Featured Keynote Speakers
Ruthbea Yesner is the Vice President of Government Insights at IDC. In this practice, Ms. Yesner manages the US Federal Government, Education, and the Worldwide Smart Cities and Communities Global practices. Ms. Yesner's research discusses the strategies and execution of relevant technologies and best practice areas, such as governance, innovation, partnerships and business models, essential for government and education transformation. Ms. Yesner's research includes analytics, artificial intelligence, Open data and data exchanges, digital twins, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and mobile solutions in the areas of economic development and civic engagement, urban planning and administration, smart campus, transportation, and energy and infrastructure.
Vice President of Government Insights – IDC LinkedIn @RuthbeaClarke |
Professor Stephen Goldsmith is the Derek Bok Professor of the Practice of Urban Policy and the Director of the Innovations in American Government Program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He currently directs Data-Smart City Solutions, a project to highlight local government efforts to use new technologies that connect breakthroughs in the use of big data analytics with community input to reshape the relationship between government and citizen. He previously served as Deputy Mayor of New York and Mayor of Indianapolis, where he earned a reputation as one of the country's leaders in public-private partnerships, competition, and privatization. Stephen was also the chief domestic policy advisor to the George W. Bush campaign in 2000, the Chair of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and the district attorney for Marion County, Indiana from 1979 to 1990.
Professor of the Practice of Urban Policy – Harvard Kennedy School LinkedIn @GoldsmithOnGov |
Sajid Khan is a tech sector stalwart with a broad range of strategic marketing experience. He has held key positions at Intel and Compaq focused on business strategy, new market development, business development and sales enablement across a broad range of technologies & markets. His current role at Intel is focused on shepherding Intel’s efforts in the Smart Cities & Transportation space, spending a majority of his time on global sector strategy with a particular focus on ecosystem partnering, thought leadership marketing and next generation data opportunities. Sajid was also led Intel’s efforts in supporting the technology use case related aspects of the DIGIT Act in 2019 and has supported multiple US State Department Innovation Roundtable discussions. He has an MBA from the University of Houston, and a BSEE from Osmania University (India), and is taking continuing strategy coursework at Harvard University.
Global Director, Smart Cities & Transportation, Intel. Corp. LinkedIn Sajid Khan |
With over twenty years in the IT industry, Anthony Dina serves as the North America Director of Sales Engineers for AI, Data Analytics and High-Performance Computing at Dell Technologies. He leads a team of solutions specialists and architects that accelerate research computing and modern analytics. Their expertise in data lakes, analytic modeling, artificial intelligence, and simulation de-risks projects and maximizes outcomes. This work not only involves intellectual property from Dell Technologies but also from partners like Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Cloudera, Splunk, and a host small catalyst technology vendors. Prior to this, he served as executive director of strategy and director of solutions marketing in the Product Group. He has earned a Masters of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas and a Masters of Fine Art from Cranbrook Academy of Art. His technical certifications include ITIL v3 Foundation and ITIL Services Strategy. Outside of work, Anthony is a Whiskey Sommelier, avid runner, yoga practioner and forever inventing in the kitchen.
Director of Data Analytics, AI, & HPC at Dell Technologies LinkedIn @AntDina |
Conference Speakers
Amanda Wood’s primary focus is assisting clients with federal funding needs. Her experience as senior legislative staff on Capitol Hill provides the skills to represent clients on matters ranging from FEMA policy to smart city solution deployment to beach renourishment and major transportation infrastructure. She represents municipal, corporate and nonprofit clients on matters related to transportation, economic development, natural resources, law enforcement, homeland security and social services. She previously served as Legislative Director to Senator Bob Graham (D-FL), where she was responsible for developing and implementing the Senator’s legislative agenda and strategy. Amanda currently represents ShotSpotter, Hitachi Vantara, NTT Data, Next Era Energy, Genasys Corporation, the Florida counties of Sarasota and Collier, Hennepin County, MN, the City of Cape Coral, FL, the Town of Davie, FL, and others.
Senior Federal Advocacy Director, Becker & Poliakoff LinkedIn @Amanda Wood |
Brian Dillard is currently the Chief Innovation Officer for the City of San Antonio. He began his career in public service in 2018 as the Smart City Administrator for the City of San Antonio. Prior to joining the local government sector, Brian was a Cybersecurity consultant in the private sector following a career as a member of the United States Air Force where he served ten-years Active Duty.
Chief Innovation Officer – City of San Antonio LinkedIn @COSAGOV |
Chelsea Collier is the founder of Digi.City, which advocates for policies and programs that create more connected, equitable and accessible communities. She also serves as the editor-at-large for Smart Cities Connect. Her previous experience includes work in state-government economic development, social enterprise, tech startups and small business.
