Who and What Is Rachel Sterne?

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s new chief digital officer, Rachel Sterne, an appointment announced yesterday, is a bit of a darling in New York’s digital scene. Just 27, she is the founder and CEO of both a citizen journalism site, GroundReport, and a digital media consultancy, Upward Strategy. She’s also, without benefit of a graduate degree herself, an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. Now, two years after Businessweek named her as one of America’s most promising social entrepreneurs on the basis of GroundReport, she’s being given the keys to the digital city.

 
And yet, despite the rave reviews she gets from tech luminaries, Sterne has very little experience in management, and even less in public policy, which might raise reasonable questions about whether or not she’s the most qualified person to direct New York City’s digital development, a job that comes with a reported $115,000 salary.

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