In the Washington, D.C. tech and innovation ecosystem, it's not often that the community acknowledges the policy makers and legislators down the street.
At least, that's what Veda Data Solutions co-founder Meghan Gaffney Buck sees in her circles. In the past two years since starting her business, Buck sees a disconnect between both policy makers and startup founders.
See, Veda Data Solutions provides artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions for health insurance providers to keep its list of covered physicians and hospitals up-to-date. So Gaffney Buck and her team are often chatting with policy makers to remain HIPAA compliant.
All the while, Gaffney Buck has a background in political fundraising. Before starting Veda Data Solutions, she ran her own consultant business where her job was the fundraise for politicians on the Hill.
"I come from a political background, and a lot of people are turned off by talking to policy makers right now, and it's really important that the tech community finds ways to build a bridge," Gaffney Buck said in the latest episode of District Download, our podcast with General Assembly D.C.
"In a social way, going over and having a drink on the Hill and running into people who are friends of friends who are involved in tech policy is going to make Congress smarter — and it's really important that they get smarter on these issues."
Gaffney Buck spoke with District Download this week about building that bridge, Veda's latest round of funding and diving head first into artificial intelligence from a non-technical background.
Listen to the full interview in the fourth episode of District Download.
Subscribe to District Download on your favorite podcast app: Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher.
SHOW NOTES (Links to stories and companies mentioned, along with credit information):
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser lays out the welcome mat for self-driving cars [The Washington Post]
As Amazon competition heats up, D.C. mayor heads west to talk tech [The Washington Post]
DC is creating an Inclusive Innovation Fund. Here’s how to weigh in [Technical.ly DC]
D.C. health tech startup raises $1 million for national expansion [The Washington Business Journal]
All music for this episode comes from Broke For Free under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. Our theme song is “Playground Pigeon,” and transition track for this episode is “Something Elated.”
