Chris Berry, Co-Founder of The Green Block Group: How Washington Understands New Technology

— Chris Berry worked on Capitol Hill as a congressional staffer in his twenties, then moved to Ohio to work in government and finance, eventually becoming communications director at the Ohio Treasurer's Office under Josh Mandel.

— OhioCheckbook.com launched as the first complete transparency tool allowing citizens to search every state expenditure online, built in secret over 18 months and launched without prior approval from other state officials.

— OhioCrypto.com made Ohio the first state to accept Bitcoin for business tax payments, designed with a simple 90-second payment flow; Bernie Moreno and Overstock.com were among the first to use it.

— The Green Block Group, co-founded by Berry and Ari Lewis, helps blockchain and technology companies with communications, messaging, and government engagement strategies.

— State treasurer offices collect, protect, and invest state tax revenue; Ohio manages ~$62 billion in collections, ~$224 billion in protection, and ~$22 billion in investments across five pension funds.

— Congressional staffers are predominantly in their twenties with high turnover, creating a knowledge gap that lobbyists and established tech firms exploit to shape policy messaging and outcomes.

— Transparency and user experience are powerful tools for adoption: both OhioCheckbook.com and OhioCrypto.com succeeded because they simplified access to public information without requiring technical expertise, removing friction for citizen participation.

— Government officials benefit from direct exposure to emerging technologies through externships or sabbaticals in innovative industries; this baseline knowledge helps them make better-informed policy decisions whose effects will materialize over five to ten years.