LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Mayor Eric Garcetti today appointed former NASA budget manager Jeanne Holm to serve as a deputy mayor to assist with the city's financial recovery from COVID-19 and its technological needs.
With more than 30 years of experience in technology innovation, data science and management, Holm most recently served as the city's chief data officer and the mayor's senior technology adviser, and she will lead Garcetti's Office of Budget and Innovation.
“Strong and creative leadership is absolutely critical to navigating an unprecedented pandemic, deep economic devastation and a severe fiscal crisis, and I have no doubt that Jeanne Holm will be a powerful force in steering our city toward a future of equity and resilience,'' Garcetti said.
“Jeanne has dedicated her career to deploying data, technology and innovation to serve the best interests of Angelenos and all Americans, and I look forward to tapping into her experience and insights to meet the needs of our residents now and in the years to come.''
According to the mayor's office, Holm created the city's Telecommunications and Digital Equity Forum, established key partnerships with telecommunications companies and led the OurCycleLA program, all of which serve to help the lowest-income residents.
“I'm honored and excited to work with Mayor Garcetti to lift up Angelenos by leveraging the best of our city's innovation, dedicated workforce and resources,'' Holm said. “As we face the challenges from this pandemic head-on, we will continue to be guided by the principles of equity and justice to create opportunities for every Angeleno.''
Prior to joining the city of Los Angeles in 2016, Holm worked at NASA, where she led large-scale budget changes during government downsizing that saved hundreds of millions of dollars while improving service and innovation across the agency, Garcetti said.
As an appointed Open Data Evangelist for the Obama administration, she led the development of Data.gov, which, by releasing open government data, led to $3 trillion in economic growth in the United States.
Holm succeeds Miguel Sangalang as deputy mayor and will build on his leadership in redefining and streamlining the daily operations of local government, developing the city's open data portal, reforming procurement processes, making service deployment more equitable and bringing more public services online, Garcetti said.
The office also oversees the annual city budget and six departments with more than 3,000 employees.
Sangalang leaves the mayor's office to serve as interim general manager of the Bureau of Street Lighting within the Department of Public Works, where he will deepen his focus on expanding neighborhood smart technologies and lighting infrastructure improvements, including 5G, electric vehicle chargers and air quality sensors.
“Miguel Sangalang has been a central figure in transforming government operations and maximizing our performance for Angelenos,'' Garcetti said. “He is a consummate public servant and a dynamic leader for our city, and he will bring that same determination, dedication and expertise to the task of modernizing our infrastructure and making our Bureau of Street Lighting more efficient and innovative in every way.''
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