Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen Sanders.
Hi Jen, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story starts in Washington DC, where my dad worked for the EPA and my mom as a labor & delivery nurse, so it’s probably safe to say that sustainability and service are in my blood! When I was seven and my dad was working on clean air programs, I drew a picture of my solution idea – putting vacuums on airplanes to suck up the bad air and clean it – I still think it’s got potential! I’m so grateful to my parents for instilling hard work, kindness, faith and humility as anchors in life. A shy kid, I devoured every book I could get my hands on and found one of my loves in basketball in elementary school [now I scream at the tv during college basketball season, not so dominant on the blacktop].
We moved from DC to Chicago as I was starting middle school – a rough time to be a new kid, or really, a kid at all –it helped me learn to be resilient, come out of my shell and create a new world… I’m still soft-spoken but don’t let that fool you! In college, I became really involved in University Programs Council, which planned events, concerts, speaker series and orientation and learned how much I loved creating experiences that brought people together and served the community. As I approached graduation, I wanted to work in communications and ultimately fundraising, and I also knew I wanted to experience a new city and have another ‘fish out of water’ challenge. When a job came up in Dallas, it felt about as different a spot as I’d find. I thought I’d be here for a few years and move back to Chicago, but lo and behold… that was almost 16 years ago. Do I count as a native Texan now?
What really struck me about Dallas was that it was still a young city, and figuring it who and what it wanted to be. The thought of anchoring myself here and being a part of that evolution was a big part of why I stayed, particularly as I continued to meet incredible people and organizations committed to creating that future.
In 2014, I was a part of the Mayor’s Star Council, which seeks to develop young leaders who are looking to more deeply serve the city. I learned so much about Dallas that year – its challenges, how the city works, and perhaps the most valuable element was that I got to know many of the leaders and organizations who are in the trenches supporting our friends and neighborhoods. This year changed the trajectory of my life and career here in Dallas. While working in consulting, I started to see this convergence between my clients in technology, energy, and economic development. It discussed the need to integrate sustainability, big data, technology and community to create a “smart city.” I was immediately hooked on this emerging concept. In 2015, Trey Bowles and I were having a conversation about how Dallas really has an opportunity to get ahead of the curve with smart cities, and if we did, could drive tremendous impact. Conversations with city leadership ultimately led to the creation of the Dallas Innovation Alliance, and within a year, I was blessed to become its Executive Director. It’s been a wild but immensely fulfilling ride.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Pre-2015, I knew my current career wasn’t my “lifetime” path, but I had no idea what that path was – or how I would make that jump. As my curiosity and passion for the smart cities movement took shape, and we worked to establish DIA, I knew this was my purpose to serve the city and find innovative ways to prepare it for the future. I now joke that the best way to make a career transition is to create a position, then go figure out how to use your tools to make it successful! Given that very few cities had embarked on smart cities at that time, there was no blueprint, so there was a lot of building the plane while we were flying it, which was out of my comfort zone and has continued to push me in ways that make me better at walking through fear and relying on the wisdom of our partners to bring best minds together and tackle the mission together.
As a woman in a male-dominated industry, I’ve had many of the challenges that most will share with you. Whether misogynistic, inappropriate, dismissive or just being ignored, there is still work to be done in changing those dynamics, not just in tech but throughout the whole landscape. Some of this will naturally come generationally and as the conversation (hopefully) continues to have a focus in public forums. I’m grateful to the women who walked this trail before me, and hope that we can continue to create further progress for those who come after. I’m keenly aware that there are others, particularly women of color, whose experiences are far deeper and more pervasive. We need to actively support, empower and guide women to reach these goals. We need to be advocates for ourselves and for each other.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Dallas Innovation Alliance (DIA) is a 501(c)3 public-private partnership dedicated to supporting the design and execution of the City of Dallas’ smart cities strategy. We define a smart city as one that lives at the intersection of date, technology and community to improve quality of life, economic development, and resource efficiencies. Essentially – how do we use new tools to catalyze solutions to our toughest challenges? Our goal is to help elevate Dallas as a city that is not only prepared for – but a driving force in shaping – the future of cities and providing opportunities for prosperity for all citizens. Through collaboration, we develop and test innovative solutions. We work with three dozen organizations across the public, private, civic and academic sectors, and I am extremely proud of the collaboration and alignment around the ‘north star’ that has been created amongst all of these partners. The DIA’s “Smart Cities Living Lab” in the West End Historic District in Downtown Dallas is comprised of ten integrated projects down a six-block corridor [including the Woodall Rogers underpass] and is the fastest-to-market smart cities initiative in the country. Throughout this process, we have been able to both share and learn from dozens of cities all over the world on best-practices – and lessons learned.
For the last three years, our focus has been on working with communities in South and Southern Dallas to support and test solutions to challenges in mobility, the digital divide, and public safety. Last year, COVID brought the stark reality of the digital divide into the forefront, and it has been so powerful seeing organizations large and small come together to execute immediate solutions while embarking on the massive work to drive long-term solutions for access, affordability and training. One of our digital inclusion projects, the Mobile Learning Lab, is an old school bus converted into a classroom that travels to ‘bus stops’ in South Dallas to provide Wi-Fi, homework and enrichment support to help close the homework gap, and providing experiential learning away from screens. It always gets a reaction when people catch me driving that big blue bus – always picking up skills!
Some of the things I’m most proud of are that the DIA is creating a new model for how cities can approach innovation and essentially create an independent R&D arm to prove out technologies prior to scaling. We’ve been approached to share our story all over the world. We’ve had to make choices and plunge forward knowing that there would be failures along the way… I’m a risk-adverse person, so this really pushed me. Being a part of a concept that can really transform every aspect of daily life – whether city efficiencies, the way citizens are served, conserving natural resources, preparing the future workforce, closing gaps in access to opportunity and beyond, I feel so lucky to be a part of this movement.
Any big plans?
I’m so optimistic and energized by the potential to explore leveraging innovative ways to improve quality of life in our region, using these new tools and technology to get there faster There is lots of work ahead, but we have the right people and organizations focused on aligned to make huge progress. We’ve always known that the next step would be to take a regional approach, North Texas boundaries are so permeable that finding solutions that cross jurisdictions is such a critical step. Last year we launched the North Texas Innovation Alliance – basically the DIA on steroids – and are seeing the example and drive for collaboration take flight quickly. Finally, as we hear from other organizations seeking support in smart cities, we’ve begun provide counsel to them through InnoCity Partners. I’m excited to continue this journey and playing a part in progress in improving systems, infrastructure and technology to serve cities and their residents around the country. Who knows what the future holds – life takes crazy turns – but staying focused on the mission. Finally, like many of us – I’m desperately looking forward to lots of travel, concerts and hugs as soon as we cycle out of the pandemic!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dallasinnovationalliance.com
- Instagram: @dallassmartcity
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/dallasinnovationalliance
- Twitter: @dallassmartcity @jensanders212
- LinkedIn: www.
linkedin.com/in/ jenniferhsanders - Other: www.ntxia.org
