Sustainable cities, resilient cities, smart cities

Elle has spent her career making it easier for the public and private sectors to work together to solve problems. Prior to co-founding The Atlas, Elle served as the Director of Strategy & Partnership at re:focus partners, where she managed a $3 million grant program. She also served as Special Assistant and Communications Director in the U.S. EPA’s Office of International and Tribal Affairs, where she managed an initiative that facilitated city-to-city learning on urban innovation, designed a program that supported environmental entrepreneurship, and developed a strategy that educated stakeholders about EPA’s international success stories. Elle is a USMC spouse, dog-mom to Hugo and Charlie and lover of flat water.

Elle has an MBA with a marketing concentration from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and a B.A. in Public Policy from the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

Ellory leads city engagement in addition to product design and development at The Atlas. She has extensive experience working directly with local government officials to identify and implement strategies that solve complex infrastructure problems. Previously, Ellory was a Partner at re:focus partners, where she worked with cities and utilities to design and finance innovative stormwater management projects. Before that, Ellory held a fellowship at the Science and Technology Policy Institute, where she acted as the executive secretary of the Obama Administration’s Climate Data and Tools Initiative, and more broadly, provided analytical and technical support to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on a wide range of infrastructure, energy and environment issues. She frequently contributes to the ongoing conversation about cities, infrastructure and innovation in outlets like Architect Magazine and the Brookings Institution. Ellory is a USMC spouse and dog-mom to Gidget. She can be found hiking and gardening during her free time.

Ellory has a B.A. in Civil & Environmental Engineering and Public Policy with a minor in Water and Energy Sustainability from Rice University.

Angela provides technical vision and leadership at The Atlas, where she oversees all engineering activities. Angela has more than 9 years of professional full-stack web development experience and is passionate about using software to solve the world’s biggest problems. She is responsible for ensuring The Atlas platform creates value for all users and delivers on its mission to help cities and innovators connect to make communities safer, smarter and more sustainable. Previously, Angela worked in software startups where she gained experience managing teams while also prioritizing, designing and building technology solutions that deliver on business needs. Most recently, she was a Full Stack Software Engineer at Recovery Brands and prior to that, was Lead Web Developer for Smart Industries. Angela is dog-mom to Hamilton. She’s a San Diego-native who loves late nights and shooting pool.

Angela studied Ethnic Studies and Political Science at University of California, San Diego and received an Associate of Science (A.S.) in Web Development and Business Administration from Cuyamaca College.

Clarence leads engagement efforts with local government officials, staff and nonprofit members of The Atlas to disseminate best practices in local government. As Director of Community, Clarence brings nearly 30 years of experience within the public sector. He most recently served as the Director of Public Works for the City of Pearland, Texas where he provided direction for a team of approximately 150 dedicated staff serving the residents of Pearland through numerous divisions including Fleet, Right of Way, Streets & Drainage, Water Production, Wastewater Treatment, Distribution & Collections, Facilities Maintenance, Environmental Sciences and Administration.

His previous experience includes serving as the City of Houston Wastewater Operations Section for nearly 9 years in various roles including that of Assistant Director. Clarence also serves on the Board of Directors of the Gulf Coast Water Authority, is a Past President of the Texas Water Utilities Association Gulf Area District and is an Enviro Mentor for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Clarence holds degrees in Environmental Science and Music, as well as Class “A” licenses from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in both Water and Wastewater Treatment. Additionally, he earned the Certified Water Professional Credential from Texas A&M University.

Josh is the Director of Sales at The Atlas and brings over a decade’s worth of experience developing and leading sales orgs across several industries around the country. Prior to joining The Atlas, he ran a highly successful legal consulting firm where he assisted some of the most prestigious law firms in the world with growing their associate and partnership ranks. Before that, he was responsible for building a diverse and highly talented sales team for a prominent San Diego growth-stage SaaS company. Josh believes that investment in the people of an organization should be its number one priority, and that ongoing training and development is paramount to a team’s success. He is dedicated to growing the Partner relationships for The Atlas by helping private sector companies engage more effectively and efficiently with their public sector customers. In his free time, Josh enjoys golfing (poorly), cooking and spending time with his amazing wife, Kat.

Josh has a B.A. in Public Relations and Marketing from Texas State University with a minor in Business Administration.

As the director of growth, Marcos leads growth and experimentation at the Atlas. His goal is to use technology to help people. As a scientist, he saw that the pursuit of knowledge for academic publishing seldom or too slowly transferred to useful technologies to help society. This led him to industry, where he gained extensive experience in technical and business roles helping startups develop, test, and launch products.

He has helped businesses scale by growing their products to reach and impact users. In his previous roles, Marcos partnered with UX, engineering, and analytics teams to increase conversion rates for marketing and biotech firms. In his most recent role as a CRO specialist for an ecommerce company, he led experimentation and front-end development for A/B and multivariate testing. He leverages his scientific, engineering, and business backgrounds to provide unique insights and create innovative solutions for the Atlas.

Marcos received his Bachelor of Science and Masters in Bioengineering at Rice University, along with brief apprenticeships from Stanford and Columbia University.

