For the past 3.5 weeks, the Benjamin Franklin room has been graced by a roster of amazing speakers and mentors. Almost every day we have been inspired, galvanized, and challenged by the stories and personalities of civic tech leaders including:

• Jennifer Pahlka: Founder of Code for America
• Tim O’Reilly: Founder of O’Reilly Media
• David Eaves: Open government activist & negotiation expert
• Aneesh Chopra: 1st Chief Technology Officer of the US
• Brett Goldstein: 1st Chief Data Officer & Chief Information Officer of Chicago
• Joy Bonaguro: 1st Chief Data Officer of San Francisco
• Todd Park: 2nd Chief Technology Officer of the US

I wish I could have better captured the raw emotions (or even verbatim quotes) but I was too enraptured in the here-and-now listening to be taking detailed notes.

These are the snippets — the partial sound bites.

Jennifer Pahlka

• 99% perspiration & iteration — no geniuses.

David Eaves

• We’re not here to hack code. We’re here to hack bureaucracy.
• Get in their shoes and imagine what’s possible.

Tim O’Reilly

• Show government what’s possible when you use tech.
• Platform beats an app every time.
• Platforms get driven forward by amazing apps.
• Start from the outside in. Start with user needs, not government needs. The ultimate customer is the people of the city.
• Recognize different types of people not in the frame. Reframe and reformulate. Don’t just accept the frame given to you.

Brett Goldstein

• Don’t build what you want, build what they need.
• Speak their language. Straddle the worlds.
• Deliver small things fast. Deliver shiny things fast.

Todd Park

• Precision and ferocity of response.
• Do sh*t. Don’t underestimate the power of precedence.
• It’s not about you. It’s about what you do to catalyze people.
• Not just about tech. The tech is not hard. We need people who have rocket science EQ and are mission-oriented.
• Your pain is irrelevant compared to the story of those suffering.

It is Week 2, Day 3 of Code for America. I stepped foot into Code for America as a Fellow only a week ago. Wednesday last week was the inaugural day, the kick-off to a 10-month civic tech building adventure with an amazing cohort of 24 developers, designers, data scientists, and product managers. Still jetlagged after over a month traveling to two continents (three if you count my home base), I was a bundle of nerves on Day 1. But I had been a bundle of nerves for months, ever since I received that quite unexpected but truly delightful acceptance email and even more so after I learned of the amazing caliber of Fellows. How much more nervous could I get?

Well, rest assured, I didn’t let myself down. By the end of Day 1, I was on a jittery high. But beyond these escalated nerves and pure exhaustion, I was also incredibly excited and eager for the journey to come.

To be continued …