Casey Burns
‘I Was Still Trying to Figure Out Where the Bathrooms Were, and then HealthCare.gov Happened’: Casey Burns on the Origins of the US Digital Service
| Casey Burns was Senior Advisor to the U.S. Chief Technology Officer from September 2013 to May 2014, where he helped create 18F and the USDS. Prior, he was Director of Innovation at the General Services Administration. |
Casey Burns was one of a handful of people who was directly involved in gaining the support of the White House to start the USDS. He gathered a lot of wisdom during his time at the White House, like the importance of memos and the best ways to overcome hiring and procurement obstacles.
In his role advising the U.S. Chief Technology Officer, Casey also developed a nuanced perspective on how government can influence private sector mindsets and vice versa. Below, Casey discusses reconciling public and private sector mentalities, technical issues with HealthCare.gov, and more.