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Alexis Wichowski

Program Director, M.S. Technology Management; Professor of Professional Practice

Dr. Alexis Wichowski works, teaches, and writes on technology, government, and power. She currently serves as Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University's School of Professional Studies as well as Program Director for the MS and Executive MS Technology management and affiliate faculty with Columbia's School of International & Public Affairs, where she's been teaching as an adjunct for over a decade. Her public service work focuses on technology in government, agency communications, and technology policy.

Recent roles include Deputy Chief Technology Officer for the City of New York, Associate Commissioner for NYC's Department of Veterans' Services, and various roles within the US Department of State and the US Mission to the United Nations. Past life work includes disaster relief, literary translation, media impact research, indexing, coding, theater production, and pretzel vending. Alexis Wichowski holds a Ph.D. in Information Science from SUNY Albany and a BA in Chinese from Connecticut College, completed in three years.

RECOGNITION 

  • Founder & Meta Award, NYC[x] Tech & Innovation Awards | City of New York
  • Member | State Department Speakers Bureau 
  • Top Five Course Award  |  Columbia University 
  • Meritorious Honor Award  | US Mission to the United Nations
  • Meritorious Honor Award  | Office of eDiplomacy
  • Presidential Management Fellowship | OPM
  • Distinguished Dissertation Award | University at Albany
  • Women in Technology Award  | University at Albany
  • Fulbright | Guangzhou, China

 

PRIOR EXPERIENCE 

  • Fellow Experience Supervisor, US Digital Corps | TTS - GSA
  • Deputy Chief Technology Officer - Innovation | City of New York
  • Acting Deputy Chief Technology Officer - Broadband | City of New York 
  • Interim Communications Director | City of New York, Mayor's Office of the CTO
  • Associate Commissioner | City of New York, Department of Veterans' Services
  • Director of Research & Communication  |  Harmony Labs
  • Director of Media Analysis & Strategy  |  US Mission to the United Nations
  • Presidential Management Fellow  |  State Department Office of eDiplomacy
  • Adjunct lecturer  |  SUNY Albany

Education

PhD, Information Science | University at Albany

BA, Chinese | Connecticut College

Publications

CIVIC TECH ​& INNOVATION 

​Wichowski, A. & Benjamin, K. (2021). "Public service as a service." Medium 

Wichowski. A. (2020). "How to forge partnerships during crises (in 4 easy steps)," Apolitical  

​Wichowski, A. (2018) “Misery loves bureaucracy: why technology hasn’t saved government.” GovExec

​Wichowski, A. (2017) "Hack the bureaucracy: a user's guide to getting things done in government (with or without tech" (abridged version published in GovExec)

​Wichowski, A. (2013). “What government can and should learn from hacker culture.” The Atlantic

​TECH AS GLOBAL POWER   

Wichowski, A. (2021). "Nations need ambassadors to Big Tech." WIRED

​Wichowski, A. (2020). "American needs a technology ambassador for the digital world." The Hill  

​Wichowski, A. (2016). “So long, smoke and mirrors! Digital diplomats wear no clothes.” London School of Economics Review of Books

​Wichowski, A. (2015). “‘Secrecy is for losers’: why diplomats should embrace openness to protect national security.” In M. Holmes & C. Bjola (Eds.) Digital Diplomacy: Theory and Practice. London: Routledge.

​Wichowski, A. (2013). “Social diplomacy: Or how diplomats learned to stop worrying and love the tweet.” Foreign Affairs [PDF]

TECH & DEMOCRACY 

Wichowski, A. (2021). "Why Big Tech shouldn't govern citizens." Tech Policy Press

​Wichowski, A. (2020). "The U.S. can’t regulate Big Tech companies when they act like nations," (op-ed) The Washington Post

​Wichowski, A. (2020). "Let's Polarize Together," (essay) Public Books

​Wichowski, A. (2020). "How the world's biggest tech companies regulation-proofed themselves," (op-ed) The Hill

Wichowski, A. (2017) "Net states rule the world. Ignore them at your peril." Wired

​Wichowski, A. (2015). “Examining the future of the open and universal Internet.” Proceedings: Conference on Internet Governance & Cyber Security, May 14-15, 2015. Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs.

​Wichowski, A. (2015). “Human rights, freedom of expression, and the Internet.” Proceedings: Conference on Internet Governance & Cyber Security, May 14-15, 2015. Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs.

​OTHER​

​Wichowski, A. (2017) "How New York City invests in veterans." Medium 

​Johnson, J. & Wichowski, A. (2015). “Immerse me: how to get lost in story (story not required).” TechCrunch 

​Wichowski, A. (2009). “Survival of the fittest tag: folksonomies, findability, and the evolution of information organization.” First Monday, 14 (5-4)