Debra Lam

Founding Executive Director of the Partnership, Inclusive Innovation

Debra Lam is the Founding Executive Director of the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation, a statewide public-private partnership committed to investing in innovative solutions. She also continues to lead smart communities and urban innovation work at Georgia Tech. She founded the Georgia Smart Community Challenge, the first statewide effort in the nation that empowers communities of all sizes to become smarter. Prior to this, she served as Pittsburgh’s inaugural Chief of Innovation & Performance where she oversaw all technology, sustainability, performance, and innovation functions of city government. Before that, she was a management consultant at a global engineering and design firm, Arup. She has received various awards, including being named one of the top 100 most influential people in digital government by Apolitical. She has worked and lived in the United Kingdom, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. A graduate of Georgetown University and the University of California, Berkeley, Debra serves on the MetroLab Network and Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta.