Board of Directors
Dan Correa
Chair of the Board
CEO, Federation of American Scientists
In 2019, Dan founded the Day One Project at FAS. Prior to joining FAS, he led the Technology and Public Policy Project at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute, an initiative to enlist leading technical and policy experts to develop actionable policy proposals across a range of cutting-edge international and domestic science and technology issues. He previously helped shape science and technology policy for the Obama Administration for nearly four years, serving as Assistant Director for Innovation Policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. At the White House, Correa developed the Administration’s innovation strategy and led government-wide science and technology initiatives that invested hundreds of millions of dollars in government innovation, R&D commercialization, smart cities, entrepreneurship, and more. Prior to joining the White House, Correa led development of technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation policy proposals at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington, D.C. think tank. He has also held the position of Kauffman Fellow in Law, Economics and Entrepreneurship at Yale Law School. He received a law degree from Yale Law School, a masters degree in economics from Yale University, and a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College.
Tom Schenk
Vice Chair of the Board Managing Director, KPMG
Tom Schenk Jr. is a researcher and author on applying technology, data, and analytics to make better decisions. He’s currently the director of analytics at KPMG where he leads the smart city and government analytics practice. He’s authored several publications, including a book on data visualization, book chapters on education research, and academic articles on a variety of subjects. Tom has previously served as Chief Data Officer for the City of Chicago, led education research for the State of Iowa, and has held a variety of positions within academia. Tom is the co-founder of the Civic Analytics Network at Harvard University’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. He is also the current co-organizer of the Chicago Data Visualization Group. His work has been featured in The Economist and Wall Street Journal while he’s been featured in television programs on PBS NewsHour and National Geographic Channel.
Karen Lightman
Board Treasurer
Executive Director, Metro21
Karen’s experience spans from economic development to leading worldwide coalitions based on emerging technologies. Recognized as a leader in the MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems) industry, Karen helped start and led the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG), the largest industry consortium solely focused on MEMS and sensors. Under her leadership, MSIG covered every sector of the MEMS value chain and successfully orchestrated several international conferences, workshops and tradeshows. Karen led the successful acquisition of MSIG by SEMI, the world’s largest semiconductor association. Karen has expertise with commercializing academic research, building industry-based consortiums and strategically leading teams to explore market-based opportunities. Her diverse background spans the consumer, military, healthcare, manufacturing, and automotive sectors. Karen is ranked by EETimes as one of the top 25 “Women in Tech.” She is a passionate advocate and spokesperson for her field, an internationally recognized keynote speaker and overall authority on the MEMS industry. Karen has a BA from the University of Vermont (UVM) and a MS in Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College. She and her family reside in Pittsburgh, PA.
Lisa Camp
Board SecretaryChief of Staff, Office of Provost, Case Western Reserve University
Lisa Camp provides leadership, management, and direction for new initiatives that play on the strengths of the faculty and meet specific societal problems or needs. Her creativity and flexibility allows her to lead teams toward new solution-sets that may not have originally been considered and re-design the systems in support of those solutions. Prior to joining CWRU, she served in leadership positions at Cleveland State University, operated her own grant development consulting company, and worked at a Washington, DC firm helping faculty from small liberal arts colleges engage with Federal grant agencies. Lisa has presented at numerous national conferences on subjects such as the role of strategy in research development; how to support student innovators in a regional ecosystem; managing industry, higher education, and nonprofit organizations on large projects; and the intersection of innovation, making, and manufacturing. Lisa attended Baldwin-Wallace University (English, BA) and Case Western Reserve University (Organizational Behavior and Development, MS).
Santiago Garces
Chief Information Officer, City of Boston
Santiago is Chief Information Officer at the City of Boston. He oversees the city’s Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) to provide and maintain mission-critical technologies for the city’s workforce and the constituents they serve. Prior to taking this role he was the Executive Director of the Department of Community Investment at the City of South Bend, Indiana. In that role, he managed the City of South Bend’s economic development and community planning efforts, including building and permitting code enforcement, housing programs and redevelopment efforts for the Rust Belt community.
He was previously the City of Pittsburgh’s Director of Innovation and Performance. Prior to that, he served as the Chief Innovation Officer for the City of South Bend. During his time there, he worked through the Office of Innovation to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of municipal services by developing talent, optimizing processes, and designing technology solutions. Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Mr. Garces holds degrees in Electrical Engineering, Political Science, and Technology Entrepreneurship from the University of Notre Dame.
Katharine Lusk
Co-Director, Boston University Initiative on Cities
Katharine Lusk is Co-Director and Founding Executive Director of the Boston University Initiative on Cities which spearheads university-wide programs and research, including the national Menino Survey of Mayors, place-based experiential learning for students and multi-stakeholder events. She has a track record of discipline-spanning research collaboration with public health researchers, environmental scientists, social workers, political scientists, data scientists and public officials. Katharine is passionate about busting silos, connecting people, respecting lived experience, and inspiring young people to pursue public service. She is a champion for urban research and education across BU, serving in advisory roles to the URBAN interdisciplinary doctoral program in Biogeoscience and Environmental Health, Spark!, the Data Science for Good Initiative, City Planning & Urban Affairs, the Institute for Sustainable Energy, and the Urban Climate Initiative. She is also on the board of the Boston Area Research Initiative, an inter-university consortium advancing research impact.
Emily Yates
Chief Innovation Officer, SEPTA
Emily is a highly skilled urban policy professional with over fifteen years of project management, economic development, sustainable planning, and design experience. She has advanced knowledge in the transatlantic urban agenda with a focus on resiliency and revitalization policy, facilitating cross-sector collaboration and partnerships, and implementing civic engagement strategies which have brought vibrancy to local communities.
Advisory Board
Betsy Hodges
Former Mayor of Minneapolis
Des McNulty
Vice Chair, Glasgow Commission for Economic Growth University of Glasgow
Marcia Hale
Chair, Building America’s Future Former White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs
Stephen Goldsmith
Director, Innovations in Government Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University 46th Mayor of Indianapolis
