David Doyle publishes book “Ask What You Can Do” on need for public technologists

Alum David Doyle (’15) has published the book “Ask What You Can Do: Why local government needs more technologists and how you too can serve.” Inspired by his own shift from the tech sector to public service – and lack of guidance – Doyle provides an inside account of his experience while urging readers to help build the next generation of local government.

The M.A. in Policy Studies program was pivotal in David’s transition from 18 years at Microsoft to the public sector. “Policy was interesting to me from the perspective of being able to have impact on a large scale and help solve some really tough problems,” says Doyle. “When I found the Policy Studies program, it seemed to fit all of my needs, including the ability to study part-time and attend class at night. It wasn’t until I entered the program that I became aware of the world of open data and civic engagement. I was immediately hooked and spent my entire second year researching open data for my capstone research project.”

After graduating, Doyle became City of Seattle’s Open Data Program Manager with the primary focus of implementing Seattle’s open data policy, which involved coordinating efforts across all City departments to accelerate the publishing of high value datasets to the City of Seattle Open Data portal.

In 2018 Doyle took a career sabbatical, and during that time, was often asked about his experience in local government and transition from the tech sector. “Once I realized that no roadmap or playbook existed to inspire and guide fellow technologists to make a similar journey,” he says, “I got to work.” Learn more about Ask What You Can Do.