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Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Our board of directors represents a cross section of business, academia and public policy.
Dr. David Berkowitz is the former Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Alabama, Huntsville. Matt Fowler is the Director of MLS at Solid Earth and the owner of The Old Town Beer Exchange (OTBX), Huntsville. Joe Francica is one of the founders of Exemplar City and GeoHuntsville and is currently the Sr. Director of Geospatial Strategy at Korem. Rex Reynolds is the Alabama State Representative for District 21 and the former director of Public Safety for the City of Huntsville.
Our history
Exemplar City has worked with government agencies at the federal, state and city level in supporting emergency management and public policy. The image above is from a table top exercise working with the City of Huntsville's EMA.
Our mission
Support the local community with the transfer of information technology through education and outreach.
About Us
How we started the model of Exemplar City®
The original team of Chris Johnson and Joe Francica, both of Huntsville, Alabama, incorporated Exemplar City® in 2014 as a means to provide education and outreach to city governments in support of Mayor Tommy Battle's technology initiatives. The goal was technology transfer specifically in emergency management situations where innovative geospatial, cyber and energy technology could be applied. Since incorporating, the organization has held table-top exercises with Huntsville's Police and Fire departments, engaged the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) in support of open source geospatial solutions, and worked with the City of Huntsville's Chamber of Commerce to develop and issue a city-wide COVID-19 survey to better understand the impact of the pandemic on businesses and the economy. Today, the organization looks to help communities, not just in Alabama but nationwide to support technology transfer and experience.