i3 - July/August 2017 - 8

Tech
I N N OVATO R

Phone2Action's
Dr. Ximena
Hartsock

Q You have an interesting perspective,
growing up in Chile. Could you tell us more?
A My father was very resourceful and read
the paper every day. I loved books too so
I majored in philosophy. When you read about
great philosophers, it makes you think about
what else you can do. It also opened a window
to the world for me because Chile is very far
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JULY/AUGUST 2017

away - the southern-most country in
South America. I grew up thinking about big
universities - Georgetown being one of them
because I was raised Catholic - so I thought
of Washington, DC. When I came to visit
a friend, I fell in love with the equity that the
United States has and the opportunities that it
gives to people who want to work very hard.

I love the team
here. I find it
very relaxing to
bounce ideas around
with them. They
are so creative and
everyone has
something unique
to offer.

Q Can you talk about your civic engagement?
A In DC, I taught and also worked as a
program coordinator and in 2004, I finished
the doctorate program in administration
and policy at George Washington University.
When Adrian Fenty became the mayor of
DC, he asked me to join the transition team
for schools. We worked to reform outdated
schools and make them less bureaucratic.
I was appointed as the deputy chief of
teaching and learning for the academy
programs and then as the director of parks
and recreation and chief of staff. A lot of the
foundation for DC - the parking meters, bike
lanes, dog parks, the Wilson Pool and new
sports facilities - was done during that time.
It was a really good opportunity to work with
I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

Photograph by Greg Kahn

he headquarters of startup Phone2Action in
Rosslyn, VA, resembles a beehive humming
with energy and busting at the seams. The company has already nearly outgrown the space
they moved in to last year. Clusters of engineers
and marketers strategize to further enhance the
advocacy platform that was launched in 2013
and its new Social Impulse tool that was just released.
Dr. Ximena Hartsock, founder, chief operating officer and
president of Phone2Action, along with Co-founder Jeb Ory
are leading the team of 55. They produced the inaugural Good
Tech Summit in June to celebrate how technology is being
used for social good and to make the world a better place. In
May, the pair were named among the Washingtonian's 100
top Tech Titans and Hartsock recently participated in
International Women's Day sponsored by Ann Taylor as part
of their "Inspired By" campaign.
This venture-backed, civic engagement and communications technology company is the brainchild of Hartsock who
worked to develop the platform to bring people and lawmakers
together. A pioneer in advocacy, the company is making a positive difference
creating a new way to communicate with lawmakers. Although born in Santiago,
Chile, she is responsible for many advances that have improved Washington,
DC's low graduation rates and enhanced its athletic fields, parks and pools as
well as the opening of the Nationals stadium while she was a member of the
executive cabinet of former Washington, DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, serving as the
Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, and later as the Chief of
Staff of the City Administration. Hartsock was also DC Public Schools Deputy
Chief for Teaching and Learning and has worked in DC Government as an educator, federal project administrator and school principal.
Phone2Action won the SXSW Interactive Technology competition and in 2015
the Reed Award. Hartsock holds a doctorate in Policy Studies and Administration
from the George Washington University and serves on CTA's Board of Industry
Leaders. She recently shared her thoughts with i3.

http://Phone2Action.com https://www.goodtechsummit.com/ https://www.goodtechsummit.com/

i3 - July/August 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i3 - July/August 2017