Charisse Snipes was born and raised in Hartford, Conn., making her role as the city’s chief innovation officer deeply personal. A graduate of Hartford Public Schools, she now leads technology strategy for the same community that shaped her, an opportunity she describes as both surreal and profoundly meaningful.
With almost 25 years of IT experience, Snipes has built a career rooted in a long-standing passion for innovation and public service. She leads a team of nearly 40 IT professionals in a shared-services department that supports both the city of Hartford and Hartford Public Schools. Although the city and school district operate under separate budgets, the technology team functions as a single organization serving both entities.
Snipes has served as CIO for nearly a decade, guiding major modernization initiatives that directly affect residents, city employees and students across Hartford.
In an interview with StateTech, Snipes discusses how the city is integrating AI into 311 services, permitting and internal operations — and why culture change matters as much as technology innovation.
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STATETECH: At Smart Cities Connect, you talked about preparing for AI before deploying it. What did Hartford put in place first?
SNIPES: One of our biggest lessons has been realizing how quickly AI adoption can outpace policy. AI moved from theory to mandate almost overnight. We recognized that employees were already experimenting with AI tools on their own.
That made it clear we needed guardrails early. If you don’t build governance up front, you end up reacting after the fact.
For us, governance isn’t about slowing innovation, it’s about enabling responsible innovation. We focused heavily on data ownership, security and establishing clear guidelines, particularly for high-risk use cases.
Another lesson is that governance and culture go hand in hand. Policy only works if staff members understand it, trust it and feel equipped to use the tools responsibly. That’s why training and cross-department collaboration are embedded directly into our governance strategy.
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STATETECH: Training sounds like a major component.
SNIPES: Absolutely. There’s skepticism around AI because of what people see on social media or in headlines. But once employees are in a room, receiving hands-on training and seeing how these tools can help them in their day-to-day work, adoption improves significantly.
We want people to see AI as an enhancement, not a threat.
STATETECH: Hartford has integrated AI into its 311 system, partnering with Google Cloud. What problems were you trying to solve?
SNIPES: Language barriers were a major issue. More than a quarter of households in our county speak a language other than English. For many residents, calling 311, using the 311 app or participating in council meetings could be intimidating or inaccessible.
Our goal was simple: Every resident should be able to request services and engage with government in their preferred language.
Through our partnership with Google Cloud, we now provide real-time, two-way translation in up to 80 languages. Residents can use the 311 app or attend meetings and understand everything in real time.
We’re also implementing translation support for Hartford Board of Education meetings. Historically, we hired interpreters for some meetings, but this expands access significantly. Parents can now engage more fully and receive real-time feedback.
It’s leveling the playing field.
STATETECH: Are these AI tools also helping city employees?
SNIPES: Yes. We recently purchased TranslateLive, which partners with Google. We’re piloting tablet-based translation tools not only in 311, but also in our Tax and Vital Records departments.
Staff can hand a tablet to someone who speaks another language and communicate instantly. We’re in the early stages, but we expect this to be a game changer, especially at community events and in customer-facing departments.
STATETECH: Hartford has also implemented an AI-powered plan review system. How do you measure success across these initiatives?
SNIPES: We look at success through several lenses.
First is efficiency. With AI-powered plan review in our permitting system, we’re focused on reducing turnaround times and lowering rejection rates. We had a high number of rejected applications, which frustrated both staff and contractors. Automation helps streamline that process.
Second is equity. For translation services, success means residents who historically avoided city services due to language barriers are now using them. We’re tracking multilingual usage, response times and accessibility outcomes.
Third is resident satisfaction. We gather feedback through council meetings, surveys and community partners. We’re also monitoring participation metrics and data from the 311 app.
These metrics inform whether we scale, adjust or pause an initiative. We won’t expand AI tools unless they demonstrably improve service delivery, equity and trust.
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STATETECH: You’ve emphasized culture change. What strategies have worked internally?
SNIPES: Culture is harder than technology.
When we moved to Google Workspace, we identified early adopters in each department who became champions and peer coaches. Their enthusiasm helped normalize change.
We also meet people where they are. Long-tenured staff experienced a significant shift with the move to cloud-based collaboration. We conduct workshops where employees can sit down with IT staff and work through challenges.
And we celebrate small wins. When employees see AI reducing repetitive tasks rather than replacing jobs, trust grows quickly. We’ve been transparent that AI isn’t replacing workers; it’s giving workers who understand AI an edge.
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STATETECH: Many public sector leaders say AI is only as good as the data behind it. How is Hartford strengthening data governance?
SNIPES: We’ve taken a hybrid but disciplined approach.
We modernized our infrastructure and consolidated data into cloud platforms to create a secure, scalable foundation for automation and translation services. At the same time, we strengthened governance policies, from data classification and privacy reviews to clarifying data ownership across departments.
We’re not just buying AI systems. We’re building internal capacity. Staff are being trained in data management, AI capabilities and responsible use. That’s what ensures sustainability.
STATETECH: What milestones are you focused on next?
SNIPES: A full rollout of TranslateLive devices across customer-facing departments and community spaces like recreation centers is a big one.
We’re completing our Google Workspace migration to unlock more collaboration and AI-enabled workflows. We’re expanding AI translation tools to additional public and commission meetings.
We’re also focused on preparing our workforce for the AI economy and positioning Hartford as a regional hub for AI talent.
And finally, digital equity remains central. Not everyone has internet access. We continue expanding free public Wi-Fi across the city. We currently have more than 40,000 residents connected, and we’re working to extend coverage further.
Each milestone moves us closer to a city where services are more efficient, more accessible and more equitable.
