Doug Fiefia: Protecting Families, Expanding School Choice & Building Smarter Communities

In this episode of the PoliticIt Podcast, Senator John D. Johnson sits down with Doug Fiefia for a wide-ranging conversation about family, opportunity, technology, and the kind of public policy that actually improves everyday lives.

Doug Fiefia’s story begins with his parents’ immigration from Tonga and his upbringing in a crowded, multi-family home in Utah—formative experiences that shaped a lifelong commitment to family-centered policy and upward mobility. From playing college football and earning an MBA at Rice University, to building a career in technology at Google and Domo, Fiefia brings rare private-sector and technical insight into the Utah Legislature.

PoliticIt Radio – Follow the Child

Their conversation explores how that background informs his work on responsible artificial intelligence governance, foster care reform, economic development, and education choice—always with a focus on outcomes, accountability, and human dignity.

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Rooted in Family, Hard Work, and Practical Governance

Doug Fiefia is a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Tonga in the late 1970s. Like many immigrant families, they arrived with little more than determination and a willingness to work. That ethic defined Fiefia’s childhood and continues to define his public service.

Public policy, in his view, should not be abstract or performative. It should make life measurably better for everyday people—especially families trying to build stability across generations. His legislative priorities reflect that conviction: protecting the family unit, strengthening education options, supporting foster youth as they transition to adulthood, guiding responsible AI policy, and encouraging economic development that produces real opportunity rather than headline-driven growth.

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From Humble Beginnings to Public Service

Growing up in Utah in a crowded, multi-family home gave Fiefia an early appreciation for sacrifice and resilience. He recalls sleeping on the living room floor alongside siblings and other families during cold winters, and spending summer nights outside on the lawn just to catch a breeze. Those experiences were not framed as hardship at the time. They were simply life.

They left a lasting impression.

“I’m living proof that the American dream is still alive.”

For Fiefia, that belief is grounded in lived experience. His father transitioned from immigrant laborer to small-business owner, launching a drywall and construction company that provided stability and upward mobility for the family. Education played a central role in that trajectory. Fiefia played college football, served a mission, and ultimately earned an MBA at Rice University—steps that opened doors into the technology sector and, later, public office.

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Leadership Early On: Solving Problems That Matter

Leadership followed Fiefia into graduate school. While at Rice University, he served as program president and confronted a small but telling problem: university apparel was prohibitively expensive for many students.

Rather than accept the status quo, he negotiated a licensing arrangement and organized student-led production and distribution at cost. The result was affordable apparel, stronger school pride, and a lesson that collaboration and negotiation often outperform bureaucracy.

That instinct—to identify inefficiency and design workable solutions—now defines his approach as a legislator.

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Career in Technology: From Google to Domo

Before entering public service, Fiefia built a career in technology and sales operations. He worked at firms including Workday and Google, later joining Domo to lead new go-to-market efforts and partnerships.

At Google, his experience spanned Google Ads and Google Cloud, and he was present during the early rollout of Google’s AI initiatives, including Bard and the broader Gemini family of products. That exposure gave him firsthand insight into how large-scale technology systems are built, governed, and commercialized.

It also gave him a practical understanding of how policy decisions affect innovation, scalability, and competitiveness—knowledge still uncommon in state legislatures.

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Translating Tech Experience Into Public Policy

In the private sector, Fiefia focused on strategy, partnerships, and scaling teams. In the legislature, he applies that same lens to bills affecting Utah’s technology ecosystem, particularly those involving AI, data infrastructure, and economic development.

He describes the policymaker’s task as a balancing act: encouraging innovation while protecting consumers from fraud, discrimination, and privacy violations. Regulation, in his view, should be informed by technical reality and designed to evolve alongside fast-moving systems.

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National Leadership on AI: Building Institutions, Not Just Rules

Fiefia co-chairs a national AI task force under Future Caucus, a bipartisan network that connects younger legislators across party lines. The task force brings together lawmakers, technologists, academics, industry leaders, and consumer advocates to grapple with the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence.

