Fellow Profile: Divya Siddarth

Where are you from? I’m from Los Angeles, California!

School/grad year/major: I’m currently a junior at Stanford, studying Computational Decision Analysis.

Last thing you searched on Bing: Land Before Time (update: it’s on Netflix)

Why did you choose Microsoft’s fellowship program? I was absolutely floored when I first talked to Kevin and Jessica about the incredible work they were already doing with civic technology in the Bay, and their super exciting vision for the future. It seemed like the position came with a lot of freedom and the possibility of making a tangible difference in communities that are close to me, which was perfect. I also really appreciated the focus put on making sure that the work was centered around the community and its needs, and consistently re-evaluating projects to make sure that decisions were being made that were emphasizing their input and ideas of those people that said projects were trying to help.

What’s your favorite civic project in the Bay Area? I actually became particularly interested in civic tech through my work with Stanford’s Digital Civil Society Lab, and I think that the lab is asking really interesting questions about how digital data infrastructure and rapid adoption of digital services is changing civil society, and how we can structure mechanisms that allow us to prioritize safe and ethical use of data and information.

What projects are you working on for your position as tech fellow for Microsoft Bay Area? I’m particularly interested in working on affordable housing or criminal justice – two very different but I think very important issue areas. I would love to have a chance to explore current solutions that involve technology and public / private partnerships.

What excites you about civic tech? I think civic technology is unique in its ability to mobilize people and democratize the process of democracy, if that makes sense. I know it’s really difficult to feel like you have a voice in national government, particularly now, but so much incredible and important work can be and must be done at the community level, and civic tech has the potential to bring so many different ideas and people together to solve those local issues that can make such a difference. Also, as civic tech solutions become more effective and more prevalent, I think there’s a chance to regain the sense of optimism that people would ideally have in civic society generally – that there is a voice out there advocating for their needs and actually listening and solving their problems.

What’s one problem you hope civic tech will solve for cities? I believe that technology magnifies on-the-ground human impact, and would therefore hesitate to say that civic tech by itself can ‘solve’ problems for cities. But with that caveat, I think there’s a huge amount of progress to be made in allocating resources (housing, transportation, really anything) to communities that are marginalized in various ways. And I’m also passionate about combatting the (often justified) apathy or distrust that I think many people, particularly younger people, have in the power of civil society as a whole to combat systemic injustice and inequity.