Lisa Gelobter

Lisa Gelobter
Gelobter at a panel hosted by NASA in 2016
Born1971 (age 54–55)
Alma materBrown University
OccupationsFounder and CEO of tEQuitable
EmployertEQuitable

United States Department of Education Black Entertainment Television

Macromedia
Notable workMacromedia Shockwave software

Lisa Gelobter (born 1971) is a computer scientist, technologist and chief executive.

She was announced as the incoming Chief Technology Officer for the City of New York and Commissioner of the Office of Technology and Innovation by Mayor Zohran Mamdani in February 2026.[1][2]

Gelobter served as the Chief Digital Service Officer for the United States Department of Education during President Barack Obama’s administration.

In 2016, Gelobter founded and took on the role of Chief Executive Officer of tEQuitable, a start-up that provides an independent and confidential platform to address issues of bias, harassment, and discrimination in the workplace.[3] Earlier in her career, she worked at Macromedia on the Shockwave platform, which was influential in bringing animation and motion to the web.

Gelobter has been involved in many social activism and political campaigns. She has worked with Black Girls Code and the Kapor Center for Social Impact in efforts to address issues of racism and bias in the technology industry.

Personal life

Gelobter was born in 1971 in Washington, D.C. and grew up in New York City. Her father was a Polish Jew, and her mother was Afro-Caribbean. Gelobter expressed an interest in mathematics from a very early age. Although her family faced financial challenges, her father, a campaign manager for Shirley Chisholm, encouraged her to attend higher education.[4]

Gelobter enrolled in Brown University in 1987, eventually graduating in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a concentration in artificial intelligence and machine learning.[3] Gelobter often took breaks from college due to financial challenges, and she worked as a Teaching Assistant (TA), even when she wasn’t fully enrolled. Gelobter later went on to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Film from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.

Career

Early in her career, Gelobter was the Director of Program Management at Macromedia.[5] During her time there, she led the development of Shockwave, a multimedia platform that laid the foundation for the modern web.[6] Shockwave is a platform that supports raster graphics, vector graphics, and 3D graphics, addressing the lack of rich web interactivity at the time.[7] A similar technology contributing to further interest in animation on the web, the Animated GIF image format, also increased in popularity at the time with support from Netscape Navigator's inclusion of looping capabilities, but Gelobter did not create the GIF format.[6] Shockwave transformed the internet and revolutionized the animation industry, with Gelobter’s invention largely influencing subsequent technologies, like Flash and HTML5.[8]

After Macromedia, she held several executive-level positions at companies like The Feedroom, Comet Systems, Brightcove, Joost Technologies, and NBC Universal, and a senior management position for the launch of Hulu.[3][5] From there Gelobter spent several years as the Chief Digital Officer for BET Networks.[9]

In 2015, Gelobter served as Chief Digital Service Officer for the United States Department of Education during the Presidency of Barack Obama.[10][11][12][13] In this position, she helped to improve HealthCare.gov, helping to streamline the application process.[14] She led the team that built the College Scorecard, an online tool for comparing the cost and value of higher education institutions in the United States.[15][16][17] College Scorecard changed the focus of higher education budgets from new buildings and sports to increasing access, affordability, and outcomes.[18] This program helped raise the country’s college graduation rates by 1.5%.[19]

In 2016, Gelobter founded tEQuitable, a technology platform to address issues of bias, discrimination and harassment in the workplace.[20][21][22][23][24] tEQuitable provides confidential, off-the-record resources for employees to resolve workplace conflicts.[25] Workplace issues can be identified and resolved early before escalation. Gelobter raised more than $2 million for tEQuitable, becoming one of the only thirty-four Black women to ever raise $1 million or more in venture capital.[3][12]

In February 2026, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced her hiring as the new Chief Technology Officer for the City of New York and Commissioner of the Office of Technology and Innovation.[1][2]

Honors and awards

  • In 2019, her and her business tEQuitable are recognized in Inc.'s 100 Women Building America's Most Innovative and Ambitious Businesses.[26]
  • In January 2016, she is recognized as one of the Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company.[27][28]
  • In March 2014, she is honored by an article in The Roots called "17 Black Women in Science and Tech You Should Know".[29]
  • In November 2011 she was recognized in The Roots' article "Blacks in Silicon Valley".[30]

