Megan Smith

Megan Smith
Megan J. Smith is the Chief Technology Officer of the United States. She was previously a vice president of Google at Google, was vice president of business development at Google for nine years, and was general manager of Google.org and the former CEO of Planet Out. She serves on the boards of MIT and Vital Voices, is a member of the USAID Advisory Committee on Voluntary Aid and co-founded the Malala Fund. On September 4, 2014, she was named as...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPublic Servant
CountryUnited States of America
best familiar gets less
We know that diversity can sometimes be more uncomfortable because things are less familiar - but it gets the best results.
door early easier expensive exploring fail industry less money pilot spent structured
It's much easier to fail when you're in the pilot, early stage, when it's less expensive and you're exploring than when you're way out the door and you've spent all this money. Industry is smart: structured to have skunkworks and pilot phases.
pregnant seen
I've seen her, and she didn't look pregnant at all.
history technical women
I've been working on the lost history of technical women.
boys bringing country girls incredible point sure toys
Thinking through how to make sure we're bringing incredible toys and experiences and that to our girls and our boys at some point is really important for this country for the world in general.
captures kid
Each kid is unique in what captures their attention and their passion.
ask class
Each class is going to ask him two questions. I think it's going to be fun.
classrooms flipping learning people spaces
Flipping our classrooms into active learning spaces really is important and having these convenient spaces where people feel comfortable.
class facts history inspiring science taught
Science class is traditionally taught as science history class - you learn all these facts that someone else discovered, which you need to know, but that's not really an inspiring way to learn science.
bad people shutting
People can get into very bad habits of arguing ideas and shutting them down.
came computer personal
We culturally decided, as the personal computer came in, that it was for the boys.
century deep demands encourage experience history interested passionate pursue science
The things you're passionate about and interested in, get experience with them by going deep on projects. I would encourage science projects, plays. Pursue science, math, writing, history - the 21st century demands a lot of cross-disciplinary thinking.
amazing country operating
We are the only country with an operating rover on Mars. We are an amazing country on tech.
commission open played source technology truth
I think open source is an evolutionary idea for humanity, this idea of transparency. It played out for us in the technology world, but it also played out with the idea of a truth and reconciliation commission and Wikipedia.