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Ann Lewis

@ann-lewis.bsky.social

520 followers 130 following 48 posts

Tech exec, former TTS Director at GSA, former @moveon.org CTO, @scsatcmu.bsky.social grad, bio/pics: https://annlewis.tech/ (Personal account)

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Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Sep 10

Why do too many federal tech projects end in bloated contracts and tools no one wants to use? Here's how product managers + product operating models can help agencies build services that actually work. cc @niskanencenter.bsky.social @federalnewsnetwork.com

open.spotify.com/episode/2AUa...

The one overlooked role that could keep agencies from missing the mark in tech deployments

open.spotify.com

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Aug 30

Securing govt systems means knowing when to defend against nation states vs lower-risk actors. DOGE may have seen hosting Numident on a private server as easier for collaboration, but it gutted defenses against threat actors. In govt tech, national security concerns aren't optional.

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Aug 30

Typically the most well funded threat actors are foreign nation state based attackers. These threat actors have the resources to break into even major tech platform infrastructure, despite significant investments in cyber security practices, infrastructure, and testing.

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Aug 30

Cybersecurity is about increasing the cost of attack based on threat models and threat actors. Breaking into a flashlight app is cheap; breaching a bank system is expensive. A lone hacker might crack an unsecured site, but it would take a well-resourced team to steal protected personal data.

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Aug 30

To be fair, major breaches happen all the time in the private sector, and when they happen, companies quietly clean up after breaches. In general, you can’t perfectly secure any system because humans are involved and humans are usually the weakest link from a security perspective.

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Aug 30

But you don’t know who’s around or who may have followed you to the park bench. The big risk isn’t just that someone follows you and takes all the passports, it's also that someone hides in the bushes near the bench to carefully watch what you and your friends do with the passports.

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Aug 30

It’s like taking all the passports of all Americans and leaving them out on a public park bench somewhere so that it’s easier for your friends to look at all the passports. You convince yourself this is fine because you haven’t told anyone other than your friends where the park bench is.

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Aug 30

It's hard to overstate how serious these allegations are, but here's an attempt 🧵

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/u...

DOGE Put Critical Social Security Data at Risk, Whistle-Blower Says

www.nytimes.com

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Aug 21

In my new piece with @niskanencenter.bsky.social, I explore how govt structures shape the systems they deliver. If we want govt to work better for the people it serves, we need to intentionally align organizational design with the outcomes we care about.

www.niskanencenter.org/conways-law-...

Conway’s Law at Government Scale - Niskanen Center

When government agencies are siloed, or poorly coordinated, the services they deliver carry the same flaws.

www.niskanencenter.org

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Aug 4

Launching the Outcome-Based Legislation Lab with @niskanencenter.bsky.social : a new, nonpartisan effort to help Congress write laws that actually work. We’re running retrospectives, capturing lessons, and building a library of outcome-focused legislative examples. Join us: forms.gle/bg9cnNbxJzsA...

Interest Form: Outcome-Based Legislation Lab Pilot

We’re kicking off a pilot to build an Outcome-Based Legislation Lab that will help Congress write laws that focus on impact, not just compliance. Too often, prescriptive laws end up locking agencies i...

Reposted by Ann Lewis

The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · Jul 28

Federal tech projects often measure success by compliance — not whether the tech actually works for the public.

The private sector utilizes product managers to build tech that works. Government agencies should do the same.

From compliance to delivery: Why agencies need product managers - Niskanen Center

To improve public service delivery, the federal government should adopt a Product Operating Model and build product management capacity across agencies.

www.niskanencenter.org

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Jul 25

Too often, govt measures success by compliance, not outcomes. Public services aren’t delivered until they work for people. In my new @niskanencenter.bsky.social piece, I argue we need more product managers in govt to move from outputs to impact.
www.niskanencenter.org/from-complia...

From compliance to delivery: Why agencies need product managers - Niskanen Center

To improve public service delivery, the federal government should adopt a Product Operating Model and build product management capacity across agencies.

www.niskanencenter.org

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Jul 10

Government can deliver better digital services—but only if it adopts the right operating model. Our new piece at @niskanencenter.bsky.social with @pahlkadot.bsky.social explains why moving from projects to products is the path to services that actually work. www.niskanencenter.org/the-product-...

by Ann Lewis Ann Lewis

The government could replicate some private sector practices that have provided results like digitizing more services.

www.niskanencenter.org

Reposted by Ann Lewis

The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · Jul 10

Big thanks to @fedscoop.bsky.social's @madialder.bsky.social, @ann-lewis.bsky.social, Alex Mechanick, and Gabe Menchaca
for unpacking DOGE’s disruption & what’s next after Elon.

