Lisa Gelobter facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lisa Gelobter
Gelobter at a panel hosted by NASA in 2016
Born	1971 (age 54–55)
Alma mater	Brown University
Occupation	Founder and CEO of tEQuitable
Employer	tEQuitable United States Department of Education Black Entertainment Television Macromedia
Notable work	Macromedia Shockwave software

Lisa Gelobter, born in 1971, is a brilliant computer scientist and a leader in technology. She has held many important roles. These include Chief Technology Officer for New York City. She also served the U.S. government during President Barack Obama's time in office.

In 2016, Lisa Gelobter started her own company called tEQuitable. This company helps people solve problems and disagreements at work in a fair and private way. Earlier in her career, she helped create a groundbreaking software called Shockwave. This technology brought animation and movement to the internet for the very first time. Lisa Gelobter also works to make technology fair and open for everyone. She especially supports girls and people from different backgrounds in tech.

Who is Lisa Gelobter?

Lisa Gelobter was born in 1971 in Washington, D.C. She grew up in the exciting city of New York. Her father was from Poland, and her mother was from the Caribbean. From a young age, Lisa loved mathematics. Even though her family sometimes faced money challenges, her father encouraged her to go to college. He worked for a famous politician named Shirley Chisholm.

Early Life and Education

Lisa started at Brown University in 1987. She studied Computer Science there. Her focus was on artificial intelligence and machine learning. She sometimes took breaks from college to work as a Teaching Assistant. This helped her manage her studies and finances. She finally graduated in 2011. Later, Lisa also earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film from New York University.

Building the Modern Web

Early in her career, Lisa Gelobter worked at a company called Macromedia. There, she led the team that created Shockwave. This was a huge step for the internet! Before Shockwave, websites were mostly still images and text. Shockwave allowed for amazing animations, graphics, and 3D effects. It truly changed how we experience the internet today. Shockwave helped pave the way for many other technologies, like Flash and HTML5.

After her time at Macromedia, Lisa worked at many other well-known companies. She held leadership roles at places like The Feedroom, Comet Systems, Brightcove, and NBC Universal. She also helped launch the popular streaming service, Hulu. Later, she became the Chief Digital Officer for BET Networks.

Helping Government and Education

In 2015, Lisa Gelobter joined the United States Department of Education. This was during President Barack Obama's time in office. She worked as the Chief Digital Service Officer. In this role, she helped improve important government websites. She made it easier for people to apply for services.

One of her big projects was creating the College Scorecard. This is an online tool that helps students and families compare colleges. It shows how much colleges cost and how valuable their degrees are. The College Scorecard helped more students graduate from college. It also encouraged colleges to focus on making education affordable and successful for everyone.

Creating tEQuitable

In 2016, Lisa Gelobter started her own company, tEQuitable. This company uses technology to help people in the workplace. It offers a private and safe place for employees to talk about problems. tEQuitable helps solve disagreements and ensures everyone is treated fairly. This way, issues can be fixed early before they become bigger problems. Lisa Gelobter successfully raised over $2 million to start tEQuitable. This made her one of only a few Black women to raise such a large amount of money for a business.

In February 2026, Lisa Gelobter took on a very important role. Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that she became the Chief Technology Officer for the City of New York. She also became the Commissioner of the Office of Technology and Innovation. In this role, she helps guide how technology is used to improve the city for everyone.

Recognitions and Achievements

Lisa Gelobter has received many honors for her work:

• In 2019, her company tEQuitable was recognized by Inc. magazine. It was listed among "100 Women Building America's Most Innovative and Ambitious Businesses."
• In January 2016, Fast Company magazine named her one of the "Most Creative People in Business."
• In March 2014, The Roots website featured her in an article called "17 Black Women in Science and Tech You Should Know."
• In November 2011, she was also recognized in The Roots' article "Blacks in Silicon Valley."