• Rather than pursuing sweeping or static regulations, the group emphasizes:
• Convening diverse expertise so policy reflects both technical reality and public values
• Bringing technologists directly into the legislative process
• Building guidelines and institutional capacity that can adapt over time

This approach reflects a broader philosophy: durable policy requires institutions that can learn, not just statutes that freeze assumptions in place.

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Why Utah Is Positioned to Lead on AI Governance

Utah has emerged as an early leader in AI governance, in part through the creation of an Office of AI Policy—an institutional innovation that places technical expertise inside government to evaluate AI-related legislation.

Most states lack in-house technical capacity focused on emerging technologies. Without that capability, lawmakers struggle to understand tradeoffs or anticipate unintended consequences. Utah’s model allows policymakers to pilot programs, assess results, and iterate quickly.

Two factors shape Utah’s leadership:

Infrastructure demands: data centers require reliable power, land use planning, and connectivity

Human capital: workforce development determines whether AI investment benefits local communities

At national gatherings such as the National Conference of State Legislatures, Utah’s measured, institutional approach has drawn attention from other states seeking workable models.

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Foster Care Reform: Making Benefits Follow the Child

One of Fiefia’s most consequential legislative efforts addresses a little-known flaw in foster care finance. Federal Social Security survivor benefits are intended to support children who lose a parent. Historically, states have been allowed to use those funds to offset system-wide foster care costs rather than dedicating them to the affected children.

In Utah, Fiefia discovered that roughly $2.2 million in survivor benefits—affecting more than 400 children—had been used this way. His legislation redirected a portion of those funds into dedicated accounts that travel with the child and become accessible when they age out of care.

The stakes are stark. Nationally:

One in four foster youth experience homelessness after aging out

Roughly half graduate high school

A majority encounter the criminal justice system

Dedicated accounts provide practical options: tuition, job training, transportation, housing deposits, or basic necessities. The policy preserves fiscal responsibility while honoring the purpose of survivor benefits—to support the individual child.

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Education and School Choice: Strengthening Families Through Options

Education is a central pillar of Fiefia’s family-focused agenda. Supporting families means expanding access to quality options—charter schools, scholarships, open enrollment, and education savings accounts—while maintaining accountability.

Key considerations include:

• Access for low-income and foster families

• Quality standards alongside choice

• Support structures such as transportation and information resources

  For Fiefia, school choice is not ideological. It is a tool to help families find environments that meet their children’s needs.

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Building Smarter Communities

Across these issues runs a consistent theme: building communities that are smarter about growth, technology, and human capital. That includes thoughtful tech adoption, infrastructure planning, and workforce pipelines that connect education to real careers.

Public institutions, he argues, should be efficient without losing their humanity.

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Final Thoughts

Doug Fiefia brings lived experience, private-sector expertise, and pragmatic problem-solving to public service. His work reflects a belief that policy succeeds when it is technically informed, morally grounded, and implemented through institutions capable of adapting as circumstances change.

For readers and listeners alike, the takeaway is clear: state and local government still matter. Engagement still matters. And when policy is designed with both competence and compassion, it can move beyond statute and into real improvement in people’s lives.

 

Topics covered in this episode include:

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  Growing up first-generation American and why family policy matters

• How tech experience shapes smarter, more realistic legislation

• Utah’s leadership in AI policy and consumer protection

• Co-chairing a bipartisan national AI task force with Future Caucus

• Fixing foster care finance so benefits truly follow the child

• Expanding school choice while prioritizing equity and quality

• Building institutions that can adapt as technology and communities evolve

  Doug also explains why Utah’s approach—measured, practical, and institution-focused—is drawing national attention, and why civic engagement at the state level still makes a real difference.

If you care about family stability, smarter tech policy, foster youth outcomes, and education options that strengthen communities, this is a conversation worth your time.

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