Vivek Kundra is the latest, highest-profile departure from the administration’s tech ranks. | AP Photo Tech experts exit White House

When President Barack Obama took office, he brought with him a pack of technology advocates with impressive résumés and ambitious visions. They wanted to improve the government through the use of Internet tools and iPhone apps and help shape communications policy to expand broadband.

But the core group of techies that launched big initiatives has left the White House over the past six months, raising questions about what will become of the administration’s technology-focused goals.


“Some of the most dedicated, focused and creative people who pushed for using technology to increase the transparency and accountability of the government are gone,” said Ellen Miller, executive director of the Sunlight Foundation and a close follower of the White House’s initiatives. “One can only wonder whether the commitment will remain. We don’t know.”

The administration says its commitment to technology remains strong.

“President Obama has been clear that he believes that fostering innovation is vital to ensuring America’s continued economic leadership, and our work on that continues at full steam,” said White House spokesman Matt Lehrich.

The recent resignation of Vivek Kundra, the federal government’s first chief information officer, is the latest, highest-profile departure from the administration’s tech ranks. Kundra, who spearheaded projects to reduce the government’s $81 billion annual budget for information technology systems, is starting a fellowship at Harvard in the fall.

Another division of the executive office — the Office of Science and Technology Policy, led by Director John P. Holdren — has also seen turnover this year. Andrew McLaughlin, who was deputy chief technology officer in charge of Internet policy, left in December. Beth Noveck, who was deputy chief technology officer for open government, returned to New York Law School in January and will consult with the U.K. government. Meanwhile, Jim Kohlenberger, OSTP chief of staff, returned to the Benton Foundation.

In the past month or so, departures continued. Scott Deutchman, deputy for telecom policy, joined Neustar. And Phil Weiser, who also oversaw tech and telecom issues, returned to the University of Colorado Law School.

“It’s a shame because they, coming into the administration, were a bunch of people who understood how this could change the way government works and make the public more trusting,” said Micah Sifry, co-founder of Personal Democracy Forum. “But these people did get a lot of good work done in the first two years. That doesn’t get rolled back just because some have left.”

Those who have moved on acknowledge some frustration with the glacial pace of governmental bureaucracy.

McLaughlin, who was head of global public policy for Google before joining the administration, said the White House team always supported new initiatives, such as using cloud computing to reduce federal IT costs and expanding broadband. But it was difficult to persuade agencies to adopt new technologies, he said.

“I don’t think people are leaving because of some grand debate over whether technology is important and whether it’s a useful part of the administration,” McLaughlin said.

Still, policy experts working on specific areas — such as cybersecurity, privacy and wireless spectrum — would run into a “buzz saw of long-standing bureaucracy,” he said.

“When you run into that after two years, you think, ‘Wow, this is going to take more like 15 to 20 years,’” he said. “Those are ways people get burned out.”

It’s not uncommon for political appointees to leave after two or three years, especially in the era of BlackBerrys and the 24-hour workday.

Now that the next campaign cycle is getting under way, some felt their chance to get meaningful work done had past, said Tim O’Reilly, CEO of O’Reilly Media, who has advised agencies on technology.

“In the first two years, you can hope to get something done,” he said. “Then we go into political silly season, and we’re suddenly faced with making every decision based on political impact rather than what’s really important. I know that was a factor in a couple of people leaving.”

The budget crunch has added to worries that government IT projects will be slashed. For example, funding cuts will prevent further improvements to the IT Dashboard, a Kundra initiative to help eliminate poor-performing technology projects.

“These are signature projects and cutting them, in my view, is being penny wise, pound foolish,” Sifry said. “That’s a sign that they don’t think these things are a priority anymore.”

Despite the departures, some Silicon Valley players say they still have a line of communication with the White House. Rebecca Lynn, a California venture capitalist, said ties are strong with Associate Director of Technology Aneesh Chopra and officials at the agency level, such as Todd Park, chief technology officer at the Department of Health and Human Services.

But others are disappointed that momentum has slowed since Obama’s pledge to make technology a central piece of policy decisions, from health care to smart grid to budget accountability.

“The bloom is off the rose,” Miller said. “People understand that it’s harder to execute than it is to make pronouncements and promises. People on the inside are more sober about what can and will be done.”

Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified who leads the Office of Science and Technology Policy. It is led by Director John P. Holdren.



CORRECTION: Corrected by: Vivyan Tran @ 07/08/2011 12:52 AM Corrected by: Vivyan Tran @ 07/08/2011 12:22 AM Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified who leads the Office of Science and Technology Policy. It is led by Director John P. Holdren.