The New America Foundation is looking to get public interestorganizations and technologists talking to, and learning from, oneanother. Thats the impetus behind the think tanksPublic Interest Technology Fellows program, the first cohort of which was announced on Wednesday.

The Public Interest Tech Team is looking to build an ecosystem for the field of public interest technology, much in the same way that the country created the field of public interest law a generation ago, New America President and CEO Anne-Marie Slaughter said in a statement.

Whats public interest technology? Asthe name suggests, it entails using tech to help public interest organizations like those that focus on the environment, criminal justice or human rights serve people better.

Its a topic thats attracted aroster of 15 participants for 2017, includingMarina Stone Martin, former CTO of the Department of Veterans AffairsandRaphael Majma, former director of the Department of States digital services team. Other fellows come to the tablewithprivate sector tech backgrounds at companies like Facebook and Google.

The cohortwill work with New Americas permanent Public Interest Technology teamled by Cecilia Muoz,former director of the White House Domestic Policy Council under President Obama. Theyll work to influence demand for technology expertise among public interest organizations by building concrete examples that show the transformative impact of bringing technologists onto their teams.

This first group of fellowswill focus on projects inthree key topic areas:immigration, foster care systems and the intersection of criminal justice and mental health services. For example, fellowJeremiah Lindemann, of geographic information system (GIS) mapping software company Esri, will work with local government to use data to map the opioid epidemic.

Thethink tanks public interest tech team is supported by grants from the Ford Foundation and LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, according to a press release.

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New America unveils a fellowship aimed at building public interest technology 'ecosystem' - FedScoop