2025 Aspen Cyber Summit

Top US cyber leaders will headline the 2025 Aspen Cyber Summit on November 18.

Help us celebrate a decade of dialogue and action. Register now to join us in Washington, DC.

Rising Civic AI Leaders

Technologists moving from industry to government hope to serve the public and better government systems with their expertise. Yet, they quickly learn that government operates much differently than the private sector and often struggle with the slower timelines and detailed processes.

These new civil servants may be the only people in their team or department with a technology skillset. This can lead to feelings of isolation, a loss of motivation, and early departures of these critical employees, preventing governments from having a firm and sustained grasp on their AI strategy.

To support the success of these technologists-turned-civil-servants, Aspen Digital and the Aspen Policy Academy are hosting the Rising Civic AI Leaders Initiative. This is a free, part-time, unpaid virtual program that teaches AI and emerging technology professionals who are new to government how to have policy impact. The leaders participate in an immersive, 3-month virtual policy training course that teaches core skills, including policy writing, public speaking, stakeholder mapping, and solution scoping.

We hope to level what is a traditionally steep learning curve for entering government while also building a strong community of civic AI leaders and mentors from across the country.

Dr. Solomon Abiola's headshot.

Dr. Solomon Abiola

AI/ML Policy and Governance Director, State of Maryland

Julia Chrusciel's headshot.

Julia Chrusciel

Privacy Program Lead, City and County of San Francisco

Zoe Durbin's headshot.

Zoe Durbin

Technology Strategist, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Aaron Garber-Paul's headshot.

Aaron Garber-Paul

Equity Data and Policy Analyst, Office of Equity and Human Rights, City of Portland, OR

Ishu Gupta's headshot.

Ishu Gupta

Innovation and Data Strategy Lead, City of Green Bay, WI

Cody Hounanian's headshot.

Cody Hounanian

Program Director, State Bar of California

Michael Huang's headshot.

Michael Huang

Product Manager, City of Boston Department of Innovation and Technology

Robin Jones's headshot.

Robin Jones

Data Literacy Lead, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

Jessica Kaisaris's headshot.

Jessica Kaisaris

Senior Product Manager, Microsoft AI

Daria Kirilenko's headshot.

Daria Kirilenko

Senior Advisor, Cyber Command, New York City Office of Technology and Innovation

Bianca Lepe's headshot.

Bianca Lepe

Data Scientist, City of Boston

Lauren Maffeo's headshot.

Lauren Maffeo

Senior Program Manager of AI/ML, State of Maryland

Anjali Patel's headshot.

Anjali Patel

Product Manager, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Keerthy Reddy's headshot.

Keerthy Reddy

AI and Emerging Technologies Fellow, City of Seattle’s Information Technology Department

Małgosia Rejniak's headshot.

Małgosia Rejniak

Program Manager, AI and Data Governance, City of Long Beach, CA

Ricky Santiago's headshot.

Ricky Santiago

Digital Inclusion Manager, City of Louisville, KY

Rohan Sharma's headshot.

Rohan Sharma

CEO of Zenolabs.AI, author of “AI and the Boardroom,” and Chair of Trustworthyaiindex.org

Nneka Sobers's headshot.

Nneka Sobers

Deputy Director, New York City’s Innovation Team (i-team)

Kyla Williams Tate's headshot.

Kyla Williams Tate

Digital Equity Director, Office of President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County, IL

Matt Zhou's headshot.

Matt Zhou

Assistant State Chief Data Officer, California Office of Data and Innovation

Robert "Bobby" Zipp's headshot.

Robert “Bobby” Zipp

Chief Data Officer, District Attorney General’s Office, Shelby County, TN

Tech to Government

With the quick advancements of AI-powered systems, many industry experts are taking the tech-to-government journey to state and local.

Support Our Work

If you would like to help support or otherwise get involved with the program, please reach out.