Biography
Dr. Norman Jacknis
Dr. Jacknis has decades of executive and leadership experience in the public and private sectors. He has successfully led organizations to adopt innovations, creatively use technology, and embrace data-driven cultures.
Dr. Jacknis is currently Professor of Practice in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship program in the D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University. Prior to that, for eight years, he was on the full- time faculty of Columbia University, teaching machine learning and artificial intelligence, as well as product design, in its Executive Master’s degree program for technology leaders. He is also Senior Fellow of the global Intelligent Community Forum, where he has worked for years with regional/state and local public officials and businesses on the intelligent use of technology to improve quality of life and the built environment.
Prior to his current roles, starting in 2008, Dr. Jacknis was an executive at Cisco, Director, IBSG Group, where he worked extensively with governments and businesses around the world on innovative strategies and uses of new technologies. This included extensive consulting with major global telecommunications companies, the US Conference of Mayors and the County Executives Association, among other groups and corporations. With the mayors, he worked on creating new urban destinations and experiences that would help re-define cities in the Internet and AI age.
Before joining Cisco, he served more than ten years as Chief Information Officer and commissioner of Westchester County, NY government, where he was responsible for all technology, analytics/machine learning, Internet and broadband activities, as well as technology-based economic development.
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”. Under his leadership, Westchester County won numerous awards, including the Center for Digital Government’s top ten digital counties in the country, American City & County's Crown Communities Award for technology and was selected as one of the top seven Intelligent Communities in the world.
Among many activities beyond his work, he is Chairman Emeritus and former President of the regional chapter of the national association of chief information and technology officers (SIM) as well as Vice Chair of the Westchester County Community College Board Of Trustees.
Although not a librarian, but as a library trustee, he has held many leadership positions in libraries. These have included President of the Metropolitan New York Library Council for a decade, President of the New York State Library Trustees Association, Chairman of the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries, advisor to the Aspen Institute program on the future of libraries and an advisor on a project of the US Institute of Museum and Library Services on the civic role of libraries.
His publications and presentations include “Humanizing Data: Using Big Data and Open Data to Engage, Help and Serve the Community”, “Beyond Smarter City Infrastructure – The New Urban Experience” in the Smarter Cities for a Brighter Sustainable Future – A Global Perspective,
“Government’s Role In Facilitating An Innovative Economy” for the International Journal on Innovation Science and the keynote address at the Beyond Data European Conference, among others.
Dr. Jacknis received his Doctorate, Master's and Bachelor's degrees from Princeton University. He also studied for a semester at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda and has graduated from executive courses at Harvard University.