Our story
Skylight was launched in June of 2017. We’re currently made up of 68 people and one ferret. A lot of us originally worked for civic-oriented groups such as 18F, the U.S. Digital Service, and the Presidential Innovation Fellows. Now, as part of Skylight, we’re working hard to cultivate an incredible team and culture.
What brings us together is a passion for creating better outcomes for the public through great government digital services. We’re basically impact junkies. But we’re also engineers, developers, designers, product managers, consultants, writers, speakers, inventors, roboticists, gamers, authors, veterans, entrepreneurs, parents, and more. Such a diverse team always gives us a unique perspective on things.
Our official headquarters is in sunny Sarasota, Florida, but we’re a distributed and remote-friendly team currently spread across 27 different states. Sometimes the nature of our client work calls for closer proximity to their location. So far, we’ve worked with clients located in places like Washington DC, Hartford (Connecticut), Montgomery (Alabama), Baltimore (Maryland), and Ottawa (Canada).
Meet the team
Mina Cairns
Head of Corporate Development
Mina possesses nearly 20 years of consulting, technology, and leadership experience in the public sector. She specializes in corporate strategy, corporate development, and large-scale program management. Mina lives in Florida.
Sarah Tress
Product Designer
Sarah’s an engineer and social scientist who loves to work at the intersection of technology and public service. She recently graduated from Oxford with a Master’s in Development Studies as a Rhodes Scholar after studying Mechanical Engineering at MIT. Sarah lives in New York.
Gordon Farrell
Senior Software Engineer
Gordon’s a software engineer specializing in government tech. He built his career in civil service with the Department of Defense, where he focused on software modernization in the U.S. Air Force’s Kessel Run program. Gordon’s a champion for automated testing, high cadence CI/CD, and working directly with users to provide great software. Gordon lives in Colorado.
Jennifer Herzberg
Senior Product Designer
Jennifer’s a product designer who specializes in user-centered design. Previously, she led design at early- to mid-stage stage startups in the healthcare, education, and real estate industries. Jennifer studied Cognitive Science with a specialization in Human-Computer Interaction at UC San Diego. She lives in California.
David McClatchey
Senior Software Engineer
David’s a software engineer who strives to create simple and robust solutions to complex problems. He’s most recently worked at Home Depot where he helped migrate its product data to the cloud and built highly-visible APIs from that data. David lives in Georgia.
Rin Concordia
Staff DevOps Engineer
Rin’s a software engineer-turned-SRE, with a penchant for public service. She’s an active member of the United States Air Force Auxiliary — the Civil Air Patrol — where she serves as a search and rescue aircrew member and command officer. She previously served with the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary as its National Division Chief of Software Engineering. Rin lives in Illinois.
Alis Akers
Senior DevOps Engineer
Alis is a DevOps engineer interested in building reliable products using the latest cloud technologies to improve the lives of users. They’ve established integrations for patient engagement and monitoring across several large health systems and led the development of infrastructure and software pipeline requirements and tooling. They live in Oregon.
Priscilla Peralta
Product Designer
Priscilla’s a product designer formerly from the entertainment industry. She’s drawn to creating positive change through thoughtful design and championing the user’s experience. Most recently, she worked at a fin-tech startup where she helped develop an out-of-app feature to help improve account accessibility for users in Nigeria. Priscilla lives in California.
Ryan Gaddis
Staff Product Designer
Ryan’s a designer and researcher who’s ready to apply his decade of industry expertise to civic tech. He strives to make thoughtful decisions and challenge assumptions. He’s also a volunteer firefighter in his community. Ryan lives in Colorado.
Kyle Planeaux
Senior Product Manager
Kyle’s a product manager with several years of experience in the government defense space. Previously, he was a civilian product manager working for the Space Force. Kyle studied chemical engineering at the University of Southern California and is working on a graduate degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. He lives in California.
Zedd Shmais
Staff Software Engineer
Zedd’s a software engineer with several years of experience across a range of industries. Most recently, he worked at Pivotal Labs / VMware Tanzu where he helped companies of all sizes with their digital transformation journeys. Zedd has a masters degree in computer science from Georgia Tech. He lives in Texas.
Mike Brown
Senior Software Engineer
Mike’s a software engineer passionate about using technology for the public good. He worked on water affordability as a 2019 Code for America Fellow and has experience in the public and non-profit sectors. Mike graduated from the University at Buffalo with a degree in Computer Science and Political Science. He lives in New York.
