Michael is Founder and CEO of CIRRUS Group, a Maryland-based Public Benefit LLC focused on assisting cities and communities in digital transformation to improve city operations and services, community resilience, and overall quality of life. From 2021-2025, he served as Associate Director for Innovation in the Smart Connected Systems Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)..

Michael has led research centers in advanced technologies and smart cities at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he served concurrently as Director of the Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center. Previous positions included Director for Preparedness and Resilience Programs at the National Headquarters of the American Red Cross; Chief for Risk Management and program lead for Community Resilience at the Science & Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and as a project manager in the Cognitive, Neural, and Social Science Division of the Office of Naval Research.

He is active in international standards development for smartcities, serving on the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE).

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Michael is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, retiring from active duty at the rank of Captain. He holds an M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and Ph.D. (Systems Engineering) from George Washington University. He is an adjunct professor in the College of Professional Studies at the George Washington University.

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Wilfred Pinfold is the President of OpenCommons, a non-profit company providing open source digital public infrastructure. OpenCommons works with city, state, national, and international partners in developing technologies and platforms for sharing information, and processes and practices to enable cities to deploy advanced technology solutions. Before leading OpenCommons, he had a 23 year career at Intel where he led research and development programs in Extreme Scale Computing, Internet of Things and Smart Cities and has more than 30 years of experience in computational and data science. Dr. Pinfold is the UK Honorary Consul for Oregon, a member of the City of Portland Technology Oversight committee, and holds multiple board positions. He received his Ph.D. in Computational Fluid Dynamics from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow and attended the Stanford Executive Program. He is a Research Professor in Computer Science at Portland State University, where he teaches an MBA class in Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

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Bridging the worlds of academia and practice, Mariela is the Founder and CEO of State of Place, an AI-driven urban design data and predictive analytics software that helps citymakers make more effective, cost-efficient, bottom-up, transparent, and accountable citymaking decisions to create more thriving places. State of Place grew out of Urban Imprint, an urban design-behavior research and consulting firm Dr. Alfonzo established in 2005, via which she worked with a range of private and public sector real estate stakeholders translating data into evidence-based design, development, and planning guidance. An expert on the value of urban design, Mariela focuses on how the relationship between the built environment and behavior impacts economic, social, health, and environmental value, within the context of community change. In the Fall of 2014, she was recognized as one of Urban Land Institute's "40 Under 40" best young land use professionals around the globe. Additionally, Dr. Alfonzo was awarded a Fulbright to examine walkability in China in the Fall of 2013, where she focused on the socio-cultural and policy challenges to implementing walkable development.

Mariela is a Research Assistant Professor at New York University, where she's been since 2011, and has taught courses around entrepreneurship, career, and leadership development, as well as urban design. Mariela has a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning with an emphasis on Urban Design and Behavior, as well as a professional Masters in Urban Planning, from the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and Psychology from the University of Miami.

Chelsea brings decades of experience working at the intersection of government, technology, and community-led innovation. She focuses on translating between the public, private, social, and academic sectors to create a shared understanding of complex social and civic challenges that can then inspire co-created approaches.

Chelsea directs initiatives that prioritize the ethical design and application of emerging technologies (including AI) based on principles of collaboration, inclusion, equity, and transparency. She integrates this work across several domains. In her roles as the Founder of Digi.City and a Strategic Advisor to Smart Cities Connect, she convenes government and industry leaders to build cohesive ecosystems. As a researcher, she focuses on community-centered civic technologies including resident-centered engagement with city government. Chelsea is a Principal at the Intercambio Group and an Instructor at Texas State University in Department of Political Science. Previously, she led initiatives to co-design AI-enabled smart hand tools with skilled trade workers with the City of Austin, the Texas AFL-CIO as part of Good Systems, a UT Grand Challenge on ethical AI.

Chelsea completed her PhD in Information Science from the School of Information and MA and BS degrees in Communication from The University of Texas at Austin. She is an NSF NRT Fellow in Ethical AI, a ZEIT-Stiftung Research Fellow with the City Science Lab in Hamburg, GE, a Simon Industrial & Professional Fellow at the University of Manchester (UK), a Marshall Memorial Fellow, and an Eisenhower Fellow.

