Fellow Profile: Zach Fogelson

| MSNE Staff

Aimee Sprung

Zach_Fogelson_2

Where are you from?
Chicago

School/grade/major: Harvard, Senior, Computer Science

Last Thing You Binged: Caffeine 🙂

Why did you choose to intern with Microsoft?
I chose to work for Microsoft for many reasons. First, I like working at Microsoft because Microsoft builds the platforms and tools that allow developers to be creative everywhere. In addition, Microsoft is an amazingly collaborative and innovative environment. All of the people I work with here are kind, passionate about technology, and helpful.

What projects are you working on for your position as tech fellow for MSNE?
In conjunction with a team at Code for Boston, I am working on converting the Boston City laws to USLM (United States Legislative Markup) format. This project is part of an effort going on all around the country to standardize legal formatting and thereby improve access to legal documents for citizens.

What excites you about civic tech?
I am excited about working in civic tech because I know that there are numerous policies and government initiatives that should be having a bigger impact on people’s lives than they are now. When I make technological contributions to my community I feel like I am helping to break down the barriers that prevents people from accessing the government services they need.

What’s one problem you hope civic tech will solve for cities?
One issue that I hope civic tech can solve for cities is access to high quality education. As more world-class lectures, notes, and exercises are available online, I hope that people will be empowered to take control of their education wherever they are and regardless of socioeconomic status.

It’s National Cyber Security Awareness Month. What is one thing you do personally to stay safe online?
One quick thing I do to stay safe is that when I get an email, and I am not sure of whether or not it originated from a safe source, I put my cursor over the links in the email before clicking on it and I check the URL embedded in the hyperlink. If I don’t recognize the URL I throw out the message.

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