Merethe Hansen
Senior Software Engineer
Merethe’s a software engineer who gets most excited about solving puzzles and working on projects that bring about a positive impact. Merethe comes from the enterprise software industry, where she built analytics pipelines and reports. She lives in California.
Jayna Wallace
Staff Product Manager
Jayna’s an outcomes-driven product manager who’s spent the last two decades on distributed teams building social media and streaming platforms. She moved into the civic tech space to work on a project for the Department of Defense. Jayna lives in Ohio.
Dan Sass
Senior Software Engineer
Dan’s a software engineer with a background in FinTech. He’s focused on system design, DevOps, and cloud native applications. Dan lives in Ohio.
Johanna Del Pino
Staff Software Engineer
Johanna’s a full-stack engineer with over nine years of experience in the industry. Her main focus is on web applications and front-end technologies. She has worked for different government entities like the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Johanna lives in Pennsylvania.
Bobby Wells
Software Engineer Apprentice
Bobby’s an engineer and data nerd who has a passion for working with tech that actively makes the world a better place. In 2021, he served as a Civic Digital Fellow at the Census Bureau and graduated from Tufts University. Bobby lives in Colorado.
Kenneth Chow
Senior Software Engineer
Kenneth’s a software engineer who specializes in building cloud applications. He advocates for serverless design to help scale up systems while reducing costs. Kenneth lives in California.
Camille Villa
Software Engineer
Camille’s a full-stack software engineer who loves working with collaborative and service-oriented teams. She previously built open source software and managed developer communities for libraries, archives, and museums at Stanford University. Camille lives in California.
Dan Paseltiner
Staff Data Engineer
Dan’s a data engineer passionate about helping others through a thoughtful understanding of data. After years working on physics and neuroscience research funded by NIST and the NSF, he’s begun helping public health departments better utilize their data. Outside of work, Dan’s an avid hiker and sailor. Dan lives in Maine.
Ann Millspaugh
Staff Product Manager
Ann’s a product manager who loves to solve customer problems. As a former engineer, she likes to understand the details of technical products and translate technical concepts to all stakeholders. Ann specializes in productizing and scaling APIs and data pipelines. Ann lives in California.
Steven Speck
Data Scientist Apprentice
Steven’s a data scientist apprentice who holds equal passions for machine learning and creating useful tools for others. Coming from Northeast Ohio, he attended MIT, where he majored in Computation and Cognition. Steven lives in California.
Lina Roth
Staff Software Engineer
Lina’s a software engineer with experience in cloud computing and DevOps, along with building APIs and robust applications. For nearly seven years, she worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs developing benefit management software. She enjoys making the world a more inclusive space for everyone. Lina lives in South Carolina.
Josh Nygaard
Senior Software Engineer
Josh’s a full-stack software engineer passionate about making tools, big and small, that can have a positive effect. He has over five years of experience working as a government contractor and values having a broad range of technical experiences and knowledge. Josh lives in Pennsylvania.
Amrita Kaur Bhatti
Staff Product Manager
Amrita’s a product manager who enjoys working with people and technology to create meaningful solutions. Previously, she was a product manager at McMaster-Carr and has experience as a software engineer. She lives in California.
Brady Fausett
Staff Data Engineer
Brady’s a data engineer with a passion to improve healthcare data interoperability. Brady has almost 20 years of working in healthcare informatics, including clinical decision support applications, NHSN reporting, and consuming/creating FHIR and HL7 APIs. He previously worked with CMS as a FHIR specialist for the Blue Button API. Brady lives in Idaho.
Jill Fromewick
Senior User Researcher
Jill’s a user researcher with 20+ years of experience at the intersection of outcomes-driven research, program evaluation, and user experience. She’s passionate about conducting feasible, actionable research that will be used to improve outcomes and advance equity. Jill lives in North Carolina.
Marcelle Goggins
Senior Data Engineer
Marcelle’s a data engineer with a background in applied statistics and public policy. Marcelle has previously worked as a data engineer/scientist at civic tech non-profits and academic institutions, focusing on workforce development and education research. She lives in Washington.
