TheBridge profile: Amy Dudley
Name: Amy Dudley
Current city: San Francisco, CA
Current job: Chief Spokesperson, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Past job: Communications Director, Senator Tim Kaine; Press Secretary for Vice President Joe Biden
Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? Farley's in Potrero Hill
Q. Describe how a skill you learned in a previous job helped you in your current job. My first job out of college was as a staff writer for National Journal’s The Hotline. That role taught me several skills I carry with me to this day, including how to work on tight deadlines, how to cut through jargon and synthesize a lot of information, and how to anticipate a headline (good or bad!)
Q. Job advice in three words? Know your audience.
Q. How are you (or your company, org, nonprofit) currently bridging the gap between politics and tech / innovation and regulation? The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is bridging a unique gap between philanthropy and technology. Founded by Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg in 2015, CZI is a new kind of philanthropic organization that’s leveraging tech to help solve some of the world’s toughest challenges – from eradicating disease, to improving education, to reforming the criminal justice system. We’re building tools and pairing engineering with grant-making, impact investing, and policy and advocacy work, with an overarching goal of helping to build a more inclusive, healthy, and just future for everyone.
Q. What can innovators teach regulators/policy makers? The value of making room for blue-sky thinking and ideation. Washington is more deliberative than Silicon Valley for good reasons, but too often policymaking is hampered by a myopic focus on the politics of the day.
Q. What can regulators/policy makers teach innovators? The importance of incorporating communications expertise early on and at the highest decision-making tables. Innovators move fast, but as many policymakers will attest, you should expect to encounter turbulence if you fly out ahead of a clear communications strategy.
Q. Favorite app? The fitness app Aaptiv (their maternity program is a must for moms-to-be)
Q. If you had to live in another city, which would it be? One thing I've especially enjoyed about my career is that it's given me a chance to live in wonderful places - DC, Chicago, New York, SF - each of which I love for different reasons. In addition to really any of those places, I'd live in Paris in a heartbeat.
Q. Last time you were completely unplugged? A meditation retreat last year (which, note to self, is too long ago!)
Q: Do you have a morning routine? I take a coffee-powered walk to the CalTrain for the ride to Redwood City, featuring my lengthy queue of morning tipsheets, and of course, TheBridge’s tech, policy and policy updates on Tues and Thurs!
Q. How often do you work from home? My team does “work from home Wednesdays” - CZI is great about helping us prioritize heads down/focus time, which I very much appreciate.
Amy’s profile was featured in TheBridge Update. Don’t miss another profile, click below to sign up for our updates.