[A2k] Susan Crawford is Back . . .

[Seth Johnson]

> http://scrawford.net/blog/qa/1281/


Q&A


Where have you been?

In early November 2008 I was in Cairo with the ICANN board.  It was my
last meeting on the board, and I remember thinking that my life was
about to change.

It did, but in a surprising way.  I got a ping from someone on the
Obama-Biden transition team, and when I returned the call at 3am
(following some typically endless private ICANN board meeting before
the public meeting) I was completely surprised and pleased to be asked
to work on the FCC transition with Kevin Werbach.  I was so far away,
it was the middle of the night, and the election in the U.S. had been
such an exciting event - my head was spinning.  I had had no
involvement in the campaign and zero expectation of such a call to DC.

So I left Cairo at the end of the ICANN meeting feeling out of
breath.  The transition had set up in an anonymous building in DC, and
I soon started spending every day there and at the FCC.  Somehow I
finished my class at Michigan (sorry, students).  I kept my head down
and worked with as much focus and intensity as I could summon.  I was
genuinely grateful to get the chance to help nudge the FCC towards a
better future.

Towards the end of the transition period I was offered and accepted a
job as a Special Assistant to the President for Science, Technology,
and Innovation Policy on the National Economic Council staff.  So for
the past year that=92s where I was - in the Eisenhower Executive Office
Building next to the West Wing.

Was it fun?

People always ask this question, so I=92m going to address this vital
issue head-on: Yes, it was fun, in the
unbelievably-intense-let=92s-get-a-lot-done sense.  When a new
administration arrives in town, the political appointees aren=92t yet in
place at the agencies.  For those of you who have worked in startups,
this was like that.  There was a great deal to do, as quickly as
possible, and resources were incredibly limited.  Fun.  Very
entrepreneurial.

What impressed you?

I was impressed by the quality of the people I worked with on the
White House staff - the vast majority of them were skilled, practical,
collegial, and doing their best at all times.  I was impressed by
several of the Secretaries with whom I came in contact.  There are
good, smart people all over the administration, trying their best
against almost impossible odds.

What did you learn?

Studying the operations of government gives you about as much
knowledge about how government actually works as studying a map of a
city gives you information about what it=92s actually like to live
there.  Those on the =93outside=94 can=92t really understand until they=92v=
e
been =93inside,=94 and I=92m glad I got the chance.  I got a lot done.  It
was a good year.

Why just a year?

I was always on the Michigan teaching schedule for January 2010
because I had promised the dean that I would be gone just one year.
It was a tumultuous time - I had arrived in Ann Arbor in September
2008 for my new job, and (effectively) disappeared two months later.
At one point I had a house in Ann Arbor, an apartment in New York
City, and an apartment in DC - no chance I could afford all of those
locations.  Eventually I rationalized the situation a little, becoming
a houseguest in DC (for many months, thanks!) and remotely closing up
my Ann Arbor place and putting everything in storage - I couldn=92t even
get away to participate in the moving process.  A year was right for
me.

Will you be blogging again?

Here I am.  Yes.  I have missed having this daily opportunity to
write.  I feel as if I=92ve been in touch with many people - one of the
things you do in the White House is hold a lot of outreach meetings.
But we have a lot of work to do together.  So I=92ll be blogging,
tweeting (@scrawford), and keeping in constant contact.  Send me your
thoughts, either by comments here or via email to scrawford at
scrawford dot net.

December 17, 2009