Debra Lam is the managing director of Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation, a role created in 2018 to forge a path of innovation and next-generation planning and data analytics that will help transform cities throughout the world into smarter, more efficient places to live and work. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Lam served as chief innovation and performance officer for the City of Pittsburgh, where she led developments in innovation, open data, and resilience.
Lam is responsible for actively engaging with government and industry partners. One of the key initiatives is the Georgia Smart Communities Challenge (Georgia Smart), which provides funding and technical assistance for local governments within the state of Georgia.
Georgia Smart supports cities, counties, and consolidated city–county governments to explore the use, deployment, or integration of smart community technologies into their jurisdictions and operations. These technologies include intelligent infrastructures, information and communication technologies, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and other computational or digital technologies, such as data centers and portals, web and smartphone applications, and automated digital services.
Georgia Smart is organized by Georgia Tech in partnership with the Global City Teams Challenge and 10 business and government organizations in Georgia.
Learn more about the Georgia Smart Communities Challenge here.