Our very own General Manager Grayce Liu is in San Francisco this week participating in the 4th Annual Code for America Summit. This annual gathering of civic technology leaders is a roll-up-your-sleeves kind of event that convenes innovators from dozens of local governments and mixes it up with civic-minded technologists, designers, community organizers, and entrepreneurs.
Code for America believes government can work for the people, by the people, and that a healthy democracy is one in which government continuously strives to better serve the needs of the community, and the community enthusiastically and proactively collaborates with government to improve their city. Fundamental to this collaboration is a strong bond of trust between government and the community that emerges when transparency, inclusion, and empathy are woven into fabric of every interaction. This starts in our neighborhoods, our city halls, our community centers. It’s at the local level that government most directly touches our everyday lives — where these values are most tangible.
Code for America builds open source technology and organizes a network of people dedicated to making government services simple, effective, and easy to use. Code for America encourages and empowers residents to take an active role in their community, facilitates collaboration between government staff and fosters forward-thinking approaches to solving city problems, and supports civic-minded entrepreneurs and startups.