Betsy Gardner

Senior Editor and Communications Manager

Betsy Gardner (she/her) is the Senior Editor and Communications Manager for Data-Smart City Solutions and the Producer of the Data-Smart City Pod at The Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University. Prior to joining Data-Smart, Gardner worked in a variety of roles in higher education, including Research Programs Manager at Emerson College, Assistant Director of Training at Northeastern University, and researcher and writer at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. She has several publications through the Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center for Democratic Governance and the Lincoln Institute and has written for Government Technology and Governing Magazine. Gardner holds a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Policy from Northeastern University, a bachelor’s degree in Art History from Boston University, and a graduate certificate in Digital Storytelling from the Harvard Extension School.

Articles and Research

Recast - What Mayors Need to Know About SNAP

Stephen Goldsmith speaks with Dr. Sara Naomi Bleich, professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and former USDA Director of Nutrition Security and Health Equity. Dr. Bleich breaks down major recent changes to the Supplemental Nutrition...

Betsy Gardner

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Serving the Whole Person in NYC

How do you lead 16 agencies and serve 8.2 million people without losing sight of the individual? New York City's Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Helen Arteaga shows what happens when a leader moves beyond the binary of efficiency vs. compassion...

Betsy Gardner

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Good, Responsive Services Start With the Resident

In this episode of the Data-Smart City Pod, host Stephen Goldsmith speaks with Dr. Kim Leary, director of the Good Services Lab at the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, about how listening is an active skill, why selection bias shapes who...

Betsy Gardner

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Federal Data, Local Impact: What Cities Need to Know

Host Stephen Goldsmith speaks with Denice Ross, Director of Federal Data Policy at the Federation of American Scientists, about the relationship between local and federal data, what city CDOs should prioritize, and why cities have untapped power to shape...

Betsy Gardner

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