Rachael Dietkus, LCSW
Digital Services Expert in Design & Social Work, United States Digital Service
Rachael Dietkus is a pioneering social worker-designer specializing in trauma-informed care and ethics within civic and public interest design and technology. With nearly 25 years of experience in social justice, Rachael most recently was the first social worker ever hired at the United States Digital Service, where she focused on integrating trauma-informed practices into federal technology projects. As the founder of Social Workers Who Design, she consults globally on design, research, and strategy projects, nurturing trauma literacy and care humility among designers. Rachael is an RSA Fellow, a Design Council Expert, and a contributor to key publications, including "Feminist Designer" and the forthcoming "This is Journey Management" and "Designed with Care: Creating Trauma-Informed Content." She is also working on her first book on care, trauma, and design with MIT Press. Rachael's work bridges the gap between social work and design, advocating for more humane, care-centered approaches in public service delivery and civic tech.
Rosenverse talks by Rachael:
" AI systems are organic and evolving; we must tend to them constantly to keep bias and harms at bay. "
AI: Passionate defenses and reasoned critique [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
September 18, 2024
" Design should inherently be ethical and trauma-responsive; trauma-informed should be our default. "
Leading through the long tail of trauma (Videoconference)
July 13, 2022
" Assume everybody you work with carries trauma; approach every interaction with that in mind. "
Leading through the long tail of trauma (Videoconference)
July 13, 2022
" Sharing very specific experiences, like public transit, helps everyone extrapolate lessons that apply across other aspects of civic service delivery. "
Everything You Need to Know about the Civic Design 2022 Call for Presentations (Videoconference)
May 17, 2022
" Sometimes the best researcher is someone from within the community rather than an outsider. "
Learnings from Applying Trauma-Informed Principles to the Research Process
March 10, 2022
" We need integrity designers who proactively minimize damage; harm is inevitable, but damage is not. "
Trauma-Responsive Design: Reimagining the Future of Design Now
December 10, 2021
" Assume everybody has the potential for trauma to show up in an interaction or engagement. "
Leading through the long tail of trauma (Videoconference)
January 1, 1970
