podcast 2025
Future Perfect Book Club
futureperfectbook.club
Co-hosted with Joel Goodman, exploring the intersection of design, technology, and the future of institutions.
Read article → AIService DesignCivic TechStrategyDigital Transformation [Trusted Advisor]
I build and stabilize the systems that run public life. My work helps leaders & tech teams navigate the gap between high-level policy and the reality of delivery.
Currently
Assistant Professor of Practice in Urban Technology at the University of Michigan Taubman College. Organizing Yearsahead.io. Building frameworks for Agent Experience (AX) and decision engineering at State Capacity AI. Probably retiring from pro skeeball.
Frameworks in Action
Platform
Solving Dating with a Fantasy Draft
Swiping is a social disaster. My fix? I replaced the infinite swipe with a 15-pick weekly draft.
Read more → Product
Pricing the AI Futures Market
Compute is the new crude. I built the index to track it. From Civic CPI to reasoning models, I engineered the metrics that turn “black-box” AI spend into tradable data.
Read more → Infrastructure
Engineering portable trust
Bad actors thrive in silos. I engineered a decentralize clearinghouse that makes niche apps scalable by creating a cross-platform trust layer.
Read more → Infrastructure
Making Open Licensing Legible
Most people open source licenses without understanding. I built a modular license framework that scales with projects.
Read more →Selected Work
18F - Design Leadership at Scale
Service delivery & deployment in support of millions of Americans.
See how it works →
Portland Digital Corps
Volunteer effort bringing together 50+ practitioners to rebuild six nonprofit websites.
See how it works →Design For The Public 24
Two-day unconference bringing together 80+ civic technologists and designers in Portland.
See how it works →Recent Appearances
article January 2026
Some advice on managing your design career upwards
Piccalil.li
Navigating design leadership, building influence across organizations, and positioning yourself for strategic impact.
Read article →
talk November 2025
Beyond Civic Tech: Public Mechanics Starts at Home
Cascadia Open Source Fall Conference
Why civic tech fails when it ignores maintenance, repair, and the invisible work that keeps public services running.
podcast September 2025
Repairing Service Design for the Age of AI
Service Design Show Podcast
Exploring how service design must evolve to address the challenges and opportunities of AI-driven systems.
Read article → video October 2025
Design Systems and Public Services
YouTube
Discussion on service design, public sector innovation, and building decision systems that work at scale.
Currently Reading
- Waging A Good War by Thomas E. Ricks
- Maintenance of Everything: Part One by Stewart Brand
- Religion And The Decline of Magic by Keith Thomas
- The Field Guide to Design Futures by Giovanni Caruso, Silvio Cioni
Listening To
- Sunshine and Balance Beams by Pile
- Ripped and Torn by Lifeguard Radio
- DDR by Sharp Pins