Shelby Switzer, the first hire for the Scott Administration's new Digital Services Team, will start in this role January 9, 2023

BALTIMORE, MD. (Tuesday, January 3, 2023) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced the hiring of Shelby Switzer as the director of the City of Baltimore's Digital Services Team. Switzer will begin in this new role January 9, 2023.

"I have been very clear about my commitment to modernizing our technology and improving the delivery of core city services," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "Shelby's hiring is a major step in ensuring that we're on the right path and I look forward to seeing how they will lend their knowledge and experience to help my administration develop and implement a more holistic and comprehensive approach to digital transformation."

In September 2022, Mayor Scott announced a $2.1 million investment from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to create the City's first digital services team, which will combine technologists and designers and bring a fresh approach to technology for residents to access benefits and services. The team, which will include a product manager, lead developer, and lead user experience (UX) designer, will be charged with building human-centered digital services that increase access and reduce disparities. Digital service teams are being created throughout the U.S. at all levels of government and are demonstrating that online access to services and tools can be simple, inexpensive, and quickly deployed. The team will build on the progress Baltimore City Office of Information & Technology (BCIT) has made in the City's digital transformation.

Prior to joining the City, Switzer was a fellow at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University. There, they led the Intergovernmental Software Collaborative to share software across governments to improve outcomes for the public while reducing time, risk, and costs. Prior to their time with the Beeck Center, Switzer spent three years building software with the U.S. Digital Services, whose contributions included software and data services for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, launching infrastructure for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and providing technical leadership to the Justice40 initiative.

Switzer received their Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts from the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.

Switzer will report to Chief Data Officer Justin Elszasz, who was named to his current role in Spring 2021. Elszasz believes Switzer is the innovative person needed to usher in this work.

"I'm thrilled to have Shelby aboard to lead this exciting effort. They bring a wealth of civic technology experience at the federal level combined with community organizing and I can't wait to see what they accomplish for our City residents," Elszasz said.