Once a student in Philadelphia’s public schools, Eli Epperson is now designing programming to connect local high schoolers with Philly’s life sciences ecosystem.
Funded by the Philadelphia STEM Equity Collective, Epperson is leading the creation of a new out-of-school program model for high school students. While the design process is still in early stages, Epperson says he plans to bring together life sciences education experts and recent high school grads to co-create a program that exposes students to the local life sciences ecosystem and potential career opportunities.
However, it took him a few roles to realize he wanted to do workforce development work in his hometown.
“A big part of this is bringing in people who are close to the problem, and so that’s why part of my design group will be recent high school grads.”
Eli Epperson, Philadelphia STEM Equity Collective
After college, he worked in patent law, which taught him where innovation comes from, he said. Looking for ways to have a bigger local impact, he shifted to city planning, learning how the public sector could use technology to benefit residents.
He spent years working in places like San Francisco and Mexico City before moving back to Philly in 2024. He realized he wanted to apply what he learned to help residents find jobs in the region’s major industries.
“What I think about in terms of urban planning is, how can you build opportunities for people,” Epperson told Technical.ly. “A big part of that is, how can you get them jobs, for example.”
After writing his thesis about Philadelphia’s active life sciences ecosystem, he learned that the technology exists here, but there isn’t enough awareness about how to enter the field.
In this edition of How I Got Here, Epperson discusses his experience jumping industries, why he believes in public sector innovation and how his current work embodies that passion.
This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
Where does your interest in technology come from?
I was on my high school robotics team, and we had mentors from Penn, Drexel and Temple, both students and professors. It inspired me to study electrical engineering and computer science.
Even though I realized early on that I didn’t want to be an engineer, per se, I liked talking about technology and innovation, thinking about it, reading about it and writing about it.
How did your patent office experience prepare you for your next role?
I was a technical writer and project manager. I wrote patent applications and managed the process of applying and responding to the Patent and Trademark Office.
I learned how to take complex technical ideas and present them in a way that non-experts can understand. It honed my writing skills and informed me that I like being at the center of a lot of different stakeholders and being that person who can effectively translate between them.
What’s an example of a govtech project you worked on that was impactful?
I worked with the city government of Mexico City through a fellowship at MIT’s GOV/LAB for three months, interviewing people across city government, and documenting how they tackled the problem of siloed government. They created a single sign-on system that made it easier for residents to apply to government services.
This work introduced me to the field of government service design. I went into it thinking that it was about how you can develop technology and implement it in government.
Instead, I learned how you can use technology innovation to make the government more accountable, responsive and transparent.
How did urban planning lead you to your current work designing a life sciences program?
I ended up writing my thesis on workforce development in the life sciences because I learned that the industry is growing like crazy here in Philly. I learned that the technology is here, but there is not enough workforce awareness.
I wanted to help build awareness, and in partnership with the Philadelphia STEM Equity Collective, I’m now leading a project to co-design a program model for a life sciences out-of-school program for Philly high school students.
What’s your approach so far for designing the program?
The project uses principles of human-centered design and brings together recent high school grads and experts. They will help design the program by drawing on both their lived experience and their professional experience.
A big part of this is bringing in people who are close to the problem, and so that’s why part of my design group will be recent high school grads who have experience navigating the Philadelphia public school system as people with an interest in technology, engineering or life sciences.
Trying to find the right people has been a slow process, but it’s also been rewarding because it means that I get to have conversations with people who are passionate about economic and workforce development.
How has your view of technology changed throughout these different roles and sectors?
As an engineering student, I was definitely a technology optimist. I thought technology would save us.
When I worked in Silicon Valley, I saw that the group of people that are developing technology at large is not nearly diverse enough to really understand the needs of a city as diverse as Philadelphia. How can big tech save us if they don’t understand us?
Now, I think we should be using technology as a way to improve trust.
