40+ Years Bringing Innovation to Life
Solving problems with innovation isn’t magical and doesn’t come from fancy degrees or education.
It comes from three things:
the ability to find patterns and connect dots between and among hands-on experiences in different settings.
empathy and openness to stakeholders in a transparent and collaborative process toward shared goals.
the courage to pick a meaningful starting point and to iterate from there.
Learning by doing has been the key to my success. I’ve had the privilege of acquiring skills by working on major programs in technology, the built environment, law and finance and the arts. Restaurant and design work taught me the importance of delivering surprise and delight. I’ve had the privilege of working with people more experienced than I, who allowed me to get elbows-deep: In every major technology evolution from terminal-mainframe to iOS, including AI/ML, graph databases, metadata, cloud, open-source, and agile/XP. In major evolutions in architecture and urban planning. In revolutionary changes wrought by digital to nearly every industry.
I am so lucky to have spent my career as a partner to visionary leaders in industries and organizations, sometimes from the inside, more often from the outside. I’ve learned that visionary leadership at the most senior level is an absolute requirement for success, whether Governor, Mayor, or CEO. That’s what it takes to succeed with regulations, bureaucracy, fixed budgets and timelines, and entrenched organizations.
Innovating for the public good has been the most rewarding work of my life. But my work in legal and financial services, music, publishing, agriculture, aviation, homebuilding and fashion have been immensely satisfying and a source of great pride.
Transforming Government
Better tools and visionary leaders can lead to transformation. Major projects are also opportunities to transform. But cultural change is required to sustain transformation.
I started my government career in 1990 at the NYC Corporation Counsel’s Office, where I created the first PC-based relational database and mini-LAN in the agency, used to help speed data processing for the City’s litigation against asbestos manufacturers. In 1993 I joined the startup team at NYS Empire State Development, tasked with bringing the Queens West Development to life. We envisioned a future of working and studying from home and so implemented the first universal broadband system in the country. We anticipated the changing climate and planned for rising seas so that the project was one of two on the waterfront to keep their power on during Superstorm Sandy. We built 2.5 acres of waterfront parks and laid the foundation for over $1 billion in subsequent investment.
Transforming Work
The social technology revolution opened the door to improving work with better collaboration, automation of mundane tasks, and empowering workers and customers.
My greatest achievement has been Casebook, a collaboration and case management system for government child welfare that I co-created with the Annie E. Casey Foundation from 2007 until its launch as the child welfare system of record in the State of Indiana in 2012. We integrated information flows from 16 agencies including the State’s Oracle financial system, automated State and Federal reporting, and created a data warehouse to provide real-time analytics to caseworkers. We built the system for a fraction of the typical cost and delivered it on time and on budget. Then, we spun the team and software out into Casebook PBC. Thanks to Pivotal Labs and Ideo for their partnership in this achievement.
I helped create collaboration platforms in cookbook publishing, television post-production, fashion, agriculture and others.
I most recently led a ground-up program at JPMorgan Chase that enables any lawyer to find legal knowledge wherever it exists in JPMC’s global legal department.
Delighting Users
My passion has been to provide frontline workers with delightful and easy-to-use tools on the belief that people want to succeed for their end customers and intrinsically understand that removing inefficiency and friction does that.
With Casebook, first time users can start using the system with about 20 minutes of self-directed exploration as compared to as much as six months to learn a traditional case management system. Information flows as it happens. Analytics help workers organize work around the most urgent needs.
I had the privilege of advising SEIU 775 on their strategy that led to the creation of Carina, a platform that improves the delivery of home care and childcare.
I am also proud of the work I did in helping create Qwire, a platform that today vastly streamlines the interaction of professionals in television and film post-production.
Furthering Democracy
Elections are the bedrock of a well-functioning democracy; improving voter engagement and candidate participation are essential elements. In the current political environment, it’s more essential than ever to improve voter access and participation.
I co-created NYC Votes to make voter information accessible via the Internet and to remove obstacles to candidates running for office. NYC Votes was created as a volunteer effort with Pivotal Labs and Method, then donated to the NYC Campaign Finance Board. It piloted in the 2013 citywide elections, then went fully live in 2017.
I was the first and only Asian appointed to the Board of the NYC Campaign Finance Board, serving from 2009 to 2018, appointed by Mayor Bloomberg and re-appointed by Mayor De Blasio. I was also appointed by Mayor Bloomberg as the first Chair of the NYC Voter Assistance Advisory Committee, the only entity that brings together all the government stakeholders in elections. I co-created NYC Votes to increase democratic participation for voters and grassroots candidates.
Educating for the Future
The gap between private education for the privileged and public education for everyone else continues to grow. At the same time, we know that education is a lifelong endeavor that begins at birth and continues through adulthood. Arts, liberal arts, vocational education, and workforce development have never been more important.
I led the successful creation of a knowledge finder system at JPMorgan Chase based on decades of insights about the development of knowledge from doing.
I co-created the CUNY Technology Apprenticeship Program (TAP) to overcome technical and cultural impediments that prevent CUNY computer science students from accessing high-growth opportunities in technology.
My experience with private special education taught me that every student is different, develops differently, and has tremendous potential. Education can and should address every student’s differences.
My experience at the Chair of the School Leadership Team at the nation’s largest and one of the highest-achieving public high schools, Brooklyn Technical High School, gave me unique insights into the potential and failures of public education.
Creating Resiliency & Adapting
It’s far easier to react. And much harder to be proactive. But failing to anticipate has a tremendous human cost born disproportionately by the poor.
The seas will rise by 10 feet by 2100, inundating NYC neighborhoods where 100s of thousands live. The methods for adapting have long been known.
In 1993, my team at Queens West planned for rising seas and more violent storms by softening the waters edge to absorb rising waters that allowed the neighborhood to withstand Superstorm Sandy.
Digital access is the foundation to economic and social resiliency. COVID called out the insufficiency of our digital infrastructure, both physical and human. Students and small businesses are still bearing the brunt of our failure to prepare.
At Queens West in 1993 we planned for a future of work and study from home.
In 1985, I started working with panelized housing technology used to create net zero housing in Sweden in an effort to commercialize it in the United States.
Imagination has been around for decades. Implementation is an urgent need.