Even amid policy whiplash, there's still room for pragmatic, bipartisan reform to rebuild state capacity.

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Jun 9

This is a huge deal, and proud to have supported this effort.

Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · Jun 9

📣A VICTORY FOR PERSONAL PRIVACY!📣

In our case against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and DOGE, A NY federal district court judge has granted a preliminary injunction. (1/6)

Privacy Victory! Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction in OPM/DOGE Lawsuit

NEW YORK–In a victory for personal privacy, a New York federal district court judge today granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) disc...

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Jun 6

@lukef.bsky.social and Julie Brinn Siegel sound an important alarm - new Medicaid changes will force eligible Americans who need Medicaid the most to file piles of new paperwork and will increase administrative burden on already overworked, understaffed Medicaid agencies.

Luke Farrell @lukef.bsky.social · Jun 6

Today in the @missouriindependent.com
I shared how new Medicaid red tape imposed by Republicans will kick over 10 million people off their healthcare, including more than 180,000 people in Missouri ‼️

missouriindependent.com/2025/06/06/r...

Republicans' new Medicaid red tape will push Missouri to the brink and block healthcare for millions • Missouri Independent

The budget bill passed by the U.S. House will kick millions of people off of Medicaid by piling on new red tape.

missouriindependent.com

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Jun 5

We hereby promise not to throw tantrums on a global stage over not being able to fully act on corporate conflicts of interest.

Merici @merici.bsky.social · Jun 5

The federal government has been exponentially weakened and thrown into chaos over...this? It's time to elect more women.

Reposted by Ann Lewis

The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · May 1

New report, with case studies, from @ann-lewis.bsky.social: www.niskanencenter.org/how-to-save-...

How to save a billion dollars - Niskanen Center

Every government technology leader knows a story about a project that accidentally wasted a billion dollars. The details vary, but the arc is familiar.

www.niskanencenter.org

Reposted by Ann Lewis

John Skiles Skinner @skiles.blue · Apr 30

"The solution isn’t more pressure, more budget, firing people, or indiscriminate contract cancellations."

The ~Annifesto~ of former GSA tech leader Ann Lewis. Explains how to actually do what DOGE pretends to do.

www.niskanencenter.org/how-to-save-...

How to save a billion dollars - Niskanen Center

Every government technology leader knows a story about a project that accidentally wasted a billion dollars. The details vary, but the arc is familiar.

www.niskanencenter.org

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Apr 30

Every government technology leader knows a story about a project that accidentally wasted a billion dollars. Here's my take on why this keeps happening, and how we can fix it. www.niskanencenter.org/how-to-save-... @niskanencenter.bsky.social

How to save a billion dollars - Niskanen Center

Every government technology leader knows a story about a project that accidentally wasted a billion dollars. The details vary, but the arc is familiar.

www.niskanencenter.org

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Apr 23

Thanks for the great GovTech convo @carolinenihill.bsky.social ! We covered everything from modernization best practices to DOGE to the greatest hits of the 90s.

FedScoop @fedscoop.bsky.social · Apr 23

FedScoop reporter @carolinenihill.bsky.social sits down with former GSA TTS director @ann-lewis.bsky.social to talk modernization, workforce cuts, AI and where government goes wrong — and right — with tech reform. youtu.be/V_DgGTYca3g?...

Former GSA TTS director Ann Lewis on Modernization, AI and Government Efficiency

YouTube video by FedScoop

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Apr 18

An important test of Privacy Act protections of Social Security Administration data, and of proactively guarding privacy, rather than waiting for harm to occur. www.seattletimes.com/nation-world...

Federal judge in Baltimore temporarily limits DOGE access to Social Security data

A federal judge has imposed new restrictions on the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to Social Security systems that hold personal data on millions of Americans.

www.seattletimes.com

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Apr 15

This is really bad- exfiltrating data related to union organizing, disabling audit logging, attempting to intimidate whistleblowers www.npr.org/2025/04/15/n...

A whistleblower's disclosure details how DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data

A whistleblower tells Congress and NPR that DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data and hid its tracks. "None of that ... information should ever leave the agency," said a former NLRB official.

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Apr 9

Just published my first article with Niskanen Center- how to use data management best practices from the private sector to combat fraud in government programs. (Spoiler: it's not by giving senior leaders and small strike teams broad access to all datasets) www.niskanencenter.org/how-to-stop-...

Executive orders aren’t enough: How to actually stop waste, fraud, and abuse - Niskanen Center

In practice, enforcing full data access across all systems could prove expensive and may still fall short of its goal to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse.

www.niskanencenter.org

Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · Apr 7

And apologies to all the senior government officials who then had to sit through me earnestly explaining what cache invalidation is so they could understand the reference.