Design Meets Democracy 🇺🇸 with Chelsea Mauldin

Nov 7, 2025
1h 1m

Episode Description

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When Chelsea Mauldin began bringing design thinking into the U.S. government, she was met with scepticism — design was still seen as “throw pillows and pretty fonts.”


In this deep and fascinating episode, Chelsea — Executive Director of the Public Policy Lab in New York — joins Gerry Scullion to share her journey from urban planning to pioneering human-centered design in federal and municipal agencies.


They discuss:

✅ How design entered the public sector during the Obama era.

✅ Why half the real work happens after the design phase.

✅ Building trust, ethics, and change in complex systems.

✅ The People Say project — a groundbreaking, public repository for civic research.

✅ What AI means (and doesn’t mean) for the future of public services.


🎧 A must-listen for anyone working in service design, policy, or civic innovation.


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Creators & Guests
  • Gerry Scullion - Host
  • Chelsea Mauldin - Guest
  • Stef Murphy - Producer
  • Serdar Mele - Editor
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