Emily Theis
I care deeply about making complex systems work better for the people who depend on them. My background in journalism graphics gives me a strong foundation in visual storytelling and quickly navigating complexity. I enjoy building friendly and effective teams that ship quality work backed by clear decisions. Outside of work, I'm a musician, sewist, and runner.
I lead product for CiviForm, an open-source platform that helps governments simplify how people apply for benefits. CiviForm is stewarded by Exygy and was named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2025. I'm also a product advisor for the nonprofit Illinois Digital Service (ILDS).
Before this, I spent five years at the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the CTO. I led product on the flagship VA.gov benefits tools, including the effort to remediate the crisis of 100,000+ silently failed digital benefits submissions. Our work to make it right delivered $75M in backpay and waived $1.65M in unnecessary debt. My team also built first-of-its-kind automation software that saved Veterans 5,000+ waiting days by eliminating unnecessary exams when recent medical evidence already existed.
I got to VA through 18F, where I worked on federal technology projects across VA, DOD, and USDA. Prior to that, I was Head of Producers at Upstatement, where I guided strategic design and engineering projects for clients like On Being, PBS NewsHour, Harvard Gazette, Emergence Capital, and the MIT homepage and undergraduate admissions. I started my career as an editorial designer and illustrator at The Boston Globe and The Star Tribune in Minneapolis.
I'm a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. My solo indie pop project is just my last name, Theis, and I've played shows around Boston and Chicago. Listen to my music on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, or Tidal, or follow me on Instagram.
I like sewing (especially quilting), running, yoga, and writing. I occasionally teach sewing classes at Sew on Central in Evanston. I'm a volunteer pace group leader with the Chicago Area Runners Association. I've published writing about missing my time in Minneapolis and minimizing my wardrobe after college. I created the Breakup Survival Guide, a site powered by listeners of the Death Sex & Money podcast that serves up randomized heartache cures. The project was graciously profiled by the Poynter Institute, as well as Jetzt, the digital magazine from Germany's biggest nationwide newspaper (wunderbar!).
I'm always up for making friends, so get in touch via any Internet method you please!