Steve Ressler holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where he received the Department of Homeland Security Fellowship. For six years, he worked in the Social Security Administration, Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security Inspector General, and DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He has received numerous awards, including the 2010 GovTech Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers Award, the 2007 and 2009 Federal 100 Award, and the 2009 AFCEA Bethesda Social Media Award. He has also been featured in numerous publications and conferences including The Washington Post, Harvard’s Kennedy School, the World Economic Forum, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Huffington Post, and more. He is the Founder and President of GovLoop.com, a network of more than 100,000 government employees allowing interaction, collaboration, and more to improve their practices and the operation of the government.

On the show, Mr. Ressler talked about the foundation of GovLoop.com, and how the site was born out of the idea that there are so many people in government, and all are on the same team, so it must be true that the can help each other in their innovation efforts. Innovation has special challenges to face in government, in large part, because the central product usually cannot be changed, and flexibility is constrained by accountability to entities such as Congress. Nonetheless, innovation is happening, as the TSA outsources the management of its plastic bins in exchange for advertising rights, and GovLoop is helping, with its core product connecting innovators and its events like the virtual conferences.