Webinar: Cultivate A Data-Driven Culture Backed by AI

Nick Mastronardi, PhD is a public servant, academic and CEO of Polco. Prior to founding Polco, Nick served as a Senior Economist at Amazon, in the same role on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers in the White House, and 10 years as an active duty Air Force officer including time on faculty at the Air Force Academy. Nick earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin, and still serves in the Air Force Reserves. Nick also was honored to be selected for Stanford’s Hoover Institution inaugural Veteran Fellowship Program, and is proud to continue his relationship with Stanford's Hoover Institution VFP as a faculty fellow. Dedicated to helping cities advance public participation, Mastronardi brought together the best minds in government technology, civic analytics and interactive engagement to create Polco. After Nick and his colleagues spent time at some of the best tech companies and working in local government, they wanted to bring world-class communication technology to the civic process. Now, hundreds of organizations nationwide use Polco for strategic planning, budgeting, and empowering resident voices. Polco makes civil, verified community engagement online not only possible, but accessible.

With over fifteen years of experience as a government innovation expert, I help organizations create and sustain a culture of creativity, empowerment, and results. I am the CEO and author of Sustainovation, a definitive guide and a growing community of practitioners on building innovation in government for the benefit of the citizens. I have keynoted, trained, consulted, or facilitated in over 100 communities across the country, teaching hands-on techniques and sharing inspiring stories on how to make ideas a reality and break the bureaucracy.

I partner with teams across the country on building high-performance operations, including building effective and innovative teams, efficient processes, creating measurable, actionable results, being clear and accountable, and engaging the community. This includes over 3 dozen training topics, a network of specialized partners, and tools like performance measurement, process improvement, prioritization, creativity, productivity, strategic planning, and citizen engagement, using data-driven and lean methodologies. I am passionate about transforming the public sector into a high-performing, transparent, and accountable entity that serves the common good.

I believe in the power of Team Us, and I strive to make innovation fun, effective, and sustainable.

Experienced Human Resources Director with a demonstrated history of working in the government administration industry and private sector. Strong human resources professional skilled in Succession Planning, Organizational Development, Conflict Resolution, Recruiting, Compensation, Benefits, Wellness and Public Policy.

Communications Director Angelica Wedell has worked in multimedia communications for over ten years and is an Online Marketing Certified Professional (OMCP). She enjoys leading the communications efforts and strategies of Polco, networking and speaking professionally at conferences and events across the country, leading content initiatives for Polco and partner syndicates, and producing and co-hosting The Civil Review Podcast. Wedell is award-winning, served as a curriculum advisor for Colorado State University (CSU) Journalism and Media Communication, and has been named among the top 100 local government influencers by Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL). Wedell believes local governments need reliable civic data and community engagement to make evidence-based decisions and improve everyday residents' quality of life.