Five years ago today, I arrived at City Hall to start work as New York's Chief Technology Officer. Looking back, I can’t overstate how proud I am of the team we built and the work we did under really tough circumstances (pandemic, remote work, extreme budget shortfalls on top of New York State’s out-of-date hiring rules). Those experiences have shaped the choices I've made since, and I have no doubt they'll stay with me in myriad ways.
As NYC CTO, I brought four topics into focus: 1) Universal Broadband 2) Digital Services 3) Inclusive Innovation and 4) Emerging Tech. Paying cross-cutting attention to civil and human rights in the digital age, I teamed up with peers in Barcelona and Amsterdam to co-chair the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights, which we grew to more than 50 cities worldwide, and whose work continues to grow in importance with the rapidly growing adoption of artificial intelligence.
To get a taste of how we improved life here in the Big Apple in ways big and small, check out:
👏🏾 2020 Impact Report
https://lnkd.in/eY5bdq9F
🙌🏼 2021 Impact Report
https://lnkd.in/e_R9ewjA
And if you’ve got a little more time on your hands, settle in with:
🤖 The pioneering NYC Artificial Intelligence Strategy, published in 2021, which made us the first city in the country to have one and laid the groundwork for the NYC’s AI actions since
https://lnkd.in/egtA4FJe
🌆 The award-winning NYC Internet of Things Strategy
https://lnkd.in/eZ3F4CDC
🛜 The game-changing NYC Internet Master Plan
https://lnkd.in/eGn-xMhM
Because of that last topic – the urgent need to address the longstanding digital divide – I joined WeLink to create the ideal private sector partner (i.e. groundbreaking broadband technology married to a mission of creating digital equity) for municipalities to work with. Last month, we made the milestone announcement of our new partnership with Los Angeles County, which brings $45 million in grant funding to pair with WeLink's own private investment in order to build digital infrastructure in long-overlooked communities across South LA and East LA, where over a million people and thousands of small businesses stand to benefit from new affordable multi-gigabit internet options. You can read the press release here: https://lnkd.in/e_6XQHSc
Thinking back to that first day in City Hall and everything that came after, I want to say thanks to the incredible people who worked alongside me, to those who came before, and to those who continue to do the work today.
#NYC #CTO #Broadband #AI #IoT #Moonshots #DigitalServices #DigitalRights #DigitalEquity #DigitalGov
