Amanda Renteria. Photo: Code for America
Code for America is today announcing government veteran Amanda Renteria as its new CEO, replacing founder Jen Pahlka, who announced a year ago that she was stepping down.
Why it matters: The federal government, long in need of tech expertise, is even more so amid the coronavirus pandemic. Pahlka, meanwhile, has been leading a separate volunteer effort to help state and local governments get tech help during the crisis.
"As the current crisis has shown, it is critical for government services to be designed and delivered with people at the center," Code for America board chair John Lilly said in a statement. "Amanda will lead Code for America at a moment when the need to transform government could not be clearer."
Two staff members, CFO Zeryn Sarpangal and CTO Lou Moore, had been interim chief executives and will now return to their prior roles.
Renteria has more than two decades experience working in government and politics, including as operations chief at the California Department of Justice under California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Earlier in her career she was an economic policy advisor for Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and chief of staff for Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan — becoming the first Latina to serve as chief of staff to a U.S. senator.