San Diego appoints its first chief innovation officer

San Diego has promoted its director of performance and analytics, Kirby Brady, to become the city’s first chief innovation officer, Mayor Todd Gloria announced on Twitter this week.

In her new role as chief innovation officer, Brady will also maintain her current position as the city’s director of performance and analytics, which she assumed in January 2020 after a four-year stint as the director of research at the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation. As the analytics lead for the city, Brady is in charge of organizing the city’s data and identifying insights to share with policymakers, and her new role as chief innovation officer will expand that responsibility, Gloria wrote in a tweet on Wednesday.

San Diego has prioritized data-driven services and technology over the last several years, including the appointment of former Open Data Coordinator Andrell Bower in 2019 to build out the city’s open data portal and lead the launch of streetlights equipped with cameras, a decision that has since drawn national scrutiny from civil liberties advocates. (The streetlight program has since been defunded.)

Brady is one of the few Black women to hold a chief innovation officer position in government. In a statement last November, Gloria celebrated the diversity of the city’s staff.

“I am particularly proud that our administration is on track to be one of the most diverse in city history and a true reflection of the people we serve,” he said.

Brady holds a master’s degree from the University of Southern California in urban planning, as well as a bachelor’s degree in regional development from the University of Arizona.