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When Chelsea Mauldin began bringing
design thinking into the U.S. government, she was met with scepticism — design was still seen as “throw pillows and pretty fonts.”
In this deep and fascinating episode, Chelsea — Executive Director of the Public Policy Lab in New York — joins Gerry Scullion to share her journey from urban planning to pioneering human-centered design in federal and municipal agencies.
They discuss:
✅ How design entered the public sector during the Obama era.
✅ Why half the real work happens after the design phase.
✅ Building trust, ethics, and change in complex systems.
✅ The People Say project — a groundbreaking, public repository for civic research.
✅ What AI means (and doesn’t mean) for the future of public services.
🎧 A must-listen for anyone working in service design, policy, or civic innovation.
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Creators & Guests
- Gerry Scullion - Host
- Chelsea Mauldin - Guest
- Stef Murphy - Producer
- Serdar Mele - Editor
Click here to view the episode transcript.