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Scott is the Founder and CEO of ImpactMatrix, an AI-developed supply chain technology platform serving government, nonprofit, and business sectors. Through real-time matching of offers and needs, predictive analytics, and dashboards, ImpactMatrix supports community building, disaster response, community resiliency, and democracy-building initiatives.

A seasoned executive with experience across government, business, and nonprofit sectors, Scott has led organizations with as many as 70,000 employees and brings more than 26 years of public service experience in both the executive and legislative branches of government. He also served as CEO of an award-winning nonprofit organization active on six continents.

Throughout his career, Scott has led major public policy initiatives related to tax reform, education standards, health care reform, hunger relief, child care, and community development, while also transforming small private and nonprofit organizations into high-impact entities. He is widely recognized for his leadership, business development, fundraising, and team-building expertise.

His honors include Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas region; Computerworld’s 21st Century Achievement Award for his visionary use of technology to drive positive social change; and recognition by Government Technology Magazine as one of the nation’s “Top 25 Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers” in technology. McCallum also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Scott holds a PhD in Integrative Communications for Administration and Policy from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Nick is the Founder and CEO of Triantha and former Director of Emerging Technology Policy at the US Department of Homeland Security. Nick is a seasoned tech executive and builder with broad experience growing and scaling companies. He is an expert in cyber and emerging technology policy with deep roots in safety, security, and sustainability of technology deployments.

A noted expert in smart cities, cybersecurity, and AI, Nick currently holds a faculty position at the NYU Center for Global Affairs teaching graduate courses related to emerging technology in the municipal environment. Nick has a 20+ year career in the US Military, Intelligence Community & Homeland Security with a focus on operations and bringing technical solutions to critical infrastructure. He is also a former federal policymaker, authoring multiple executive orders and Cabinet-level policies and advising the White House on critical emerging technology topics.

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Sarah Jane is a creative director, graphic designer, and writer with more than two decades of experience leading brand development and strategic communications initiatives across print, digital, and experiential platforms. She currently serves as Director of Development Marketing & Communications at the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation, where she oversees communications strategy, marketing, editorial direction, and creative development in support of institutional advancement and donor engagement efforts. She is also the Creative Director and owner of Sarah Jane & Co., a creative studio specializing in branding, design, and communications strategy for smart cities, communities and organizations

Sarah Jane holds a master’s degree in journalism and a graduate certificate in photography, with a concentration in conflict photojournalism, from Harvard University, as well as a B.A. in Communications from the University of Alabama, where she studied advertising and graphic design.

She has worked across a wide range of industries, including architecture, real estate, finance, healthcare, law, higher education, fundraising, and nonprofit organizations. Her work has been recognized by organizations including Communication Arts, Neenah Paper, AIGA, and Graphic Design: USA.

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Cheyney is an economist specializing in the measurement and modeling of public-sector technology and infrastructure investments. Much of his portfolio asks what these investments are worth given uncertainty about the timing and severity of future crises, and how their expected dividends can be made credible enough to induce thoughtful investment in infrastructure. He has contributed to methods and tools that decision-makers can use for infrastructure life-cycle cost analysis. He has applied transaction-cost economics, a body of theory long developed but underused in current infrastructure work, to questions of interoperability. More broadly, he brings an economist's perspective and toolkit to multidisciplinary teams working on public-sector technology, systems, and related infrastructure questions.

Cheyney spent nearly a decade at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), beginning in the agency's Applied Economics Office as a federal economist and later supporting NIST's Smart Grid and Smart City Infrastructure Programs as a contractor. His portfolio across those years included building-energy life-cycle analysis, power-system simulation tools for grid resilience and interoperability evaluation, the economics component of NIST's smart-grid interoperability standards framework, and performance-measurement methodology for public-sector programs. A parallel research strand has examined the impact of flood, wildfire, drought, and hurricane events on regional economies and electric power markets.

His published work appears in peer-reviewed journals, NIST technical reports, and edited volumes. He served as a National Science Foundation Merit Review Panelist for the CMMI Division. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon and a Master of Arts and Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, all in economics.