Sunsets over Goose Creek near Stonewall, Oklahoma, inspired our company color scheme.
Our Mission: Establishing the framework for your organization's digital success
580 Strategies brings over two decades of experience in digital leadership to bear on technology and public engagement challenges for governments. We partner with our clients to put the citizen customer first and look to success over the long term, beyond immediate budget cycles and contract renewals. We pride ourselves in the ability to have tough but productive conversations based on our expertise and experience that result in the best outcomes for clients.
580 Strategies will roll up our sleeves with you to establish or improve your digital framework by examining the people, platforms, and processes needed to achieve success. We've led the way by implementing cloud platforms and high performing agile teams for President Obama's administration at the White House and State Department as well as bootstrapped several startup environments with effective technology. Our experience crafting highly visible digital properties with global reach give us a proven approach to help you get the digital job done.
Rusty served as Acting New Media Technologies Director at the White House under President Obama helping shape cloud platform policy across the federal government.
Founder: Rusty D. Pickens
Rusty D. Pickens is the Founder and Principal of 580 Strategies. He is the former Senior Advisor for Digital Platforms at the U.S. Department of State, and former Acting Director for New Media Technologies at the White House, where he led teams who operated cloud platforms for the Obama Administration to increase public engagement, improve user experience, enhance staff productivity, and heighten security posture. During this time, Rusty created new systems for and built new teams to lead Whitehouse.gov, the White House email outreach services, the Presidential correspondence system, the We The People petitions system, the White House Appointment Center, and the U.S. Embassy contact management systems.
Rusty's two decades of leadership experience aligning organizational vision with technology strategy across top federal agencies and start-up environments included the Federal Salesforce Community of Excellence, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee, Obama for America 2008, and the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma. He currently advises clients on unlocking the potential of cloud computing and agile software delivery to vastly improve their digital presence and citizen experience.
About Us: From the Heartland to the White House
A native-owned company, 580 Strategies is grounded in the spirit and wisdom of a resilient people coupled with the experience of a digital-first Presidential administration. Our company is excited to bring this combination to bear supporting digital transformation for all levels of government around the world. We are named for the 580 area code of the phone line from which our founder, Rusty Pickens, first accessed the internet in his hometown of Stonewall, in the heartland of Oklahoma; home to the Scissortail Flycatcher pictured in our logo, and the Chickasaw Nation where Rusty is an enrolled tribal member.
Centered from the Start: Supporting Equality and Giving Back
Just as our tribe values sustainability and balance, 580 Strategies believes that each person carries a unique gift to give the world and that our various contributions should never be diminished. From the very start we support 100% equality across our team family. This means equal pay for equal work, regardless of your gender identity and that all our staff and family are welcome at the table regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, age, race, or background. We strongly believe that when our people bring their whole selves to work, we all thrive and are better for it.
Public and civic service are deeply rooted in our cultural values, so we follow the Pledge 1% model of giving back to our communities from our time, product, and profit as a matter of corporate policy. Our team members are encouraged to support a charity or non-profit of their choosing to volunteer time for each year and we also strive to support various organizations each year financially when possible.
For 2021 and 2022, our founder helped co-found and launch a new new profit, Out in National Security, that focuses on visibility, advocacy, and raising up the next generation of LGBTQI+ national security practitioners.
For 2019 and 2020, our founder served on the national board of Out in STEM as the Vice President for Innovation and Technology.
For 2018, we chose to sponsor the National Center for Transgender Equality with our 1% profit investment.
