Stefanie Gray is a dynamic force in the world of civic tech, and a lifelong social and economic justice activist. Overcoming adversity after losing both parents at a young age and emerging from a low-income background, Stefanie's remarkable determination has been a driving force throughout her life. Her passion for activism was ignited at age 17 when she joined local activists on a bus trip to Washington D.C. to protest the Iraq War alongside the ANSWER Coalition and United for Peace and Justice. Her academic journey was also exceptional, having completed her Associate's degree alongside her high school diploma at age 18, and having earned a Master’s degree from NYC's CUNY Hunter College at age 23. Throughout college, she was a dedicated member of the Hunter College Women's Rights Coalition, advocating for modernized sexual assault policies at CUNY. In 2011, Stefanie launched a powerful advocacy campaign against the systemic issues caused by predatory student lending. Working from her kitchen table, she single-handedly created a viral blog collecting stories from American student debtors across all generations, shedding light on the alarming growth of loan amounts over time despite regular, on-time payments. The following year, Stefanie launched a petition campaign challenging Sallie Mae’s predatory practices impacting unemployed and underemployed student debtors during the jobs crisis of the Great Recession. The campaign garnered an astounding 140,000 signatures, prompting America’s largest student loan company to modify their "double-dip" fee policy — a change that impacted millions nationwide. The campaign and Stefanie’s advocacy against predatory student lending was also featured in The New York Times, the Washington Post, and PBS. In 2012, Stefanie's passion for advocacy led her to volunteer at local transit town halls, where she opposed proposed cuts that would deny entire neighborhoods in Southern Brooklyn fair access to transit. Her dedication and expertise caught the attention of Transportation Alternatives, leading to her being hired to coordinate their "Stop the Fare Hike" campaign. Leveraging her interests in geography, maps, and transit, Stefanie devised an innovative idea — an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for riding the entire NYC subway system (all 468 stations!) in the shortest amount of time. This ambitious endeavor gained significant media coverage and played a pivotal role in raising awareness about the MTA's plans to charge more while cutting services to low-income New Yorkers. From 2015 onward, Stefanie transitioned into civic tech, specializing in data analysis, GIS, open data, QA, software training, technical writing, and support for content management systems built on the Drupal platform. Stefanie's technical expertise has been valuable in supporting .gov websites for city, state, federal, and international agencies. Her professional contributions have extended to organizations such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Education, the State of California, the State of Georgia, Marine Scotland, and the countries of Jamaica and St. Lucia. Currently, Stefanie serves as the senior support lead on the VA.gov CMS team, providing kind and empathetic support to VA.gov contributors and stakeholders. Throughout her journey, Stefanie has displayed an exceptional commitment to inclusivity and advocacy, demonstrating resilience, tenacity, and an unyielding dedication to making a positive impact on the world. At this time, her major passion is advocating for the rights of neurodivergent individuals within the workplace, focusing on acceptance, accessibility, and appreciation. She is preparing talks on this subject to present at upcoming civic tech conferences, and hopes to continue to use her voice to fight back against systemic oppression and improve the lives of neurodivergent workers.

click here