Hana Schank

Hana Schank is the Director of Strategy for Public Interest Technology at New America, where she works to develop the public interest technology field via research, storytelling and fostering connections. She founded and edits The Commons, a publication for people working in and around government innovation efforts. Previously she was a director with the Department of Homeland Security, where she worked with TSA and Customs and Border Protection to improve the air travel experience. In the private sector, Schank founded and ran CollectiveUX, a user experience consultancy, for over a decade, working with startups, Fortune 500 companies, and governmental organizations to research and design human-centered products. She tweets at @hanaschank.

She began her technology career at Accenture, was part of the team that launched the first CBS News website, and founded information architecture departments at multiple interactive agencies. In addition to her research and design work, Schank is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and the author (with Tara Dawson McGuinness) of Power to the Public: The Promise of Public Interest Technology, which Barak Obama described as “Worth a read for anyone who cares about making change happen.” You can see her speaking alongside Tara at New America here.