Santiago "Santi" Garces, driven by early experiences in his native Bogotá, Colombia, has
dedicated his career to make government work better for people through technology,
process, and design. As the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the City of Boston. Santi
served CIO in South Bend and Pittsburgh. Santi was named a Rising Star by Route Fifty,
Executive of the Year by LocalSmart, top AI 50 in Government, and a Doer, Dreamer and
Driver by GovTech Magazine and has received several awards for his work. A former
Schmidt Futures International Strategy Forum Fellow, he is a Data-Smart Fellow at
Harvard Kennedy School, and a Senior Fellow with the Burnes Center at Northeastern
and the GovLab, working with Beth Noveck to enable AI applications for social impact.
He also serves as a US representative to UN-Habitat as an expert on People-Centered
Smart Cities. Santi co-founded the innovation and talent incubator nonprofit, enFocus, in
South Bend. He served as a co-founding board member of the MetroLab Network.