Collier was a University of Manchester Simon Industrial and Professional Fellow in 2019, a Marshall Memorial Fellow in 2018 and an Eisenhower Fellow in 2016. She holds master's and bachelor's degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. Founder – Digi.City LinkedIn @ChelseaMcC @digi_city |
Christina Willingham manages the Smart Mobility Office in the Austin Transportation Department where she oversees Transportation Demand Management, Placemaking, Public Private Partnerships, Smart Mobility Pilot Programs, and Emerging Technologies. She leads a cross-functional team of mobility, technology, policy, data, equity, design, communications, planning, sustainability and user experience specialists to deliver outcomes that improve mobility, safety and access to Austin residents and visitors.
A recognized leader and subject matter expert in equity, systems, and resiliency, Christina has more than 30 years of experience in a variety of local and state government agencies which include crisis intervention, family services, education, criminal justice, human resources, land development, and transportation. Christina is also a SHRM Senior Certified Professional and an HRCI Senior Professional in Human Resources. Smart Mobility Division Manager – City of Austin |
Clay Pearson joined the City of Pearland, Texas as City Manager in March 2014. During his career, Pearson gained a broad overview and understanding for the varied operations of City government and has worked with the Mayor and City Council to outline and deliver a strong vision of what can be accomplished in Pearland’s future. Pearson serves Pearland with nearly 25 years’ experience in municipal government. Prior to Pearland, he served the City of Novi, Michigan including as the City Manager for eight years. He had 14 years total in Novi, including six as Assistant City Manager. Prior to Novi, Pearson served the City of Elgin, Illinois for a decade in various capacities, including Assistant City Manager, Budget Officer and Director Code Administration and Neighborhood Affairs. Pearson is active with the association of local government professionals, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). With ICMA, Clay has most recently been involved with the chairing the International Committee of the Association. The Committee has conducted meetings in Yangzhou, China; Copenhagen, Denmark, and Wellington, New Zealand under his leadership. He has been active with many aspects of sharing and learning best practices and building networking. He has taught a summer class at the Chinese University of Political Science in Law, Beijing, and presented to the New South Wales, Australia Local Government Association and been a part of an ICMA team providing professional training in South Africa. Pearson has a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor’s degree from Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, Minnesota). He serves currently on the Board of the Alliance for Innovation and the Swedish- American Chamber of Commerce of Houston. He has been very involved with the KU public administration program and supporting future generations of public servants. He and his wife, Jennifer live in Pearland. City Manager – City of Pearland LinkedIn @jayhawkmi |
Helen Ramirez, AICP is currently the Deputy City Manager for the City of Brownsville and the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation Executive Director and CEO. Ms. Ramirez has over 20 years of municipal planning experience which includes 10 years of private sector experience managing complex and high profile economic development projects both in the United States and internationally, including the award-winning Los Angeles Air Force Base $115 million New Space and Missile Command Center Redevelopment Project. She formerly served as the Assistant City Manager for the City of Hutto, Texas in the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area where she lead the Co-Op District redevelopment in Downtown, updates to the land use plan and drainage master plans, a public-private Innovation industrial park development, and the implementation of strategic growth corridors. At the City of Brownsville, she has been instrumental in fostering the growth of commercial aerospace companies such as the SpaceX South Launch Site and Paragon VTOL Aerospace, among others.
Mrs. Ramirez holds a Bachelor´s Degree in City and Regional Planning from the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California and is an American Institute of Certified Planner (AICP) professional. She is a member of the Texas City Management Association, International City/County Management Association, International Council of Shopping Center (ICSC) and has served on the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for RGVMPO, CAMPO and Austin's CapMetro’s Project Connect. Deputy City Manager City of Brownsville & Executive Director Greater Brownsville Incentives Corp- Helen Ramirez Linkedin @Helen Ramirez |
Jay Boisseau is an experienced, recognized leader and strategist in advanced computing technologies, with over 25 years in the field. Jay has built and led many computing-focused programs, departments, and organizations. Jay is CEO and co-founder (June 2014) of Vizias. Vizias is a small team of talented, passionate technology professionals who are determined to change the world by using their advanced computing expertise and experience, especially in high performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), and smart cities.
