About

My name is Rachael Dietkus, pronounced Ray-chull Deet-kiss. I use she/her pronouns.

I am a licensed clinical social worker, social worker-designer, strategist, writer, and founder of Social Workers Who Design, a consultancy and practice studio focused on care, ethics, trauma-informed practice, and public interest service design. My work sits at the intersection of social work, design, technology, public systems, and organizational care.

In 2022, I joined the Biden White House as the first social worker-designer at the U.S. Digital Service, where I contributed to interagency trauma-informed design, research, and strategy. I later served as a Design Supervisor with the U.S. Digital Corps, supporting early-career public servants working inside complex government systems.

Across my career, I have worked with government agencies, universities, healthcare organizations, design teams, civic technology groups, nonprofits, and social impact organizations to help build systems that do less harm and more good. My practice is grounded in the belief that care is a critical infrastructure, a discipline, a responsibility, and a design material.

I am currently writing Trauma by Design, a forthcoming book with MIT Press, about how design can harm or heal and why care must be central to public-interest technology and service design.

Selected focus areas

  • Trauma-informed design, research, and strategy

  • Civic tech ethics and public interest technology

  • Care-centered organizational practice

  • Public service design and delivery

  • Design supervision, peer support, and reflective practice

  • Trauma literacy for designers, researchers, technologists, and public servants

  • Systems change rooted in dignity, accountability, and repair

Media, writing, and features

My work has been featured in Fast Company, Fortune, Design Observer, and MIT Press.

I have written and spoken about trauma-informed design, civic technology, research ethics, public systems, organizational harm, and the role of care in design practice.

The following are some of the articles where I have been featured:

  • Fast Company

  • Fortune

Speaking and teaching

I regularly give keynotes, talks, workshops, and guest lectures for design, social work, public sector, civic tech, and social impact audiences. Recent topics include trauma-informed service design, care in public systems, design’s power to harm and heal, and building ethical practice in high-stakes environments.

Accolades