Mila Gasco-Hernandez holds a MBA and a Ph. D. in public policy evaluation. She is the Research Director at the Center for Technology in Government as well as an Associate Professor at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, both at the University at Albany – SUNY. Before joining SUNY, Dr. Gasco-Hernandez served as a senior researcher at the Institute of Governance and Public Management (currently known as ESADEgov - Center for Public Governance) and the Institute of Innovation and Knowledge Management, both at ESADE Business & Law School in Spain.

The main general research question at the center of Dr. Gasco-Hernandez’s research agenda is: why and how does technology-driven innovation happen in the public sector? Most of her research in the last six years has focused on the topics of open government, public sector innovation, smart cities and communities, telework, and artificial intelligence in government. In these areas, she has published six books, more than 45 peer-reviewed articles, 18 peer-reviewed book chapters, and more than 55 peer-reviewed conference papers. She has been invited to deliver more than 70 keynotes worldwide and has been awarded more than 15 grants in external funding competitive calls, including two from IMLS about the role of public libraries in the 21st century, and more than 25 consultancy/applied research projects.

Dr. Gasco-Hernandez has also considerable consulting experience on the information and knowledge society as well. In this respect, she has worked for a wide variety of organizations such as the United Nations Development Program, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, the Latin American Centre on Management for Development, the World E-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Google.