Riverside, CA, 2012 Intelligent Community of the Year, boasts the first comprehensive public high school in California, and the third in the nation, to go all digital, replacing several hundred dollars worth of textbooks for each student with a single android tablet computer and transforming learner relationships.

Christian Long, Cannon Design and The Third Teacher Vice President, is an educational strategist assisting communities around the world in the visioning and design process.

Dr. Norman Jacknis, Director, Cisco’s IBSG Public Sector Group (the company’s open innovation and strategic advisory group), is a globally recognized expert in government innovation and transformation. Government Technology Magazine selected him as one of the nation’s “Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers who, using technology … broke bureaucratic inertia to better serve the public.“ At Cisco he has worked extensively and in-depth with the National Association of Counties and the US Conference of Mayors. For the Mayors, he is developing a strategy for the economic viability of American cities in 2030. In addition to his work on economic development, he has also worked with governments on the creation of collaborative environments for citizens to deliver public services.

Dan Mathieson has been the Mayor of Stratford Ontario (an Intelligent Community Forum Top 7 Community) since 2003. Mr. Mathieson is on the Advisory Board of the University of Waterloo-Stratford Campus, a Canadian Centre of Excellence for Digital Media; a founding Director of the Stratford Institute for Digital Media; Chair of the City of Stratford ICF Smart City Committee; a board member of the Festival Hydro and Rhyzome Networks, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and Kings University College at the University of Western Ontario. He is an entrepreneur in various sectors, including software development and strategic planning, and is a noted speaker on Smart City growth and economy for digital development.

Steve Reneker is the executive director of SmartRiverside, a non-profit charged with making the city an incubator and economic hub for start-ups.  Taking the reins as CIO in 2004 and using his unique dual role, he collaborated with local businesses and educational institutions to solidify Riverside as a digital destination.  Since 2006, Riverside has topped eRepublic’s Digital Cities Survey, which recognizes technical excellence.   For two consecutive years Riverside was named to the ICF Top 7 and this year was awarded Intelligent Community of the Year as a result of competition with over 400 communities around the world.

Lev Gonick is Vice President for Information Technology Services and Chief Information Officer at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Lev is  co-chair of the CIO Executive Council's higher education committee and co-chair of Cisco's Higher Education Executive Exchange. In 2004 Lev and Case Western Reserve University founded what is today known as OneCommunity, the award-winning regional community network now reaching 22 counties in Northeast Ohio. He received the 2010 National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisory (NATOA) annual award for Community Visionary of the Year. In 2009 Case Western Reserve University began extending gigabit fiber to the home in Cleveland's inner city.