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Editor's Note: This post was taken with permission from Christie McDonald's LinkedIn post about her teams at the National Park Service (NPS), with minor edits and definitions added. We are proudly re-posting on We the Builders because it illustrates a concise way of expressing what a small, effective team can do. As fellow technologists (and National Park visitors), we want to celebrate great work when we see it.

When I entered public service nearly a decade ago, I thought I'd do this work until I retire. Today, while I am many years from retiring, I am leaving public service.

To be clear: I am being forced to leave public service. Or, as leadership advised in one email, “Employees are encouraged to consider the Deferred Resignation Program as a voluntary option to mitigate involuntary separations." (Emphasis is not mine.) In other words: Leave now or we'll make you go.

Editor's note: This story is posted with permission from the anonymous federal employee who shared it with us. Some edits were made for length and clarity.

Editor's note: This story is posted with permission from the anonymous federal employee who shared it with us. Some edits were made for length and clarity.

This essay was originally posted on LinkedIn and is shared here with permission from the author.

I resigned from my job at the U.S. Digital Service.

My team and I—senior technologists—were assigned to the CDC, working across software systems, most notably CDC’s Disease Surveillance System. If we were ever going to learn the lessons we missed during Covid-19, this program was essential.

Editor's note: This story is posted with permission from the anonymous federal employee who shared it with us. Some edits were made for length and clarity.

Editor's note: This story is posted with permission from the anonymous federal employee who shared it with us. Some edits were made for length and clarity.

I'm a Navy Veteran and IT Specialist with the US Geological Survey in a water science center in the western United States. While it has been a long time, I once held a security clearance when I was in the Navy. I know how confidential, secret, and top-secret information is supposed to be handled. 

Editor's note: This story is posted with permission from the anonymous federal employee who shared it with us. Some edits were made for length and clarity.

I am writing to express my dismay and disbelief at my recent layoff from my position at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I supported several jurisdictions ensuring we were able to assist in mass vaccination tools and resources to minimize outbreaks.

[This post will be the first in a series about agencies impacted by DOGE. To share the story of your agency, contact us at submissions@wethebuilders.org.]

Over the past few weeks, as DOGE set up camp in the offices formerly known as the U.S. Digital Service, reporting has failed to accurately describe the U.S. Digital Service--who they are, what they do, and why it matters.