Dave Cole

Dave Cole is a technology leader and public servant with deep experience in the public and private sectors. He currently serves as a fellow with the Office of Innovation where he collaborates with agencies across state government to design and develop digital services in support of new policies and programs. He also serves as a technology co-lead for the State’s COVID-19 vaccination program.

Previously, Dave was vice president of strategy and operations at a technology start-up where he was responsible for international operations and business development. In this role, he was an early employee who helped grow the company from 20 employees to over 500, launched and managed teams in four countries, and raised multiple rounds of capital investment.

Dave served in President Obama’s first term administration as a senior advisor to the Chief Information Officer and deputy director of new media. He is credited with bringing open source technology to the White House and helping other agencies to do likewise. Dave was also a software engineer at 18F, a digital consultancy within the US General Services Administration, where he designed and launched the Federalist service that has helped federal agencies launch over 130 modern, accessible, and efficient websites.

Dave graduated from Rutgers University and is a native of New Jersey.