Francis Pollara: Developing Smart Cities with Community and Digital Technology

IN-PERSON as well as ON ZOOM
8 AM Doors open for informal networking.
8:30 AM Presentation and Q&A moderated by Christy Conner, followed by meet-the-speaker and informal networking until 10 AM.
Zoom at 8:30 AM https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89664068984?pwd=MXFGU0JuYXdHTU83aXFrbDlGSDBldz09
Location: FoundrSpace, directions below, https://www.foundrspace.com
Note: Street parking generally free until 11 AM, check signs.

FRIDAY COFFEE MEETUP (FCM) is presented by Echo-Factory and Innovate Pasadena. This in-person event's generous host is FoundrSpace.

FRANCIS POLLARA: Developing Smart Cities with Community and Digital Technology

Summary: Mobility is the through-line that allows people to connect and participate in our communities and society at large. The way we move has a far deeper impact on our everyday lives than most people recognize. Mobility innovation is a social negotiation of space, how people get from one place to another, and what modes they use to get to their destinations. This innovation is controlled by government processes, policy conditions, and markets. Urban Movement Labs is a first-of-its-kind community-based nonprofit collaboration that brings together government, businesses, and the community to build equitable and sustainable transportation tech solutions in real urban conditions.

Bio: Francis Pollara is a strategy and innovation executive known for leading transformative projects for industry-leading organizations spanning the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Prior to co-founding Urban Movement Lab, he joined Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office as the entrepreneur-in-residence tasked with establishing a model to augment city government authority to advance transportation tech solutions in real urban conditions.

Francis is an investor and four-time founder with expertise in scaling organizations and establishing structure in startup and core corporate management functions. In 2019, he exited his third startup focused on community building, catalyzing relationships, and shared knowledge wealth. Additionally, he founded a leading early-stage venture firm Luma Launch, investing in 25+ Los Angeles tech scalable startups. He has served as an accelerator mentor for Starburst, Techstars, and Summit Series and is a regular speaker at conferences and private events on business transformation.

Just a note on our FCM location: You will recognize the address and place (FoundrSpace is in the Cross Campus location where we met pre-pandemic weekly for years).