AEC Hackathon Nears, Special Guests, Final Agenda Set

| Feb 27, 2015

WHAT IS THE AEC HACKATHON? Co-founder Paul Doherty says this short video captures the spirit of the event as a place to share ideas and see what happens when they collide. “The energy of innovation feeds a beehive of activity and creativity… this is the AEC Hackathon!”

With the buzz now building for Chicago’s first built environment coding competition, BuiltWorlds and the nonprofit AEC Hackathon are pleased to announce that both the former and current chief technology officers for the City of Chicago, John Tolva and Brenna Berman, will participate in the awards finale on Sunday, March 8.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with this development,” says Matt Abeles, BuiltWorlds managing director. “Mr. Tolva has been a great supporter of ours from early on, but Commissioner Berman’s addition helps to raise the profile of this community even higher.”

Now Chicago’s Chief Information Officer, Commissioner Berman sits atop the Dept. of Innovation & Technology (DoIT). After more than 10 years with IBM, she joined Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration in 2011 as Deputy Budget Director focused on enterprise initiatives and performance management. After a year in that role, she transitioned to DoIT as 1st Deputy Commissioner to focus on enterprise IT consolidation and operational excellence.

CIO Brenna Berman

Over the past year at DoIT, Berman has focused on transforming the team at DoIT to align with the Mayor’s commitment to an open and data-driven government, building Chicago’s open data program into one of the largest in the country, implemented the ground-breaking “WindyGrid” spatial analytics platform into every level of government, integrating advanced analytics and real-time data-driven decision making across the city, and setting a new standard for government IT.

 Fellow IBM alum Tolva

Her predecessor, John Tolva, was the city’s first-ever CTO, named to that role by Mayor Emmanuel early in his first term. Before joining the city, Tolva also had worked at IBM for over 13 years. There, he served as the multinational’s Director of Citizenship & Technology, where he led its City Forward project, a public analytics site for city data worldwide, and was a leader in their “smarter cities” practice advising mayors on how to take advantage of new technology.

Now president of PositivEnergy Practice, Tolva is no stranger to BuiltWorlds. In December 2014, he moderated our popular program, The Big Idea: Experience Data, which featured expert presentations and a lively Q&A on the compelling, evolving and all-encompassing modern world of Big Data. “We are energized to be within BuiltWorlds’ orbit,” says Tolva, referring to his firm, which he also founded. “Our vision for a smarter, more sustainable future begins with just the sort of collaboration and creativity that BW is promoting.”

At our upcoming Hackathon, Tolva will take the stage at 2 pm on Sunday, March 8, and then introduce Berman and the awards presentations that will conclude the weekend program.

For more information on the event, including the updated, final agenda, click here.

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