Denise Linn Riedl

Mayor Pete Buttigieg named Denise the Chief Innovation Officer for the City of South Bend (IN) at the end of January 2019. Previously, Denise was in charge of Ecosystem Development at Chicago’s City Tech Collaborative. Denise has diverse experiences in telecommunications policy and planning, digital inclusion, and emerging smart city technologies. During her Benton Fellowship, she will ask: As cities strive to be “smarter,” and more and more technology is placed in the public way, how can we make sure smart city projects (whether they are IoT sensors, small cell deployments, WiFi Kiosks, or other new fixtures to our neighborhoods) are planned with residents and align with the public interest? Denise is the co-author, with Blair Levin, of The Next Generation Network Connectivity Handbook: A Guide for Community Leaders Seeking Affordable, Abundant Bandwidth (December 2016). In 2020, Denise joined Benton's Board of Directors.

Denise's Publications:

Toward Inclusive Urban Technology: Lessons, cases, and resources developed by local technology champions and planners

Smart Cities, Inclusive Technology, and Public Service

State of Broadband 2020

Inclusion and Civic Engagement in Public Technology Building and Planning

The Next Generation Network Connectivity Handbook (with Blair Levin)