Federal 100: Craig Newmark

Craig Newmark
Founder
Craigslist

Although he's best known for creating Craigslist, a free classified-ads Web site, Newmark also is an active proponent of open government and the government’s use of Web 2.0 tools.

He served on a panel at the Veterans Affairs Department that evaluated thousands of ideas submitted via an online forum to shorten the time it takes to process disability claims and provide greater transparency to veterans.

“Craig helped pick the 10 great ideas that Veterans Benefits Administration is now implementing to cut red tape and reduce our claims backlog,” said Peter Levin, VA's chief technology officer. “He is first and foremost a customer service guy — in fact, that is his title at Craigslist, which he started — and brought a unique operational perspective and marvelous charm to the selection process. Voices like his make a real difference in creating the culture of transparency, accountability and trust that are essential to implementing the secretary’s groundbreaking transformation.”

Read more about the 2010 Federal 100 award winners.