If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.

Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.

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.

Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcd

Sponsor links

• 10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'
  Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-up
• Check out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.
• Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10

Creators & Guests

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

Click here to view the episode transcript.