Grey wears a couple hats for the Atlas, currently focusing on front-end development & processes as well the occasional design for new features. He enjoys building software that makes an impact to business goals and loves to track progress towards them.

He has 7 years experience with web development at companies ranging from E-Commerce agencies to mid-sized SAAS businesses, where he gained his technical chops but picked up auxiliary skills like project management, mentoring, and software architecture planning. Most recently, Grey worked as a Lead Software Engineer for Classy.org, where he planned and led top-priority engineering projects, while communicating with stakeholders and offering creative and timely solutions to keep them on track. Grey also acted as a manager to 3 reports and contributed to the department with knowledge sharing, increased code documentation and process improvements.

To recharge, Grey enjoys walking his dog Alfredo, surfing, or creating something physical (painting, woodworking).

Grey received an Associate of Science in Web Development from Cuyamaca College.

As Content Marketing Manager, Rachel oversees the internal and external content strategy and communications for The Atlas. She enjoys developing strategies that maximize exposure for both the brand itself and the audiences it serves. Previously, she worked on the marketing team at Government Executive Media Group where she wrote strategic sales proposals and marketing collateral and managed all client-facing communications. Most recently, she oversaw brand strategy for a prominent entertainment industry aggregate site before transitioning to strategic partnership fundraising for a Los Angeles based non-profit. In her off-time, Rachel enjoys going to museums, seeing live music, watching films, and getting outdoors as much as possible.

Rachel has a Bachelor of Science, Psychology from Arizona State University with a certification in Business Writing.

Jenny joined The Atlas to act as a bridge between the design and development world. Using both their UI/UX and software engineering chops, they help drive us forward by marrying the principles of usability, accessibility, and aesthetics with technology. They have over six years of professional experience in multiple industries and all over the technical stack but found their passion empathizing with the user’s needs and translating them into codebases. Most recently, Jenny worked as a Full Stack Software Engineer for a social enterprise that helps nonprofits maximize their impact. Here, they built a suite of world-class online fundraising tools and provided direction and mentorship to the web development team.

In their spare time, Jenny can be found illustrating, dancing, DJing, or hanging out with their three-legged rescue pup, Indy.

Jenny received an Associate of Science in Computer Information Systems from Victor Valley College.

David works as a backend engineer for The Atlas, bringing multiple years of experience as both a Software Engineer, as well as a Quality Engineer. He has many interests in the software engineering field and is always excited to learn and grow as a person. He has experience using a wide range of technical stacks and he prides himself on his ability to learn new skills. Most recently, David worked at a contracting company that allowed him to work on a variety of projects. These projects consisted of team sizes ranging from 2 up to 15 people, and utilized a wide range of technologies, such as various front end libraries like Angular and React, as well as Devops tools like Kubernetes and Openshift. Here, he was able to use his technical abilities and strong collaboration skills to help secure additional contracts to allow the company to grow. He calls upon this engineering experience to help make the Atlas as great as it can be.

In his spare time, David enjoys rock climbing, playing the drums, basketball, and watching films.

David received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Dr. Vajjhala is widely recognized as a thought leader in resilient infrastructure design and finance. Shalini currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of re:focus partners. Previously, she served as Visiting Associate Professor of Environmental Policy at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Special Representative in the Office of Administrator Lisa Jackson at the US Environmental Protection Agency, Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of International & Tribal Affairs at the US EPA and Deputy Associate Director for Energy & Climate at the Obama Administration’s White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Shalini received her Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy and B.Arch in Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University.

Michael, a 2-term Mayor and 15-year veteran of Philadelphia’s City Council, has dedicated his life to public service and urban innovation. Since leaving government, Mayor Nutter has maintained active involvement in media, public policy, politics, business, and academia across the country. His work includes serving as a Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University’s SIPA, is a political contributor at CNN, Senior Fellow for Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities program, and Chair of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Equity Advisory Council. In addition, he serves as a Code for America Board member, Distinguished Non-Resident Senior Fellow in Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, and continues to work with mayors all across the United States through US Conference of Mayors, where he previously served as President, National League of Cities, and Cities United, which he created while mayor of Philadelphia.

Michael has a B.A. in Economics from University of Pennsylvania’s The Wharton School of Business, and Honorary Doctorates in Public Service from Drexel University and Saint Joseph’s University.

RJ, a former two-term Mayor of Albuquerque, is known for his innovative approach to government. His passion for bringing diverse groups together to solve persistent and complex urban challenges resulted in efficiency measures that produced $34 million in taxpayer savings, expanded use of public-private partnerships, streamlined infrastructure planning and financing, and improvements in educational attainment and workforce development. He oversaw $1.2 billion dollars in infrastructure and public projects during his tenure, including everything from smart city systems such as LED streetlight conversions and renewable energy projects, to more traditional infrastructure like road upgrades and airport improvements. He also oversaw the development of America’s first all-electric bus rapid transit system. Prior to public service, RJ was an accomplished entrepreneur who grew several construction and design/build companies. Since leaving government, RJ has continued his associations with organizations that support urban innovation and the development of next generation’s public-sector leaders including: Cities of Service, Results4America, What Works Cities, Harvard City Leadership Initiative and Yale’s Chief Executive Leadership Institute.

RJ has a BA in Finance and Administration from University of New Mexico.