About the Series

Exploring Practical Approaches to Today’s Public Service Challenges

The series brings together timely conversations on leadership, technology, service delivery, organizational design, and governance, always grounded in the realities of public sector work. Through concrete examples, case studies, and practitioner insights, participants explore how ideas move from concept to implementation, where they create value, and where caution or adjustment is needed.

Rather than promoting a single framework or solution, Ideas in Action emphasizes learning across disciplines and contexts. Each workshop offers a focused opportunity to build judgment, expand perspective, and strengthen the ability to evaluate new approaches in light of public values, constraints, and responsibilities.

By the end of the series, participants will be better equipped to assess emerging ideas, ask sharper questions, and apply lessons from diverse experiences to improve how their organizations design policies, deliver services, and solve public problems.

Workshops

Human-Centered AI: What Happens When AI Is Built With Families, Not Just for Them
Anirudh Dinesh, Research Fellow, The GovLab
Sofía Bosch Gómez, Assistant Professor in the Department of Art + Design and Fellow at the Burnes Center for Social Change, Northeastern University
Shan Hong, AIEP Co-Creator

February 10, 2026

2:00 PM ET

60 minutes

Beyond Yes And - Navigating Polarities for Government Innovation
Michael Baskin, Chief Innovation Officer, Montgomery County, Maryland
Kyle Paterson, Director of Organizational Effectiveness, City of Boise, Idaho

February 11, 2026

1:00 PM ET

60 minutes

Introducing Grantwell: Using AI for Municipal Technical Assistance
Quentin Palfrey, Director of Federal Funds and Infrastructure Office of Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey

February 25, 2026

2:00 PM ET

60 minutes

Systems for Success: Rewiring Agencies to Deliver at Speed and Scale
Stephanie Pollack, Senior Fellow at the MIT Mobility Initiative
After 101: Building Confidence and Capability with Generative AI
Nicholas Wolfe, Business Analyst II at the Colorado Governor's Office of IT

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