Midyear Momentum

Midyear, we at Cityfi are energized by progress with our clients, in cities, and for our team. We are driven every day by a desire to make meaningful, systemic change - faster - for the benefit of people, planet, and equitable economic opportunity.

Every engagement with you proves to be exciting, fun, and impactful. As we build on our momentum going into the rest of the year, we would love to make additional connections with you and our ongoing work, your potential needs, and beyond.

The first-ever Mobility Innovation District is coming to DC, acting as a global innovation hub and advancing equitable access across the city. Cityfi is happy to be part of this effort and looks forward to the outcomes it will drive.

Below, meet the newest members of team Cityfi as we continue to grow our work and help distill civic complexity into smart strategies. We are always ready to support you, so don’t hesitate to reach out.

Finally, as we observe Juneteenth and reflect on the experiences of racially marginalized people in our nation, Cityfi recognizes there is much more to be done in order for our communities to be truly equitable, inclusive, and diverse. Our work as urban planners and strategists plays a role in affecting this progress, and we remain committed to supporting systems, policies, and investments that promote racial justice in our cities.

Have an awesome start to your summer!

Announcing DC’s Mobility Innovation District

Cityfi is excited to support the partnership between SWBID and the DC government on the creation of DC's Mobility Innovation District. The MID aspires to be the premier global hub for mobility by enabling companies to test technologies that improve quality of life and bolster the neighborhood economy. The MID will show how mobility innovation can make a city more equitable, sustainable, safe, and prosperous. It is both a living lab for startups and for establishing “Policy R&D” for emerging mobility technologies.

Advancing EV Charging Network Standards

The Federal Highway Administration announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for proposed minimum standards for projects devoted to the buildout of a national EV charging network. USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that charging an EV should be as “easy as filling up at a gas station,” and the Administration’s goal is to create a connected network that makes that experience a reality.

Knight Foundation Awards TechCongress $2.5M to Place Technologists in Congress

In efforts to modernize Congress, the nonpartisan TechCongress and their Congressional Innovation Fellowship, has placed 65 early and mid-level technologists in Republican and Democratic offices on Capitol Hill. Now, through a $2.5m investment by the Knight Foundation, TechCongress will bring upwards of 60 new technologists to the Hill by 2026, and increase representation of underrepresented groups in Congress.

Bentonville Takes Flight in UP.Summit

On the heels of the Heartland Summit, which brought together entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and business leaders - including our very own Senior Principal, Brandon Pollak - to discuss growing the innovation economy in places such as NW Arkansas, aerial mobility and autonomous vehicles took center stage at UP.Summit. The summit convened both startups and big companies that are developing new mobility solutions, such as Zipline, which is bringing health care needs to people in remote areas globally by drone delivery. Up. Partners Founder Cyrus Sigari, and Steuart and Tom Walton are leading efforts to turn Bentonville and NW Arkansas into a hub for the future of mobility.

New Team Members

With new business and projects coming in, we continue to grow our team. Today, we want to introduce you to Nicole, Mahreen and Sarah.

Nicole Davessar

As an Associate with Cityfi, Nicole Davessar advances sustainability and equity in urban environments by implementing creative policy solutions and promoting strategic business development. Her collaboration with clients in the public and private sectors supports initiatives to orient cities around their people and the environment. Nicole approaches her work with both analytical thinking and interpersonal skills that stem from her interdisciplinary background.

Nicole’s experience and education are at the intersection of policy, business, consulting, and technology. Prior to Cityfi, she was a Competitive Intelligence Associate Advisor in IBM’s Market Development & Insights (MD&I) group, advising executive stakeholders on the strategies of some of IBM’s most important competitors and partners. Nicole was selected to lead a highly visible team that analyzed racial injustice in industry and technological contexts and embedded these considerations in decision-making across IBM. Her previous role in MD&I was as a Digital and SaaS Analyst, devising diverse market analyses and recommendations for senior product, marketing, sales, and strategy leaders. Nicole lives in Brecksville, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.

Mahreen Alam

Mahreen Alam is a policy strategist striving to make cities more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive places to live. With a background in state and local government, community organizing, and policy based research, her interests lie in creating partnerships across sectors and connecting ideas and frameworks to create long lasting change. At Cityfi she leads project coordination, and supports design and policy research for smart city projects.

Before Cityfi, Mahreen worked in the Innovations division at the City of West Hollywood where she led projects on data sharing, electric vehicle chargers and Smart city bus shelters. She also worked with the City of Santa Monica’s mobility division to implement a platform to track data on travel behavior patterns through different technology modes. Mahreen holds a bachelors in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine and a Masters in Public Policy from the University of California Los Angeles.

Sarah Saltz

Sarah Saltz is a New York City-based urban planner and a seasoned project manager. She is passionate about social justice and mobility in the built environment, and she strives to create cities and neighborhoods that work for more people and the planet. Prior to joining Cityfi, she drove commercial and operational strategy at high-growth companies. She led market launch operations at curbFlow, a mobility technology startup, where she planned and led first-generation curb management pilots, partnering with city agencies and spearheading the creation of the go-to-market and pilot execution playbooks. Before this, she led teams, scaled operational processes, and spearheaded strategic account growth at AlphaSights, an information services firm.

She has also delivered projects for the local, state, and county government. While on NJ TRANSIT’s Transit Friendly Planning team, she worked on station-area planning and the development of the Transit Friendly Planning Handbook. With the NYC Department of Transportation's Policy Unit, she conducted case study research on electrification strategy and other key policy priorities. She also helped launch the Center for Active Design’s Active Design Guidelines 2.0 publication for city agencies. In 2022, she led the development of a transit-oriented development framework for the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning.