If you live and breathe government and technology, then staying on top of what’s happening in this sphere is imperative. Here are our favorite experts and leaders in an industry that’s growing fast and bringing about a transformation for cities and their residents.
Keisha Lance Bottoms
@KeishaBottoms 50.4K followers
Keisha Lance Bottoms, the 60th Mayor of Atlanta, has become a significant voice representing the best in civic leadership and urban growth. Named by Politico magazine as one of “the most prominent black female executives in the South and one of the few in the entire country.” She’s an inspirational speaker (check out her inaugural address), a larger-than-life personality, and a real community leader. Sbecause she uses social media as a means to communicate with her constituency and with Americans. This kind of tech-forward civic engagement is certainly the future.
Miguel Gamiño Jr.
@MiguelGamino 9.1K followers
There’s no question that Miguel Gamiño has earned his followers: he’s a civic technologist and entrepreneur committed to making tech work for the people. Currently Executive VP and Head of Global Cities at Mastercard (and formerly New York City’s Chief Technology Officer), Gamiño is an authority in the field who writes online and speaks publicly about future city trends and smart technology. His experience both serving in local government and now at a Fortune 500 gives him unique perspective and insight. Check out his great post on cities and tech to see what we mean: City Possible: Collaborating to Unlock Possibilities for More People.
Stephen Goldsmith, Director of the Innovations Program in the American Government Program at Harvard Kennedy School, gets big data and why it matters to cities. In his current role, he’s doing what he loves: helping cities use data efficiently to solve problems. Follow Stephen to find out the latest on government and tech – he’s gets to the heart of key issues and brings with him tremendous experience from the field. Two great examples of Goldsmith’s writing that you should definitely check out are Utilizing Data-Driven Tools to Solve Municipal Trash Problems and Implementing Smart Leadership in Cities.
James Anderson
@JimOnCities 6.7K followers
James Anderson spends all of his time – in his own words – helping mayors “be awesome.” As Head of Government Innovation Programs at Bloomberg Philanthropies, he runs programs that connect to innovation and technology like the Mayors Challenge, What Works Cities, Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership, and more. Have a look at what he has to say after visiting 300-plus city halls. Anderson is a real industry leader about everything to do with smart cities and local government. And bonus, he tweets about really awesome resources that you’ll want to read and follow.
Chris Cabaldon
@mayorcabaldon 6.1K followers
It’s no surprise that, under Chris Cabaldon’s leadership, West Sacramento was listed as one of the 21 smart communities to watch in 2018. He is civic engagement personified – broadcasting a deep understanding of his community and a real motivation to leverage innovation and technology in creating a better future. Cabaldon’s Twitter feed is like a window into his life as Mayor – covering everything from local benefit concerts and new restaurants in town, to news about important city initiatives.
Shaun Abrahamson
@Shaunabe 3.8K followers
Serial entrepreneur Shaun Abrahamson runs Urban Us – a seed stage venture fund and network of advisors that serves urbantech startups that work to make city life better. You’ll appreciate Shaun’s blunt posts, bringing attention to important threads on topics that you want to read about but don’t have time to search for including poor rating systems for choosing cities when relocating. And check out his latest post on APIs that provide updated data about transportation services in urban areas.
Krista Canellakis
@kristallakis 2.5K followers
Passionate about making cities more livable and inclusive, Krista – who has made her own mark in the world of GovTech – is Chief Innovation Officer for the City and County of San Francisco. Previously, she led communications in a national renewable energy startup. She also built a crowdfunding platform that helped communities fund civic projects in Chile. For us, her experience means she also gets the GovTech space from the perspective of a startup. Krista’s energetic and insightful posts about everything to do with San Francisco, city government, and tech should not be missed including tech policymaking and eliminating minimum parking requirements for housing projects in San Francisco – she is a voice that really “gets” the startup perspective.
The November elections, Atlanta’s ransomware incident and other cybersecurity threats, modernizing state technology and its challenges … These are just some of the topics Noelle Knell, editor of GovTech News, touched upon this month in her Twitter feed. Having worked in both state and local government, she’s coming from that all-important insider’s perspective – and you can tell just by reading her tweets how much experience she has with public projects, transportation, business, and technology. Check out this article Noelle published on GovTech about how Arizona Pursues “No Wrong Door” Approach to Online Services – or take a look at some of her other pieces here.
Are we missing someone off this list? Do tell us who you’re following; we’d love to know.
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