I serve as the Smart City Coordinator for the City of Wichita. There I drive digital transformation across the City under the direction of City Leadership. I am responsible for Smart City and Connected Community initiatives and projects within the City. Many large cities across the world are focused on Smart City initiatives but within Wichita, we have adopted a Street Smart approach of deploying solutions with maximum impact to residents without creating an innovation district that creates digital have and have nots. In addition to serving as the Smart City Coordinator, I am the Chair of the Wichita Innovative Living Lab: a thought leadership, change initiation, innovative and future technology implementation and use, and Smart City lab. This lab is focused on building business efficiencies and closing the digital divide within our community and bringing meaningful technology to our residents and complementing our greater Smart City program.
Unlike most Chief Innovation Officers, Smart City Coordinators, or Program Managers, I am not a marketing person. With a background in data modelling and statistical analysis I serve as a technical engineer, a project manager, and a decision maker. In Wichita, we don’t talk, we act. Here I oversee projects from conception through to completion while providing decision making metrics and complete business plans on whether to scale or abandon projects in quick efficient timelines. I understands the importance of informed stakeholders, partnerships, and financing and am responsible for ensuring the City has these secured. I have been charged with ensuring Smart City projects are well coordinated, designed, and implemented to meet the business needs and the goals of the City.