Deputy Chief Information Officer, City of New Orleans
Born and raised in New Orleans, Sara graduated from UCLA with a masters degree in public policy and emergency public health, completing her thesis in 2007 with Myspace.com and the UCLA Office of Emergency Management to develop a model for universities to use social media for crisis communications. Sara has worked with a number of local, federal, and international government agencies, academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and private sector companies, focusing on innovation and the use of technology in public safety, from communications to situational awareness and data and decision-making. Efforts have included large-scale international and multi-stakeholder experimentation, technology and digital strategy development, user technical and business requirements identification, development of process, supporting resources (e.g. education and training), legislation, policy, legal and security challenges and mitigation plans, business continuity and continuity of operations planning, disaster recovery, and significant stakeholder engagement.
Sara now serves as the Deputy Chief Information Officer for the City of New Orleans. Her work has expanded to focus on the entire lifespan of technology, from K-12 STEM and computer science advocacy, digital literacy, and fostering civic engagement and innovation, to technology workforce development, implementation and management of enterprise technology systems.
