Using WordPress and Open Source to Improve Government, With Luke Fretwell
Jul 06, 2025•57 min•Ep. 19
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Episode description
Luke Fretwell is one of the most creative and pioneering people I've met in open source. He's enjoyed a 25+ year career that has covered multiple projects, collaborations, and businesses. The through-line for all Luke's projects has been making government better through technology.
Luke created GovPress, a very popular WordPress theme focused for governments. He built Proud City, a WordPress-based SaaS service for government. His latest work includes ScanGov to track the quality of government websites, and Proudly Serving, a collectively written playbook that helps governments build people-centered digital public services.
- LukeFretwell.com: Luke's personal site.
- Govfresh.com: Luke's consultancy
- ProudCity.com: a WordPress-based platform for local governments
- ProudlyServingBook.com: local government digital services handbook
- ScanGov.org: Government digital experience monitor
- Chatcivic.ai: Government AI chatbots
Timestamps:
- 02:53: The Journey from Journalism to Technology
- 10:15: Connecting Technology and Government
- 12:09: The Birth of GovFresh
- 16:12: Launching Proud City
- 24:27: Navigating the Government Market
- 24:55: Navigating Government Procurement Challenges
- 28:05: Innovating in Government Tech: The Innovator's Dilemma
- 29:28: Introducing ScanGov: A Civic Tech Initiative
- 36:13: The Future of Civic Tech and Open Source
- 41:24: AI in Government: ChatCivic and Its Potential
- 53:17: Civic Leadership and Influential Voices
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