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Abhi has built, led, and grown many of the most influential GovTech institutions, including Code for America, Mayor of Los Angeles' Office of Data, and Sacramento's Office of Entrepreneurship. Most recently, as an advisor and investor through EthosLabs, Abhi has helped companies grow from a handful of government clients to thousands, serving tens of millions of people worldwide, including Granicus/GovDelivery, SPIDRTech, and ZenCity, and he has developed funding, evaluation, and M&A strategies for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Arnold Foundation, Welsch Carson (WCAS), and ONEX Partners. A philosophy undergrad, Abhi holds graduate credentials in business from Stanford (eMBA), public administration from USC Price (MPA), and advanced finance from The Wharton School (AFP). Abhi has taught public innovation at the University of Chicago, and he has been featured as a speaker at SxSW, TEDx, the World Bank, and numerous convenings around the world.

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Full Biography

Abhi Nemani is a government technology advisor, educator, and operator, who has built and led Code for America, the Mayor of Los Angeles' Office of Data & Analytics, and Sacramento's Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

He currently runs a government technology consultancy called EthosLabs.us to scale up public innovation through scalable GovTech startups through hands-on consulting, advising, and investing. EthosLabs.us' portfolio includes multiple exits and has collectively helped over 10,000 governments and roughly 500M+ people.

Previously, Mayor Kevin Johnson of Sacramento appointed him as interim Chief Innovation Officer to build out the city's budding startup sector, through venture investments, grants, and partnerships. Before that, he served as the first Chief Data Officer for the City of Los Angeles, where he led the city's efforts to build an open and data-driven LA. As CDO, Abhi led Los Angeles to the #1 ranking for US open data cities and mobilized LA's growing developer community through multiple events and challenges to put that data to work. To drive innovation within city hall, Abhi built a nationally-recognized Mayoral Dashboard, led data and analytics trainings for city staff, and piloted data science projects to address key policy issues.

Prior to joining LA's Mayors Office, he helped build, launch, and run the national non-profit, Code for America, a technology organization dedicated to reinventing government for the 21st century. Abhi led CfA’s product strategy as its teams tackled local government challenges ranging from transparency and business licensing to food stamps and public safety. He also led the organization's efforts to scale through building multiple new programs: a first-of-its-kind civic startup accelerator, an international volunteer corps, and a collaborative network for hundreds of government innovators. Additionally, Abhi developed the organization’s policy portfolio — working hand-in-hand with area experts and local leaders — to enact over 30 municipal policy reforms on topics including open data, healthcare, and procurement.

Abhi has also worked with various philanthropies including the Knight Foundation and the Arnold Foundation. He is also an advisor and investor in multiple govtech startups, including CityGrows, SPIDR Tech, GovDelivery, ZenCity, and POLCO.

Abhi is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College with Honors in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE), the Stanford University Graduate School of Business (eMBA), The USC Price School (MPA), and the Wharton School (AFP). In the past, Abhi has taught civic technology at the University of Chicago. Abhi's work has been featured in the New York Times, Government Technology, Government Executive, and Forbes, and he has been featured as a speaker at SxSW, the World Bank, and various universities and conferences around the world.

Individual Honors & Acknowledgements

  • Blair Award for State and Local Government
  • Truman National Security Project Partner
  • Harrison Fellow, Salvatori Center for the Study of Individual Freedom in the Modern World
  • Edward J. Sexton Fellow for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
  • Board of Advisors, Twilio.org
  • Member, Future of Urban Development Initiative of the World Economic Forum

Recognition & Honors for Code for America

  • Government Technology Magazine: Changemakers
  • 2012 MDC Partners & Wired Humanitarian Award
  • MIT Lynch Award for Urban Affairs
  • 2012 Oxford Internet and Society Award
  • White House Champions of Change
  • Multiple Knight News Challenge Selections

Case Studies