“It’s amazing to have that information at your fingertips,” she said. “Because without it, there’s no way to improve.”
Riedl’s department, the city’s self-described “Swiss Army knife,” builds accessible internal and external products that simplify lives and work. Their data-driven initiatives include “rapid-fire” weekly vaccine data reviews during the pandemic and a police transparency portal. Recently, her team leveraged data analysis and user interviews to revamp a struggling water utility discount program, resulting in thousands more residents accessing affordable water bills monthly.
“The important, sometimes overlooked aspect of government innovation is you can’t do it to teams, you have to do it with teams,” she said, pressing the importance of interagency partnerships. “I’m also really proud of the fact that we have that kind of culture in the city that people are willing to work with us, and they’re willing to ask, ‘Why don’t we do something new?’”
Riedl’s path to public service began in telecommunications and policy with the Federal Communications Commission, but a desire for local impact led her to the Harvard Kennedy School, where she earned a master’s in public policy, business and government. She credits peer-to-peer networking as crucial to her work, especially connections with cities of similar size and tech stacks.
“Our saving grace is when we have those peer relationships,” she said. “You can swap notes about projects, and commiserate with people about unique challenges you might be experiencing. Nothing really beats just making a friend in another city.”
Looking ahead, Riedl’s team is overhauling South Bend’s 311 system into an account-based resident portal, offering personalized service recommendations.
“We don’t like to just chase bright and shiny things,” she said. “Our goal is to get to a place where things are as integrated and easy for residents as possible.”
This story originally appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Government Technology magazine. Click here to view the full digital edition online.
