Number of the Year: 22

My number is 22. That’s the number of technologists we’ve sent into Congress since COVID-19 hit. They’ve done extraordinarily important work: Authoring the tech provisions in the COVID relief packages. Revealing the CDC wasn’t accurately tracking mortality data in minority communities. Getting a bill signed into law to bolster the country’s stockpile of emergency medical supplies. We launched a Congressional Digital Service fellowship to help Congress function in the remote digital environment. I started TechCongress in 2015 because I needed it when I was a staffer in Congress. Technology is reshaping society in fundamental ways. Functional, representative government that works for the most vulnerable among us requires individuals that have that tech expertise. Our fellows are helping Congress weather crisis after crisis and we couldn’t be more proud of them.