Jennifer Sanders

Jennifer Sanders is Cofounder and Executive Director of the North Texas Innovation Alliance, a 501c3 public-private partnership which will be the largest such initiative in the U.S., with the mission of creating the most connected, smart and resilient region in the country. In 2015, she cofounded the Dallas Innovation Alliance (DIA) a 501c3 public-private partnership dedicated to supporting Dallas’ smart cities strategy and currently serves as its Executive Director. DIA’s Smart Cities Living Lab is the fastest-to-market smart cities initiative in the country.

She is actively involved with numerous civic organizations, serving as Past-President of the Mayor’s Star Council, Vice Chairman of Better Block, among others. She currently serves on the Advisory Boards of Mastercard City Possible, Digital Texas, and Southwestern Medical District Master Plan. In 2019, she received the UN Day Global Leadership Award for SDG 9, has been named to Dallas Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 and Top Women in Technology, State Scoop’s Top Women in Technology, and Tech Week 100. She graduated from the University of Virginia.

Prior to these roles, she spent more than a decade in public affairs and change management consulting for clients in finance, energy, technology and economic development, among others. In 2019, she received the UN Day Global Leadership Award for advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the category of Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure).  She has been named to the Dallas Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 and Top Women in Technology, State Scoop’s Top Women in Technology, the Tech Week 100, and the Dallas 500. She has been honored to speak to groups at conferences around the globe including South by Southwest, Smart Cities Week, IOT World Congress, IMPACT: Cities, and the Smart City Global Congress and Expo in Barcelona. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Psychology with a minor concentration in Economics.