Robert Mitchell
Senior Data Engineer
Robert has spent his career in the nonprofit and government tech space bootstrapping analytics in under-resourced environments to bridge the gap between data and insight. Adhering to a data-for-good ethos, he centers the mission in orienting solutions to problems. Robert lives in California.
Chris Cairns
Chief Executive Officer
Chris served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow, and co-founded 18F and Technology Transformation Services, both housed within the General Services Administration. He specializes in digital leadership and transformation, digital procurement, and product development and management. Chris lives in Florida.
Nicole Campbell
Chief Operating Officer
Nicole’s a product manager with a passion for building technology that solves complex user problems. Most recently she worked as a consultant at Pivotal Labs/VMware to help transform the way large enterprises and startups build software. She specializes in extreme programming, lean product management, and user-centered design. Nicole lives in Illinois.
Victor Zapanta
Principal User Researcher
Victor co-founded the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Design+Tech team, and served as a member of 18F. His design leadership spans multiple high-profile projects, including data.gov, foia.gov, my.uscis.gov, and cloud.gov. He specializes in design leadership, service design, user experience design, and design research. Victor resides in New York.
Laura King
Staff User Researcher
Laura’s a researcher, strategist, and designer. She loves to solve complex problems by empathizing with and understanding the needs of users. Laura lives in Colorado.
Josh Dorothy
Chief Information Officer
Josh’s a former member of the U.S. Digital Service, with an interest in building both great platforms and great products. He specializes in DevOps engineering, cloud computing, and user-focused software development. Josh resides in Virginia.
Robert Read
Principal Software Engineer
Robert served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow and co-founded 18F. He’s been programming since he was 13 years old, and holds a PhD in computer science. Robert builds robots, among other things, for public good. He specializes in software engineering, data science and engineering, engineering management, and agile practices. Robert lives in Texas.
Nick Bristow
Staff Software Engineer
Nick’s a former member of 18F, who relentlessly pursues creating products that are fully accessible and meet the needs of all users. He specializes in accessibility, software engineering, frontend development, and cloud computing. Nick resides in Virginia.
Geoff Mulligan
IoT Practice Lead
Geoff served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow, and has developed standards that power the internet, including IPv6 and 6LoWPAN. He specializes in Internet of Things, distributed and embedded systems engineering, networking technologies, and privacy and security. Geoff resides in Colorado.
Becca Bartola
Senior Product Designer
Becca’s a former Etsy designer, with a passion for creating positive change through great user experiences. She specializes in user research, user experience design, and visual design. Becca lives in Pennsylvania.
Sean Johnson
Principal Software Engineer
Sean’s built and exited two tech startups, one of which was bought by IBM. He’s been programming since he was six years old, and specializes in software engineering, product management, and cloud computing. Sean lives in South Carolina.
Brandon Mader
Senior Data Scientist
Brandon loves using data for public good. He specializes in data science, data engineering, and software engineering. Brandon graduated from Dartmouth College, where he earned a double major in Math and Computer Science. He lives in Ohio.
Peggy Chau
Senior User Researcher
Peggy’s a researcher and designer who transitioned from clinical neuroscience research. She’s worked on various projects, from researching robot vacuums with Samsung to redesigning a pain communication app with UPMC. Peggy lives in Massachusetts.
Zack Gehin
Staff Product Designer
Zack’s certified in UX by the Nielsen Norman Group and specializes in complex application design. His entrepreneurial spirit adds a unique approach towards empathizing for users and identifying the right problems to solve. He’s helped form design teams, and served as a design leader in the non-profit, financial investments, and healthcare industries. Zack lives in Florida.
Nick Clyde
Senior Software Engineer
Nick’s a software engineer with a passion for using technology to solve the right kinds of problems. He especially enjoys building APIs, designing and optimizing databases, and crafting system architectures. He has experience working on and improving high-traffic government digital services. Nick lives in California.
Tomi Obikunle
Senior User Researcher
Tomi’s a researcher who strives to meet and honor people where they are. Previously, she studied human development and led hands-on engineering projects with kids. She now specializes in continuous discovery, usability testing, and human-centered design. Tomi lives in Illinois.
Elisa Lee
Software Engineer
Elisa’s a software engineer with a desire to use technology to support positive change in communities. They previously worked in the developer tools, education technology, and non-profit spaces. Elisa lives in Minnesota.
