story.html

---
layout: default
title: About Us
---

<br />
<br />

<div class="usa-grid">
  <div class="usa-width-one-whole">
    <h2>Our story</h2>


  <!--infographic start-->


  <div class="infographic-container infographic-font-main">

    <img style="width:50%;" src="/img/about/infographic/infographic-people.png" alt="American people" />
    <p>
      Every day, millions of people interact with the government. We apply for Social Security and small business loans. We look for health insurance and financial aid.
    </p>
    <p class="infographic-text-blue">
      But too often, outdated tools and systems make these interactions cumbersome and frustrating.
    </p>
    <p>
      What if interacting with government services were as easy as ordering a book online? The challenges behind HealthCare.gov brought this question to the forefront, changing our government&#8217;s approach to technology.
    </p>
    <img src="/img/about/infographic/infographic-whitehouse.png" alt="The White House with thought bubbles of code, wireframes, design and data icons" />

    <p>
      The U.S. Digital Service is a startup at the White House, founded by the President in August of 2014 to bring together the best technology, design, and government talent. We planned to hire ten people for three critical national priorities: modernizing immigration, Veterans&#8217; benefits, and HealthCare.gov.
    </p>
    <p>
      During the 2015 State of the Union address, we launched an online application to join the team. We worried if ten people would even apply. 1000 did.
    </p>
    <img src="/img/about/infographic/infographic-10people.png" alt="state of the union and applications" />


    <p>
      We quickly went to work with a simple strategy:
    </p>

<div class="infographic-container infographic-font-main">
  <div class="row">
    <img style="padding:20px;" class="usa-width-one-half" src="/img/about/infographic/infographic-magnifying.png" alt="magnifying glass" />
    <p class="usa-width-one-half infographic-verticalalign infographic-text-blue left-align">
      Recruit top designers, engineers, product managers, and digital policy experts.
    </p>
  </div>

  <div class="row">
    <img style="padding:20px;" class="usa-width-one-half" src="/img/about/infographic/infographic-hoodie.png" alt="two people working together" />
    <p class="usa-width-one-half infographic-verticalalign infographic-text-blue left-align">
      Pair these digital experts with our nation&#8217;s leading civil servants.
    </p>
  </div>

  <div class="row">
    <img style="padding:20px;" class="usa-width-one-half" src="/img/about/infographic/infographic-circuitboard.png" alt="circuit board" />
    <p class="usa-width-one-half infographic-verticalalign infographic-text-blue left-align">
      Together, deploy these teams to untangle the most important government services.
    </p>
  </div>
</div>

  <img style="width: 70%" src="/img/about/infographic/infographic-todaybanner.png" alt="Banner that says Today" />

  <p>
    What was once one startup is now a network of teams working across the Departments of Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, Defense, Education, State, and, Treasury, Health and Human Services, and the Small Business Administration.
  </p>

  <img src="/img/about/infographic/infographic-agencylogos.png" alt="government agency logos" />
  <img style="width: 40%" src="/img/about/infographic/infographic-usdslogo.png" alt="usds logo" />

  <p>
    We&#8217;re proud of the products we&#8217;ve built. But we&#8217;re equally proud of the team we&#8217;ve assembled.
  </p>


<div class="infographic-container infographic-font-main">
  <div class="row">
      <div class="usa-width-one-half"><img src="/img/about/infographic/infographic-states.png" alt="united states" />Relocated from twelve states and Puerto Rico</div>
      <div class="usa-width-one-half"><img src="/img/about/infographic/infographic-200.png" alt="200 text large" /><p>200+ people across agencies</p></div>
  </div>

  <div class="row">
      <div class="usa-width-one-half"><img src="/img/about/infographic/infographic-5050.png" alt="pie chart" /><p>Half women / Half men</p></div>
      <div class="usa-width-one-half"><img src="/img/about/infographic/infographic-lamp.png" alt="laptop with stickers and emojis" /><p>Emoji, post-it, and sticker enthusiasts</p></div>
  </div>
</div>

</div>

  <!-- end infographic -->