Leading the Field: Lilian Coral

For our “Leading the Field” Q&A series, we’re speaking with leaders in the civic/gov tech space who are driving important change to make government work by the people, for the people, in the digital age. In advance of our upcoming Summit, we’re talking to some of the speakers to hear more about their journeys in civic tech. This week, we spoke with Lilian Coral, the Vice President of Technology and Democracy programs at New America. At Code for America, we welcome a broad diversity of viewpoints—and we strive to let people speak in their own words about their own unique experiences. With that in mind, the following has received only minor edits for length and clarity, and the views expressed here reflect those of the author.

Was there a civic tech project you saw early on in your career that really inspired you and made you want to join the field?

My work has always had some intersection between policy and technology. But my civic tech journey formally started with my work at 211 California, a statewide network that connects people to community services. We operated in 31 counties, serving 33 million Californians, and had a big challenge: we needed to transform the way we managed and used our data and mobile technology to support people in need. That’s when I stumbled into civic tech—by necessity. In that role, I got connected with Code for America and saw new ways to modernize human and social services from the technologists’ point of view.

What clicked for me during that time was the realization that digital transformation wasn’t just about improving systems— that it could help people before they hit crisis. That idea still drives me. I believe we can use data and tech in service of thriving people and communities; that’s the kind of transformation I wanted to be part of.

What advice would you give to others looking to get into a career in civic tech?

In the civic tech space, I find that we often start by asking, “Where can we apply your technical skills?” But I think we should flip the question. We need to ask individuals: “What are you passionate about? Where do you want to make an impact in the world?” It’s the issues or communities that individuals care about that will be the true motivators in the long-run. Then, we can figure out how their skills can support that work.

Yes, we need more technologists, and the people who stay and thrive are the ones working on something they deeply care about. As we connect people to projects, we should focus more on aligning with their passion, not just their résumé.

I believe we can use data and tech in service of thriving people and communities; that’s the kind of transformation I wanted to be part of.

Trust in government is pretty low right now. How can technologists be part of the movement to build more faith in institutions?

Right now, people see government amassing data and efforts to use data to harm people—and that’s going to deepen distrust in both tech and institutions. One of civic tech’s weaknesses is that we haven’t brought communities along with us. We still continue to build for, not with.

Now more than ever, we also need to continue to push for open standards, visible processes, and shared ownership of the data. Transparency isn’t just about publishing data sets—it’s about showing how we use data and giving communities tools to use it themselves. And we need to meet people where they are—engage deeply, on the ground. Technology can drive movements, but only if people trust it and feel included in shaping it.

We’re hearing a lot about emerging technologies like AI. What are some potential use cases of AI in government that we’re not hearing as much about?

Right now, a lot of the conversations around the use of AI are focused on AI assistants or chatbots to make government processes more efficient. And while that has value for the institutions we work with, I worry we’re stuck in a limited frame—using new tools to prop up old systems. 

At RethinkAI, we’re trying to get beyond that. What if we used AI with a sense of abundance? Instead of just helping someone apply for public housing faster, what if we also used AI to identify where and how to increase housing supply in a given locale?

Large language models can synthesize zoning laws, identify available land and capital, and propose regulatory pathways. And we can stress test these solutions, not just take them as is. AI can be transformative in the way we define problems and design solutions. For decades, we’ve been stuck on the same systemic challenges and now we have tools that could unlock new solutions. We just need to widen our imagination.

You’re speaking at Summit this year. How does your session “Humanizing Government by Governing with AI” speak to the theme: designing for change, delivering for the future?

Through RethinkAI, we’re running three community-based pilots to explore what co-designing AI use in government really looks like and how that improves the types of AI use cases being developed. One of our core hypotheses is that AI—when deployed correctly—can actually increase transparency, deepen public engagement, and shift power back toward communities.

When I was at the City of Los Angeles, we had massive datasets—like crime data in complex geospatial formats—that were nearly impossible to break down meaningfully for public engagement. I’m talking about crime mapped on the 69,000 individual street segments, in order to see and understand patterns of the particular times of days and days in the week when and where the types of crime are occurring, set in the context of street information. This would empower law enforcement and community services to tailor the deployment of their resources to reduce crime; but at the end of the day, democratizing data in this way is often difficult. Today, AI can help translate that into tools the public can actually use.

But we can’t just build interfaces. We have to ask people: What questions do you have? What data do you want? What problems do you care about? That’s what civic tech has always aimed to do, and now AI gives us a chance to scale that work.

There’s a real hunger and commitment in government to engage better. The intent is there. Now we have to meet the moment—and AI can help us bridge the gap.

Want to hear more about Lilian’s work? She’s presenting a breakout session at Code for America Summit, happening May 29-30 in Washington, D.C. Find out more about Summit and get your tickets today.