Your guide to #SCC23

 

Next week, the US Ignite team is headed to Denver, Colorado, for the Spring Smart Cities Connect Conference and Expo, one of North America’s largest gatherings of smart cities!

With six different tracks and plenty of experienced speakers- we want to spotlight some key sessions where you can catch leaders from our network of US Ignite Communities in action:

Monday, May 15, 2023

US Ignite Community Convening | 10:00 am – 4:30 pm (Invite-only)

Over 50 representatives from our network of communities will gather at a pre-conference convening featuring tons of networking opportunities, facilitated discussions, and hands-on activities.

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Building a Regional Smart Cities Ecosystem | 8:40 AM – 9:10 AM Four Seasons Ballroom 4

Hear from the builders of the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance and others to understand how regions can come together, why it’s important, and what successful outcomes these partnerships can produce.

• Jennifer Sanders, Executive Director, North Texas Innovation Alliance (moderator)
• Tyler Svitak, Executive Director, Colorado Smart Cities Alliance (speaker)
• Jake Rishavy, Executive Director, Chaffee County Economic Development (speaker)
• Ryan Trujillo, Deputy Chief of Staff, Colorado Springs, CO (speaker)

GSD!- Getting Stuff Done (GSD) and Smart Cities Governance- From “Then” to “Now” | 1:15 PM – 2:05 PM Room 111/113

Attend this panel to engage and learn how to prepare your organization to begin, enhance, extend, and transform!

• Emily Silverman, Smart Mobility/ITS Rocky Mountain Regional Manager, Parsons (moderator)
• Miguel “Mike” Arellano, Deputy District Engineer, Austin, TX (speaker)
• Geoffrey Urbach, Smart City Senior Manager, San Antonio, TX (speaker)
• Monique Nesset, Smart Cities Leader, Calgary, CA (speaker)
• Bruno Peters, Director, Smart Communities, Arcadis IBI Group (speaker)
• Ryan Kurtzman, Smart Cities Program Manager, Long Beach, CA (speaker)

US Ignite Reception | 5:30 – 7:00 pm (invite only)

US Ignite is excited to host a reception for partner communities and friends! Contact us to see if you can get on the guest list.  

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

US Ignite Communities | 10:20 – 10:40 Four Seasons Ballroom 4

Lee Davenport, Director of Community Development, and other US Ignite Communities team representatives take the main stage to spotlight inspiring and noteworthy projects from our network of over 50 communities. 

Policy/Technology Ecosystem Approach to Neighborhood Stabilization & Revitalization| 1:15 PM – 2:05 PM Room 104/106

Discover how community engagement, academic research, and technology can unite to revitalize neighborhoods and empower decision-makers. 

• Lee Davenport, Director, Community Development, US Ignite (moderator)
• Jennifer Tifft, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Syracuse, NY (speaker)
• Joseph Trapp, Founder & CEO, Third Estate Ventures, Inc. (speaker)
• Greg Steininger, Vice President of Sales, Ubicquia (speaker)
• Carlos Caicedo Bastidas, Associate Professor, Syracuse University (speaker)
• Jake Purcell, Director, Smart Cities, Comcast (speaker)

City Spotlights: Smart Mobility| 1:15 PM – 2:05 PM Room 107/109

Join this moderated panel of city leaders and innovators to hear about their mobility priorities, and the lessons they’ve learned in transforming urban mobility amidst industry disruptions and the complexities of implementing new services.

• Tyler Svitak, Executive Director, Colorado Smart Cities Alliance (moderator)
• Will Jones, Public Works Deputy Director, Mobility & Safety Operations, Greeley, CO (speaker)
• Carlos Cruz-Casas, Chief Innovation Officer, DOT & Public Works Office of Innovation and Mobility Services, Miami-Dade County (speaker)
• Grace Rink, Executive Director, Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency, City, and County of Denver (speaker)
• Emily Yates, Chief Innovation Officer, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (speaker)

Thursday, May 18, 2023 

City Spotlights: Next-Level Community Engagement | 9:00 AM – 9:55 AM Room 111/113

The panel discussion will share practical and specific lessons from five diverse cities’ approaches to community engagement around smart city technologies.

• Ruthbea Yesner, Vice President, Government Insights and Smart Cities, IDC Government Insights (moderator)
• Kris Carter, Chair, Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, Boston, MA (speaker)
• Rachel Stark, Smart Cities Program Manager, Charlotte, NC (speaker)
• Don Jacobson, IT Business Partner for Innovation, Las Vegas, NV (speaker)
• Emily Royall, Smart City Administrator, San Antonio, TX (speaker)
• Andreya Veintimilla, Design Research Lead, Smart Columbus (speaker)

Leveraging the power of Augmented Reality (AR) to drive an inclusive, transparent city planning | 11:00 AM – 11:55 AM Room 103/105

Join this panel of experts to discover how AR can revolutionize city planning and promote transparency, inclusivity, and collaboration in communities. 

• Praveen Ashok, Technical Program Manager/SME – Smart Cities/Data/IOT, US Ignite (moderator)
• Dana Chermesh-Reshef, Founder & CEO, inCitu (speaker)
• Marc Goldman, AEC Industry Leader, Esri (speaker)
• Eugenia Di Girolamo, Chief Urban Designer, City and County of Denver (speaker)

Inclusive Budgeting: Bringing Decision-Making Power to People Who Don’t Typically Participate in Civic Processes | 11:00 AM – 11:55 AM Room 111/113

This panel will explore how three cities utilized online tools to engage diverse populations, particularly youth, in participatory budgeting and successful decision-making processes. Panelists will cover the strategic operations and showcase how their innovative use of online tools produced successful and involved budget engagement.

• Chris Adams, President, Balancing Act (moderator)
• Kiki Turner, Participatory Budgeting Program Administrator, City and County of Denver (speaker)
• Patrick Cornell, Chief Financial Officer, Pittsburgh, PA (speaker)
• Cesar Garcia, City Manager, La Marque, TX (speaker)

Let’s Connect

The US Ignite team is eager to connect with leaders at the conference. So don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or requests – or just get to know us better. Also, look for snapshots of the conference on our social media channels.