A technology expert who helped create a tool that allows businesses and residents of Puerto Rico to search for government programs for which they might be eligible was appointed Thursday as the city of San Diego’s chief data officer.
Maksim Pecherskiy will be responsible for the city’s open data programs.
“Maksim is a perfect fit for the role of chief data officer,” said Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who made the appointment. “He will use public data and technology to help government make data-driven decisions, improve service delivery to our residents and positively impact the quality of people’s lives.”
Pecherskiy was a fellow for Code for America last year when he developed the government search product in Puerto Rico called PrimerPeso.
Before that, he was a solutions architect at Promet Source, where he built large web systems and designed complex integrations. He also shaped development processes and led international development teams.
“We’re going to develop innovative web tools to empower San Diego residents, share information with our local startup community to develop apps and identify new ways to use our data to improve the lives of all San Diegans,” Pecherskiy said.
“I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues at the city, as well as the technology, education and civic communities in San Diego to help harness the power of data and technology for positive change.”
The mayor’s office has been developing an open data policy, which is scheduled to go before the City Council on Dec. 16. The policy calls for the chief data officer to identify and make the city’s high-value data sets available to the public through a web portal.
— City News Service