Grace Simrall

Grace Simrall (She/Her/Hers)

Chief of Civic Innovation and Technology, Louisville Metro Government

Grace Simrall was named Chief of Civic Innovation and Technology for Louisville Metro Government in August 2016. She is responsible for advising the Mayor and leading the city’s Smart City, Broadband, and Digital Inclusion initiatives, transforming the resident experience of digital government, and facilitating co-creation of breakthrough civic innovations. Under her leadership, the city has received national recognition for their innovation work including 2017 Center for Digital Government - Most Innovative City, 2018 Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge Champion City, 2018 Smart Cities Council Readiness Challenge awardee, 2019 Microsoft Future of Work Initiative, 2020 What Works Cities Platinum certification status, and 2021 Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Mayors Challenge Champion City.

Most recently, the city was named a 2022 EDA Build Back Better Regional Challenge Finalist, one of 60 cities to do so out of 529 cities, based on the first-of-its-kind Brookings Institution plan commissioned by the city's Future of Work Initiative designed to benchmark the city's artificial intelligence (AI) positioning and preparedness titled "How Louisville can become a Stronger and more Equitable hub for AI and Data Economy Jobs."

Prior to this role, Simrall served as Executive Director of Innovation at Care Innovations, a joint venture between Intel and GE Healthcare, where she was responsible for the company’s innovation and analytics initiatives. In 2010, she founded iGlass Analytics, a startup focused on delivering data management and analytics solutions in the healthcare technology space.

Simrall earned a bachelor’s degree in the geophysical sciences from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Louisville’s Speed School of Engineering.