Meet the Fellows 2019: Nate Wilkins

It would be foolish of me to base my decision to join TechCongress on one thing. A multitude of factors contributed to my decision to join the team in Washington D.C. My most primary and sacred calling is my faith in my Lord Jesus Christ, whom prompted me to apply to the TechCongress fellowship. My skillset provides me a unique aspect in which the technological and leadership skills loaned to me, complemented the Public and Political systems. Culture within the military ranges from extreme acceptance to vehement opposition towards technology, and I had worked at normalizing and building an accepting culture, which in turn can have parallel applicability in politics. Transitioning directly from active duty into a role at TechCongress seemed like a great chance to complement policy makers with a fresh perspective on technology. Most importantly, it was critical that I continue to be a good example to my church, wife, children, family, community and country.

Trained by the top minds in tactical and strategic use of technology, I saw the potential and power technology had for an effective team and ethical individuals. An unethical team or individual, however, was afforded some of these same open source tools. I have a heavy sense of responsibility to continue to protect our great nation and identify gaps within our public policy to fill with responsible and bipartisan legislation.

During my 11 years in the military, I found culture to be the most dynamic issue in the process of innovation and technology. The solutions I found to be the most effective were gaining the respect of opposing sides, finding the middle ground and showing them the possibilities that technology provided. The Beltway is a perfect place to continue to bridge factoring relationships, much like I did in the Military.

Lastly, as a recent veteran, a great deal of thought went into joining the TechCongress team. What would service-after-service look like to a veteran who has served in the military for 11 years? I had a fear, as many veterans do, that I wouldn’t be able to make the same impact as I did during my military career. I had a healthy level of restlessness and the strong call of my faith to continue to serve my country with the intellectual and technological skill taught to me during my training and deployments. TechCongress is the perfect fit for my mix of skills and experiences.