Sophia Tareen, Product Manager, AdHoc
What does your work look like, and what have you been working on lately?
I work directly with leaders in government agencies and members of our product development team to co-create digital tools that will serve the public. This looks like collaborating with researchers to understand user problems, exploring inclusive and flexible solutions with designers and engineers, developing product strategy artifacts with government stakeholders, and measuring how our products affect outcomes of users. Right now, I work on an API platform to enable developers to access open data and build innovative digital tools for the public.
How has your career path unfolded?
I have tried to shape my career around certain guiding principles. These include continuously learning, working at the forefront of innovation, and serving others, particularly those from historically marginalized communities. It has been helpful to carry this perspective with me through my professional experiences in research, consulting, and now product management. In each experience, I also try to identify what kinds of work I find exciting, which thus far have included untangling complexity, tackling big problems, and exercising creative freedom. As a minority in every job I’ve had, I also care a lot about building community with people from underrepresented backgrounds and archiving our stories and impact in these spaces.
How did you get into the field of Public Interest Technology (PIT)?
After studying political science and health economics at the University of Pennsylvania, I joined Collective Health — a startup using tech to simplify how we pay for healthcare. I was accumulating an enormous amount of knowledge about health insurance systems and began volunteering to assist local refugees and asylum seekers enroll in government health coverage. At the time, I couldn’t help but compare the online enrollment experiences being offered between the private sector and the government. I wanted to learn about how public websites like Medicaid.gov and Healthcare.gov were being built so I joined my local Code for America brigade in Oakland. Through this experience, I learned about the public interest technology landscape and met inspiring volunteers who were committed to civic engagement and digital equity. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and I faced personal frustrations navigating public assistance online, I decided to join the public interest technology space full-time. I am now a Product Manager at Ad Hoc where I get to work directly with government agencies to help bridge the gap between commercial and public digital services. Outside of work, I started a Civic Tech Salon with other young civic technologists to knowledge share, build community, and explore ethical questions within this space.
If students are interested in pursuing a career in PIT, where might they start?
* Engage with public servants and community leaders to understand their pain points, needs, and ideas. Don’t jump right into capacity building with tech based on what you think is needed, but take time to develop empathy for their experiences and collaborate with them directly on solutions.
* Volunteer with your local Code For America brigade
* Start a PIT club on your campus
* Reach out to people you think are doing cool things and come with specific questions