About Us

Shaping the Future of Our Communities, Together

We’re on a mission to return 5 hours a week back to every elected and local government knowledge worker.
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How it all started

The First AI Platform Co‑Founded by a Local Government

In truth, we didn’t dream this up.
Washoe County did.

They came to us with the radical idea: what if government didn’t just buy GovTech, but actually built and owned it? How could it shape the future of AI in local government?

Madison AI was co-founded with Washoe County, NV, making them not just a customer, but an equity partner shaping every decision. The result is a platform designed only for local government, by the very people who live its challenges every day.

This isn’t tech made in Silicon Valley and handed down to cities. It’s GovTech reimagined—with government in the driver’s seat.

Meet the team shaping the future of government work

Erica Olsen

CEO • Co‑Founder
2x Founder – Author
A strategist and author of Strategic Planning for Dummies, Erica’s spent 20 years helping thousands of organizations make big-bold visions a reality. Today, she’s driving the vision of returning 5 hours/week to every staff member and elected so they can focus on service to their communities

Todd Ballowe

Head of Engineering & AI
Founding Team
Todd Ballowe transformed a spark of an idea into working code—and he’s the one powering Madison AI behind the scenes. With 15+ years coding enterprise applications used by Make-A-Wish, Kia, and Chobani, he’s the builder who takes big ideas and turns them into AI that delivers.

Tom Spengler

CEO @SOVRA – 2x Founder
Board Member/Investor
Tom Spengler is a legend in GovTech, having spent the last 25 years defining how governments connect, engage, and get work done. The co-founder and former CEO of Granicus and now CEO of SOVRA, he brings unmatched experience and vision to help shape the future of Madison AI.

Kristine Richter

Head of Client Success
Founding Team – Ex-Microsoft
Kristine is Madison AI’s Head of Client Success—she builds our strategy for deploying enterprise AI in local government and makes it stick. With over 50 successful rollouts under her belt, she turns complex launches into smooth, high-impact deployments that deliver.

Mark Wheeler

Chief Public Data Officer
Mark is one of the most respected voices in GovTech, having served as the former CIO for the City of Philadelphia and as the former Director of Data and AI for the Federal Centers of Excellence. He brings years of experience turning complex public data into tools that actually help people get work done. Mark is joining our team to deepen our government data expertise even further and help build AI that truly delivers results in local government.

Kim Perkins

Principal Strategist
Founding Team – Ex-Google
Kim is a Principal Strategist at Madison AI, helping lead client deployments and ensuring local governments succeed with enterprise AI. With 15+ years in strategic planning and change management, she brings the expertise needed to guide smooth, impactful rollouts.

Kendal Ferris

Sales Manager
Ex-GoDaddy – Ex-Citrix
Kendal is Madison AI’s Sales Manager, helping local governments discover where AI can make the biggest impact. With a consultative approach, she guides leaders, electeds, and teams to understand and hone in on the opportunities that truly transform how government work gets done.

Heyden Enochson

Head of GTM
Founding Team
Heyden is Madison AI’s Head of Marketing—our boots-on-the-ground driving our brand, web design, content, product UI/UX, thought leadership, and speaking efforts. With 11 years in SaaS marketing, he’s the creative engine that brings Madison AI to life in the market.

Dana Searcy

Principal Strategist
Dana joins us following years of public service with Washoe County in Northern Nevada, most recently completing the development of the Nevada Cares Campus project as the Division Director of Housing & Homeless Services. Dana’s passion for helping local governments work better for their communities fits perfectly with our mission at Madison AI—to make public service more efficient, human, and impactful.

Connor Ferris

AI Solutions Advisor
Connor Ferris is an AI Solutions Advisor at Madison AI, partnering with local governments to identify and implement AI use cases that deliver real operational impact. With a consultative, client-first approach and experience at AT&T, Citrix, and ShareFile, he works closely with elected officials, leaders, and staff to turn emerging technology into practical improvements for public service.

Reid Weber

Senior Software Engineer
Reid Weber is a senior software engineer at Madison AI with deep experience across GovTech delivery and entrepreneurial product development. Previously a Solution Architect for the Nevada Secretary of State, Reid has also co-founded TrainerRoad and held product and technology leadership roles at The Sufferfest and Wahoo Fitness.

Liv Bailey

Software Engineer
Liv is a software engineer at Madison AI, bringing fresh technical perspective and curiosity to the engineering team. A 2025 Boston University graduate with a degree in Computer Science, Liv enjoys building thoughtful solutions and structure.

Sarah Orner

Software Engineer
Sarah is a software engineer at Madison AI, where she contributes to data systems, data acquisition, and AI initiatives. A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno with a degree in Computer Science and Engineering, Sarah brings her passion for AI and data-driven solutions to support the company's municipal client projects.

Our County Partners

The County partners behind the big idea.

Most GovTech companies build a product and then go find governments to sell it to. We did the opposite. Behzad and Dave have been with us since the beginning, not as customers and not as employees, but as the practitioners who tell us what needs to be built.

They challenge our assumptions. They bring decades of hands-on county operations into every product decision. They are the grounding voice for the customers we serve.

Dave Solaro

Assistant County Manager @Washoe County
Dave still serves as Assistant County Manager in Washoe County, but Madison AI was his idea—no, really, it was. An architect who spent 15 years leading public works, engineering, and community services, he understands government work deeply and is shaping the future of it nationwide.

Behzad Zamanian

CIO @Washoe County
Behzad is the CIO for Washoe County—but he’s also advising Madison AI on how to approach safe, secure AI deployments in the GovTech space. With 25+ years leading IT strategy, infrastructure, and security in government, he brings the practical expertise to make bold ideas work at scale.

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The Madison AI™ platform unites your agency’s scattered data and systems into knowledge AI to research anything and draft staff reports/memos in minutes.
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