References

  1. ^ a b Mays, Jeffery C. (2026-02-10). "Mamdani Hires Groundbreaking Computer Scientist as Chief Tech Officer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-02-10.
  2. ^ a b "Mayor Mamdani Announces Key Appointments to Three City Agencies and Offices, Including Chief Technology Officer". The official website of the City of New York. 2026-02-10. Retrieved 2026-02-10.
  3. ^ a b c d Coen, Ross (2020-09-19). "Lisa Gelobter (1971- ) •". Blackpast.org. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  4. ^ Namasaba, Preta Peace (2023-12-01). "Meet the woman who pioneered web animation through Shockwave technology". BlackStars. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
  5. ^ a b Gelobter, Lisa (2021-06-01). "Lisa Gelobter". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  6. ^ a b Dada, Jumoke K. "Meet The Computer Scientist Who Puts Equity In Diversity And Inclusion Work Culture". Forbes. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  7. ^ "African American history maker in Technology – Lisa Gelobter". Connected Nation (Press release). Retrieved 2025-04-02.
  8. ^ Smith, Mason (2024-01-21). "The Unsung Innovator". Medium. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
  9. ^ Gilbert, Tori (2020-02-12). "Black History Month Founder Features: Lisa Gelobter '91, Ayanna Howard '93, Brickson Diamond '93, & Kerlyne Jean-Baptiste '16". Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  10. ^ "Inside Obama's Stealth Startup". Fast Company. 2015-06-15. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  11. ^ Ries, Eric (2017-10-17). The Startup Way: How Entrepreneurial Management Transforms Culture and Drives Growth. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 9780241972717.
  12. ^ a b "Tech Spotlight: Lisa Gelobter is helping employees and employers navigate the complexities of work place harassment - theGrio". theGrio. 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  13. ^ "Inside Obama's Stealth Startup". Fast Company. 2015-06-15. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  14. ^ Coen, Ross (2020-09-20). "Lisa Gelobter (1971- )". BlackPast.org. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
  15. ^ "College Scorecard". collegescorecard.ed.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  16. ^ Kamenetz, Anya. "The New College Scorecard: NPR Does Some Math". Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  17. ^ "Obama Pushes A New System For Scoring Colleges". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  18. ^ Hossain, R (March 12, 2024). "Diverse Career Paths: Brown CS Alum Lisa Gelobter Focuses Her Career On Technology For Equitable Workplaces And 'Doing Good'".
  19. ^ "Lisa Gelobter". AnitaB.org. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  20. ^ Staff, Entrepreneur (2018-05-31). "10 Companies That Are Doing Good While Doing Well". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  21. ^ "Sexual Harassment Inc: How the #MeToo movement is sparking a wave of start-ups". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  22. ^ Kantor, Jodi (23 March 2018). "#MeToo Called for an Overhaul. Are Workplaces Really Changing?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  23. ^ "Sexual Harassment Inc: How the #metoo movement is sparking a wave of startups". San Antonio Express-News. 2018-01-05. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  24. ^ Path, Adaptive. "UX Week 2018 - Lisa Gelobter of tEQuitable, CEO and Co-founder". UX Week 2018 – The Premier UX Design Conference. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  25. ^ "Written Testimony of Lisa Gelobter tEQuitable". US EEOC. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
  26. ^ "Lisa Gelobter tEQuitable". 2019-09-16.
  27. ^ Lawson, Sarah (2016-01-26). "Meet The New Members Of The Most Creative People In Business Community". Fast Company. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  28. ^ "#BlackHistoryMonth: Celebrating Lisa Gelobter- the Foremost Scientist Who Laid Groundwork for Gif | Duchess International Magazine". Duchess International Magazine. 2020-10-07. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  29. ^ Holloway, Lynette (2014-03-07). "17 Black Women in Science and Tech You Should Know". The Root. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  30. ^ Dreyfuss, Joel (2011-11-11). "Blacks in Silicon Valley". The Root. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
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