Hana Schank

I am a writer and a technologist/public problem solver. Because why have one career when you can have two?

Currently, I am the Director of Strategy for the Public Interest Technology program at New America, where I work on changing how government and non-profits think about problem solving. This means that I run projects in the public sector, contribute research and scholarship to the field, tell stories about the good work governments across the country are capable of, and also call out government when it fails to serve the American people the way it is supposed to.

I am also the author of a bunch of books, and I write frequently for a lot of publications. I started out as a personal essayist, so for those who want to delve deep into my oeuvre you'll find a lot out about me in my 20s and 30s. Personal essay is still my first love, and I put a bit of it into everything I write, even though my books have gravitated more toward social criticism and wonky government topics.

Just as my career is split, so is my locale. My job is based in DC but I live in Brooklyn, NY, which means that I am constantly being misunderstood. I’ve got a DC in job in a place where everyone writes or mounts plays or banks. (I don’t know anyone who banks, but I hear banking is a big industry in New York.)

So when I tell people in NYC what I do they think it’s weird, and they just want to know if I’ve read that piece in the New Yorker. When I’m in DC people think my job is normal, but want to know which badges I have.

I don’t care about badges, though it’s hard not to get into that competitive proximity to power game that DC loves. Yes, I have read that piece in the New Yorker.