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GSA Announces New Presidential Innovation Fellows Class

Technology Transformation Services welcomes its seventh class of Presidential Innovation Fellows


WASHINGTON - The U.S. General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services today announces 20 new fellows joining the Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) program as part of its seventh cohort.

The fellows will serve as entrepreneurs-in-residence, collaborating with nine federal agencies on 13 different projects. The projects include helping the U.S. Food and Drug Administration modernize and enhance its technological and data capabilities; helping the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs become more data-driven and better leverage AI; working with the Millennium Challenge Corporation to leverage the digital data revolution to enable partner countries to drive their own development priorities; and helping the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services modernize their technology so that they can share data across the healthcare ecosystem to support data-driven decision-making and innovative research.

“I am thrilled to have some of the nation’s best technologists and innovators join the Presidential Innovation Fellows 2020 cohort,” said Executive Director for the PIF Program Josh DiFrances. “Over the last seven years, fellows have worked to accelerate the adoption of novel technology within the federal government and save taxpayer dollars. Our new cohort of fellows will continue to build upon this work to help agencies create better products, services, and experiences for the American public.” 

The new fellows are Irtaza Barlas, Devin Brande, Minh H. Chau, George Chewning, Dennis Chornenky, Christopher Corpuel, Ariele Faber, Angelo Frigo, Joshua Farrar, C.C. Gong, Michelle Holko, Ken Kato, Melissa Keene, Johnny Martin, Wanmei Ou, Likhitha Patha, Gina Valo, Nina Walia, Scott Weiss, and Kaeli Yuen.

Since 2012, the Presidential Innovation Fellows have been helping streamline regulations, developing citizen-facing products and solutions and, most recently, deploying pioneering AI and machine learning technology within agencies. This highly competitive fellowship pairs talented, diverse technologists and innovators with top civil servants and change-makers working at the highest levels of the federal government to be catalysts in American innovation. 

As of October 2019, PIF has recruited 159 fellows who have worked in more than 35 agencies. PIF fellows partner with leaders in federal agencies to solve critical technology issues. The program, which was started by the White House Office of Science and Technology, has been housed at GSA since 2013.

About GSA:

The mission of the U.S. General Services Administration is to deliver value and savings in real estate, acquisition, technology, and other mission-support services across government. To learn more about GSA visit GSA.gov or join the conversation on social media at @USGSA and @GSAEmily.

About TTS:

The mission of GSA's Technology Transformation Services is to improve the lives of the public and public servants by transforming how government uses technology. To learn more about the Presidential Innovation Fellows program visit pif.gov or follow along on social media at @InnovFellows.

 

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