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Chief Innovation Officers in State and Local Government (Interactive Map)

Chief innovation officers popping up in state and local government have scopes as different as the jurisdictions they serve.


Over the past couple years, Government Technology has covered the rise of a new position in government that holds a particular kind of promise: that of the chief innovation officer.

While there’s usually a technology component in the job description of this new breed of CIO, it’s by no means a given. Often unfettered by the typical duties assigned to a chief information officer, which focus on keeping IT systems functioning to serve business needs, chief innovation officers are charged with implementing fresh ideas that have the potential to transform government.

Some innovation officers find their duties merged with traditional CIO responsibilities, as is the case in Chicago, Philadelphia and New York City. Others, like those in Louisville, Ky., and Nashville, Tenn., have titles that reveal a link to their jurisdiction’s economic development endeavors.

While the idea may have its skeptics, Montgomery County, Md., Councilmember Roger Berliner told Government Technology in late 2012 that creating a chief innovation officer position is one way to change the culture of government. “People have said to me you can’t shift the culture with a new department, but I don’t know how else to do it. Change is a hard thing. Maybe a beacon of innovation can begin to change things.”

Click on the links in the map above to see the various forms innovation takes in different state and local governments (data repeated below).

Adams County, Colo.
Nick Kittle, Performance, Innovation and Sustainability Manager
Appointed: January 2014
GovTech Coverage: A Holistic Model for Performance Measurement in Colorado Springs
Austin, Texas
Kerry O'Connor, Chief Innovation Officer
Appointed: December 2013
Boston
Nigel Jacob and Chris Osgood, Co-chairs for the Office of New Urban Mechanics
Appointed: January 2010
GovTech Coverage: Will the Chief Innovation Officer Transform Government?; Boston Tech Innovator to Join Living Cities 
Carlsbad, CA
David Graham, Chief Innovation Officer
Appointed: November 2018
GovTech Coverage: Carlsbad's First Innovation Officer Has Plans that Could Stretch Beyond One City
Chicago
Brenna Berman, Commissioner of the Department of Innovation and Technology
Appointed: June/July 2013           
GovTech Coverage: Chicago Announces New CIO; Big Data Could Bring Government Big Benefits; 3 Reasons Chicago's Analytics Could be Coming to Your City 
Colorado
Mark Sirangelo, Chief Innovation Officer and Chairman of the Colorado Innovation Network
Appointed: August 2013
GovTech Coverage: Colorado's Second Chief Innvation Officer
Davis, Calif.
Rob White, Chief Innovation Officer for the City Manager's Office
Appointed: March 2013
GovTech Coverage: Davis, Calif., Forms Public-Private Partnership to Hire Chief Innovation Officer; 6 Emerging Technologies and What They Mean to CIOs 
Ferndale, Calif.
Joseph Gacioch, Chief Innovation Officer
Appointed: Feb/March 2013
Kansas City, Mo.
Ashley Hand, Chief Innovation Officer
Appointed: January 2013
GovTech Coverage: Kansas City, Mo., Hires City's First Chief Innovation Officer
Los Angeles
Peter Marx, Chief Innovation Technology Officer
Appointed: February 2014
GovTech Coverage: Peter Marx Appointed Los Angeles' Chief Innovation Technology Officer
Louisville, Ky.
Ted Smith, Chief of Economic Growth and Innovation
Appointed: January 2012       
GovTech Coverage: 2012 Year in Review: Chief Innovation Officers; Ted Smith -- 2013 GT Top 25 Winner; Big Data Takes on Chronic Disease; Does 3-D Printing Change Everything?
Maryland
Michael Powell, Chief Innovation Officer
Appointed: August 2012
GovTech Coverage: CIO Michael Powell Discusses Maryland's Push for Big Data
Massachusetts
Tony Parham, Government Innovation Officer for the Commonwealth
Appointed: August 2012
GovTech Coverage: Will the Chief Innovation Officer Transform Government?
Montgomery County, Md.
Dan Hoffman, Chief Innovation Officer
Appointed: October 2012
GovTech Coverage: Will the Chief Innovation Officer Transform Government?
Nashville, Tenn.
Kristine LaLonde and Yiaway Yeh, Co-Chief Innovation Officers for the Office of Innovation
Appointed: April 2013
New York City
Rahul Merchant, Chief Information and Innovation Officer
Appointed: April 2012
GovTech Coverage: NYC Names Rahul N. Merchant to CIO and Innovation Role
Pittsburgh, Penn.
Debra Lam, Chief Innovation and Performance Officer
Appointed: January 2014
GovTech Coverage: Pittsburgh Uses Holistic Approach to City Services, Sustainability; Thinking Big on Sustainability; Pittsburgh's Debra Lam on Bringing Her International Work Home
Philadelphia
Adel Ebeid, Chief Innovation Officer
Appointed: August 2011
GovTech Coverage: Adel Ebeid -- 2014 GT Top 25 Winner; 2012 Year in Review: Chief Innovation Officers; Microsoft and Philadelphia Pair Up through CityNext Program; Philly Teaches Officials with New Innovation Academy 
Redlands, Calif.
Danielle Garcia, Chief Innovation Officer
Riverside, California
Lea Deesing, Chief Innovation Officer
Appointed: March 2013
GovTech Coverage: Riverside, Calif., Hires New Chief Innovation Officer; CIOs Share Their Secrets for Success 
San Francisco (City and County)
Jay Nath, Chief Innovation Officer
Appointed: January 2012
GovTech coverage: U.S. Mayors Form Technology and Innovation Task Force; 2012 Year in Review: Chief Innovation Officers 
San Leandro, Calif.
Deborah Acosta, Chief Innovation Officer
Appointed: January 2013


Research by Maggie Cabrey
Noelle Knell is the executive editor for e.Republic, responsible for setting the overall direction for e.Republic’s editorial platforms, including Government Technology, Governing, Industry Insider, Emergency Management and the Center for Digital Education. She has been with e.Republic since 2011, and has decades of writing, editing and leadership experience. A California native, Noelle has worked in both state and local government, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with majors in political science and American history.