Kenny Nieh
Senior Product Designer
Kenny’s a product designer, inclusive systems thinker, and people person. They work through the whole gamut of product design to create experiences that fit into people’s lives. Kenny lives in California.
Gianna Buda
Software Engineer
Gianna’s a software engineer who’s passionate about leveraging technology and partnering with communities to improve the lives of others. She was a 2018 Civic Digital Fellow at the State Department and graduated from Brown University with a degree in Computer Science. Gianna lives in Indiana.
Leslie Garner Franklin
VP of Human Services
Leslie’s a product manager with nearly two decades of experience leading teams and change efforts across the non-profit and public sectors. She’s passionate about the role technology and design play in delivering great services. She specializes in cross-functional team leadership, user experience research, and service design. Leslie lives in North Carolina.
Nicole Wright
Senior Product Manager
Nicole’s a product manager, who’s drawn to delivering products that help people. Most recently, she worked with the Air Force’s Kessel Run program to modernize in-air refueling planning and platform development. Nicole lives in Washington.
Tiffany Nieh
Staff Product Designer
Tiffany’s a product designer who loves understanding people’s needs and creating solutions that have a positive impact. Most recently, she worked at Pivotal Labs / VMware Tanzu where she helped startups, large enterprises, and government organizations build software using modern practices. Tiffany lives in California.
Karthik Patil
VP of Defense Services
Karthik’s a product manager with several years of experience across a range of industries. Most recently, he worked at Pivotal Labs / VMware Tanzu. Karthik graduated from Creighton University with degrees in Economics and Business Intelligence and Analytics. He lives in Texas.
Nathan Carter
Senior Software Engineer
Nathan’s a software engineer driven by building digital services for public good. Prior to becoming an engineer, he ran his own bakery. Nathan lives in North Carolina.
Matt Goldberg
Content Designer
Matt’s a content designer and storyteller with a background in clean tech innovation. He enjoys making complex information accessible to everyone. He also cares deeply about improving people’s lives and livelihoods. Matt lives in Pennsylvania.
Nick Blake
Product Designer
Nick’s a multidisciplinary designer and researcher. Nick’s process is informed by cross-functional collaboration and research. He’s passionate about facilitating connections between and within communities. Nick recently graduated from Washington University in St. Louis. Nick lives in New York.
Bob Zhao
Software Engineer
Bob’s a software engineer in pursuit of solving large-scale problems that matter. In 2020, he served as Civic Digital Fellow at the National Institutes of Health, and is currently pursuing a masters degree in computer science at Washington University in St. Louis. He lives in Missouri.
Ashton Tu
Product Designer
Ashton’s a product designer, who recently graduated from the University of Southern California. As a 2020 Civic Digital Fellow with the General Services Administration, she discovered her passion for civic tech. Ashton lives in California.
Pri Kiser
Staff Product Designer
Pri’s a product designer who draws on her background in neuroscience and human-computer interaction to create delightful user experiences. She previously worked at Pivotal Labs / VMware Tanzu where she built high-impact products and scaled design practices across various types of organizations. Pri lives in Texas.
Taylor Graue
Senior Product Designer
Taylor’s passionate about improving government services through user-centered design. She’s an Air Force veteran and most recently worked as a product designer at Kessel Run. Taylor specializes in research, design, strategic thinking, and building high-performing teams. She lives in Massachusetts.
Laura Kerry
Senior Content Designer
Laura’s a content designer who specializes in content strategy, design, operations, and governance. She loves distilling complex information into human-centered content, and enjoys empowering others to do the same. Most recently, Laura worked at the NYC Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity. She lives in Hawaii.
Emma Stephenson
Staff Software Engineer
Emma’s a software engineer with a passion for creating user-centered products. She previously worked at Google, and is experienced in a number of different technical areas, including APIs, microservices, and DevOps. Emma lives in California.
Always at your service
If you have a question for us, or would just like to get in touch, drop us a message at [email protected]. If you’d like to inquire about hiring us for a job, fill out this short form. If you’re interested in joining our team, check out our career opportunities. If you’d like to explore forming a partnership to pursue government opportunities, let’s talk business.
We love to share our thoughts on technology, design, procurement, business, culture, and more with the world. You can read up on our latest thinking at our company blog.
You can also follow along on Twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube.
Feel free to reach out directly to one of our leaders — Chris Cairns or Nicole Campbell.
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us.