Jay’s current primary activity is working as the HPC & AI Technology Strategist for Dell Technologies (since September 2014) to further develop its high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) strategies and new solutions for a broader use of HPC and AI by more companies, government organizations, and universities. Jay evaluates new technologies, talks with strategic customers about their workload trends/needs, and helps develop both optimal current solutions and potential future solutions. His current focus is on cloud approaches for HPC and AI workloads, especially for government and healthcare/life sciences customers. Jay is the executive director and founder of The Austin Forum on Technology & Society, which he started in 2006 and is now the leading monthly technology outreach and engagement event in Austin--and starting to attract national and even international attendees online. Jay also founded the Austin Smart City Alliance (July 2015, formerly Austin CityUP Consortium) and currently serves as the executive director, with a vision of creating an integrated smart city fabric throughout Austin—leveraging mobile devices and IoT data collectors, as well as supercomputers and AI for predictive analytics and scenario simulation—in the years ahead to address city issues, empower city planning, and improve city life in general. Executive Director & Founder – Austin Smart City Alliance LinkedIn @JayBoisseau |
Jennifer Sanders co-founded the Dallas Innovation Alliance (DIA) a 501c3 public-private partnership dedicated to supporting the design and execution of a smart cities plan for Dallas. DIA brings together the City of Dallas, nonprofit and civic organizations, academic institutions and leading corporations to take a best-minds approach to creating a smarter, more connected Dallas. In 2019, she cofounded the North Texas Innovation Alliance to build a regional initiative to take these strategic learnings to the next level. Seeing the opportunity to serve entities outside of Dallas, she and Trey Bowles launches InnoCity Partners to create a vehicle to support public, private and academic organizations.
She is actively involved with numerous civic organizations, currently serving as past-President of the Mayor’s Star Council, Board President of the Suicide & Crisis Center of North Texas, Board member of Better Block, Board Treasurer of the West End Association, and an Ambassador for the Dallas Entrepreneur Center (DEC), among others. Jennifer has received recognition for her leadership in the industry, including the 2019 UN Day Global Leadership Award for advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the category of Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure). She has been named to the Dallas Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 and Top Women in Technology, State Scoop’s Top Women in Technology, the Tech Week 100, and the Dallas 500. She has been honored to speak to groups at conferences around the globe including South by Southwest, Smart Cities Week, IOT World Congress, IMPACT: Cities, and the Smart City Global Congress and Expo in Barcelona. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Psychology with a minor concentration in Economics. Executive Director – Dallas Innovation Alliance & North Texas Innovation Alliance LinkedIn @jensanders212 @DallasSmartCity |
Jesse Bounds leads the Mayor's Office of Innovation that is helping modernize the way the City serves its people. Prior to his current role, Jesse served in various capacities for the City’s executive office, as an Operations Analyst and Assistant Chief of Staff to Mayor Bill White, and more recently as a Liaison to Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZ) in Mayor Parker’s Office of Economic Development. He is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and led many successful projects across the City resulting in measurable increases in service quality and efficiency. Jesse received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Studies from the University of St. Thomas. In his free time, he enjoys running and spending time with his wife, Gloria and their two sons.
Director of Innovation – City of Houston LinkedIn @HoustonBounds @HoustonTX |
Jessica Sager currently serves as the Austin Smart City Alliance. Austin Smart City Alliance works to address important civic issues through data, technology, and collaboration. With a background as a small business and nonprofit strategist, she has worked to help grow the leaders and organizations that are committed to doing good. Jessica brings a unique combination of communication, strategic thinking, and execution skills, and she loves helping ideas take form and take flight. A local Austinite and an avid traveler, Jessica is passionate about making the world--and Austin--a smaller place through connecting people, ideas, and opportunities.
Managing Director, Austin Smart City Alliance LinkedIn @jhsager |
Justin C. Bruce, PMP has been with Tyler Technologies’ Data and Insights Division (formerly known as Socrata) since 2017, where today he serves as the Director of Client Services for our Eastern Region. Justin has served as an implementation manager and client success manager working directly with our clients prior to taking on this role. His expertise primarily exists in three categories: transparency, performance management, and process improvement. Justin leads the Socrata Performance Community of Practice which is a compilation of over 275 performance practitioners.
Justin has wealth of professional experiences that shape his approach to success with our government partners. He served as the first Director of Innovation and Performance for the City of Jackson after holding management positions in retail and telecom companies. While holding this position, Jackson started down the path of becoming a data-driven government. Bruce and Jackson successfully implemented an open data program, JackStats performance management program, and developed a culture of process improvement through simple data analytics. Jackson’s work has been highlighted by major universities, public and private sector entities, and leading practitioners across the country. Justin was selected as a Next Generation Leader in 2015 through his work with the African American Mayors Association. Justin also received the 2017 Emerging Leader Award from the American Society of Public Administration’s Center for Accountability and Performance for his accomplishments in the realm of performance management. Director of Client Success – Tyler Technologies LinkedIn @... |
Seyi Fabode has more than 18 years of experience developing, deploying and investing in technology solutions for the utility industry. Prior to Varuna (providing visibility, awareness and insights to water systems enabling them to deliver clean water consistently), he worked with utilities and the World Bank on clean energy/future tech projects. He built and sold a power utility marketplace platform a few years ago after working as a systems engineer for a power station in London serving 500k residents of the city. Seyi has an MBA from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, and an MSc. in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Warwick University in the UK. He lives with his wife, Michel, and two amazing little boys in Austin, TX.
CEO & Co-Founder – Varuna LinkedIn @SeyiFabode |
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