Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the appointment of Ashley Z. Hand as the transportation technology strategist fellow at the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT). The fellowship is funded through a grant from the Goldhirsh Foundation.

“It takes ingenuity and technical savvy to plan the safe, dynamic and widely accessible transportation future that Los Angeles deserves,” Garcetti said. “(Hand) has shown these qualities throughout her career, using uncommon creativity to help local governments build comprehensive networks. L.A. is defining the curve for transportation in the digital age — and Ashley will help steer us away from being the world’s car capital, and build on our Mobility and Sustainable city plans. Taken together, these initiatives have us on course for the smart and sustainable future that Angelenos deserve.”

As the transportation technology strategist fellow, Hand will work closely with DOT general manager Seleta Reynolds and chief technology officer Peter Marx to position Los Angeles as a national model in sustainable, tech-enabled transportation, and as a test bed for technologies that will change the future of transportation.

“Ashley has the best mix of vision and pragmatism needed for this first-in-class strategy to put Los Angeles at the forefront of transportation technology deployment in cities,” Reynolds said. “We are lucky to have her and can’t wait to get to work.”

In her new role, Hand will create a citywide transportation technology strategy to plan for the future of road safety, road use efficiency, traffic regulation, and traffic enforcement, and will be responsible for a policy plan to ensure a safe, mobile, sustainable future for Los Angeles. This strategy will also help LADOT meet the transportation goals outlined in the Mayor’s sustainable city plan.

The fellowship is funded by a grant from the Goldhirsh Foundation and serves as part of Garcetti’s effort to build a tech-savvy transportation system that helps Angelenos navigate the city — including wi-fi equipped smart bus stops, ridesharing at LAX and creating a data-sharing partnership with the Waze app to help cut commute times.