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.