's what's so exciting too. And especially when I think, you know, being able to understand or help in a moment of perhaps that we'll see an economic downturn, it's really important that those relationships are established now and not in crisis. And that's part of our hope is that this is a good opportunity for states, local localities, like, to really meet some of that tech talent or government officials who've been working in a higher level and the federal government and, you know, wrestle with how how should they prepare, what should they do. Super cool conversations.
And before, you you talked a bit about, concept called demo lab, which it looks like there's a day with, like, a whole bunch of those. Can we go a little bit deeper into that? Like, what what's what's the story with with demo lab?
So what we have seen is and a lot of this was spurred a bit by AI where folks were like, quit talking about it. Tell me what you're doing, like, really doing in government, and let's, like, let's figure that out. And what we learned in that conversation after the surveys were done and we reached out and talked to people is not only do they wanna talk and hear about AI, but some of the fascinating machine learning that's happening, some of the different things that are happening in state governments. And so the idea was, let's open it up for that. That. Let's open it up for the two way conversation because oftentimes, we'll have something really cool on the stage, but it's just a one way conversation. So, we think that it will really help drive some of these ideas, products, services forward faster if you can get real time feedback in the room from experts who you wouldn't normally have in a room all at one place. So I'm excited not only to see what's gonna happen, but what results from that demo lab.
I imagine summit in general, the organizing of it, getting everything together is probably, like, a gargantuan task for the organization to do. If you don't mind, you know, pulling back the curtain a little, and talk about how the sausage is made or any more of those, like, catchy phrases I could I could say about this. How do you organize such a large thing?
Yeah. I think this is why the team is tired already. It hasn't even started. But it's it it really is a sort of a community orientation to how we build it. Right? So we make the time not only to learn every year what went well, what didn't go well, but we try and bring a group together to curate, you know, what should summit be, what should the themes be, what does it look like for people who are sending in proposals, because that gives you a window into what people wanna tell others. So I can't say enough about our content committees. They every year, even though they're different, they're incredible, because we really try and pick people all across in different spaces of the ecosystem so that we have their view in this too. And, and that's what makes, I think, every single one of our summit special and at the same time different.
What sort of lessons have you learned as you put this one together?
That, we can do hard things. That's really a part of that because I have, we have a team at Code for America that are perfectionists. Right? And they, like, really think about, alright, Amanda. We have to get this thing done six months before so we can really make sure it's smooth and perfect. And in a world where we are where things are still moving, right, and, folks who are on the stage were in the federal government before, they might not be now. Those kinds of things we didn't experience before. Right? It was pretty much steady state working with government. This year, that's been different, and their ability to, move has been, hard and at the same time has really forced us as a full organization and the full leadership team to share with each other what we're hearing out there on a weekly basis. And that has really helped not only bring the entire organization along to what's happening in the world, but also bring them into the space of how do we build a summit that really can capture the moment we're in. So it's been particularly hard, but also, just really inclusive, and it feels good this year to have been able to have that kind of process and recognize we're doing our best here trying to figure out, how do we build the summit in this kind of time.
It, it might be hard to to look up above the sub the impending summit, but I'll try to ask anyway. What sort of hopes or vision do you have for, like, you know, summits of the future?
Yeah. I I'm excited to really think about how does this work, in the next because right now, there's a lot of things that are not known. Right? We don't exactly know how some of these huge programs are gonna be are gonna change. We don't know, you know, what the economic consequences are of what we're seeing right now. Right? Often, not only do we not know, but some of the decisions that have already been made, they don't flow through The states and people yet. So I feel like we're at a moment where everything is changing. We're not going back, but I don't know what it is. Because partly, it's not on it's not settled yet. And partly, I believe this is the kind of conference, the kind of folks that will shape it in real time as it moves forward. So if I think a year from now and going down the road, I think our our summits are gonna look different. I think we will probably move from less convening and more to action about what are we doing, what are the key, what are the key technologies that are out there. And a lot of that will be driven because AI, I think, will bring a heck of a lot more tech into governments all around the country. So by nature, that will change how, how I think our summits look and feel going forward.
Oh, that that's interesting. I almost hear in there, like, an insinuation that that that nature of partnership you talked about at the beginning, how it's changed in your experience over time. It's, like, yet closer with the ability to take action more effectively. Am I hearing the right thing? Yeah. No. That's exactly right. Is, you know, just like we've gone from
pilots and prototypes to actually doing it, on the stage, there's a lot of talk about actually doing it and how it's working. That just naturally will lead us more into what are the options out there. Right? Right now, there's, like, these gold gems that people are getting. But as we move forward, they're I'm hoping there's gonna be a lot more gold gems, a lot lot more different pathways you can go. And we wanna be a place where you can see those solutions as they broaden.
And as you head into this summit, let's imagine a world where, like, all the there's so many gold gems. Like, this is the summit of of dreams. What are what kind of, impact are you hoping the event then will have had on the civic tech space and maybe the folks in it?
I hope far into the future, this is a place where you can find your best practices. And right now, right right now, I can't see in this new transformative gov tech space that is changing as we speak. I don't know what those best practices are right now, but I know this group will be able to figure it out. And I do look forward to a time I don't know. I'm hoping for steady state at one at one point or another, but this is the place where you can go, ah, that's the cutting edge thing that's happening. And then collectively bring it together where I hope we can actually say we're gonna now try and drive a 50% reduction, use technology to find a 50% reduction in poverty or change how governments, act in natural disasters. Now we'll be able to look and feel differently, when those things happen. A sense of resilience in the civic tech space.
Amit, let's say some folks are listening to this. They're learning about Summit from the podcast too, and they're like, wow. I'm, like, really excited about this idea. I wanna, like, figure out how to learn more, or maybe how to get involved with it. What should somebody interested in that do? Sure.
Code for america.org. We are always out there. Follow us on our different accounts. We're pretty much on all of them. So Twitter, Instagram, threads, you name it. We're you name it. We're there. Like like, all social media. But I do think, as this industry changes, we wanna make sure that we're also helping in real time what does this mean. Right? So even as you hear, work requirements as a big topic of conversation, what will that actually mean for implementation at the state side of things? And so, I hope people tune in, because at the end of the day, if we really wanna build a government for everyone, we need to have the kind of engagement that brings us lived experience that is tuned in, that can make sure that we have the kind of policies, to have the government that we all can be proud of.
Amanda, thank you so much for coming here on Civic Tech Chat to talk about Summit. I I've no doubt folks
will, take a lot of enjoyment in what we've talked about and, you know, be able to use it in their day. Yeah. Thank you, Ryan, for, for this, and I hope we don't let two years go by because way too much changes the next or the next time we talk.
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