Shaping the Future of Our Communities, Together

We’re on a mission to return 5 hours a week back to every elected and local government knowledge worker.

Book a demo

About Madison AI

How it all started

The First AI Platform Co‑Owned by a Local Government

Washoe County and Madison AI

In truth, we didn’t dream this up.

Washoe County did.

They came to us with the radical idea: what if government didn’t just buy GovTech, but actually built and owned it? How could it shape the future of AI in local government?

Madison AI was co-founded with Washoe County, NV, making them not just a customer, but an equity partner shaping every decision. The result is a platform designed only for local government, by the very people who live its challenges every day.

This isn’t tech made in Silicon Valley and handed down to cities. It’s GovTech reimagined—with government in the driver’s seat.

Meet the team shaping the future of government work:

Erica Olsen

Erica Olsen

CEO • Co‑Founder

2x Founder – Author

A strategist and author of Strategic Planning for Dummies, Erica’s spent 20 years helping thousands of organizations make big-bold visions a reality. Today, she’s driving the vision of returning 5 hours/week to every staff member and elected so they can focus on service to their communities

LinkedIn

Dave Solaro

Dave Solaro

County Partner

Assistant County Manager @Washoe County

Dave still serves as Assistant County Manager in Washoe County, but Madison AI was his idea—no, really, it was. An architect who spent 15 years leading public works, engineering, and community services, he understands government work deeply and is shaping the future of it nationwide.

LinkedIn

Todd Ballowe

Todd Ballowe

Head of Engineering & AI

Founding Team

Todd Ballowe transformed a spark of an idea into working code—and he’s the one powering Madison AI behind the scenes. With 15+ years coding enterprise applications used by Make-A-Wish, Kia, and Chobani, he’s the builder who takes big ideas and turns them into AI that delivers.

LinkedIn

Tom Spengler

Tom Spengler

Board Member/Investor

CEO @SOVRA – 2x Founder

Tom Spengler is a legend in GovTech, having spent the last 25 years defining how governments connect, engage, and get work done. The co-founder and former CEO of Granicus and now CEO of SOVRA, he brings unmatched experience and vision to help shape the future of Madison AI.

LinkedIn

Behzad Zamanian

Behzad Zamanian

County Partner

Chief Information Officer @Washoe County

Behzad is the CIO for Washoe County—but he’s also advising Madison AI on how to approach safe, secure AI deployments in the GovTech space. With 25+ years leading IT strategy, infrastructure, and security in government, he brings the practical expertise to make bold ideas work at scale.

LinkedIn

Kristine Richter

Kristine Richter

Head of Client Success

Founding Team – Ex-Microsoft

Kristine is Madison AI’s Head of Client Success—she builds our strategy for deploying enterprise AI in local government and makes it stick. With over 50 successful rollouts under her belt, she turns complex launches into smooth, high-impact deployments that deliver.

LinkedIn

Heyden Enochson

Heyden Enochson

Head of Marketing

Founding Team

Heyden is Madison AI’s Head of Marketing—our boots-on-the-ground driving our brand, web design, content, product UI/UX, thought leadership, and speaking efforts. With 11 years in SaaS marketing, he’s the creative engine that brings Madison AI to life in the market.

LinkedIn

Kim Perkins

Kim Perkins

Principal Strategist

Founding Team – Ex-Google

Kim is a Principal Strategist at Madison AI, helping lead client deployments and ensuring local governments succeed with enterprise AI. With 15+ years in strategic planning and change management, she brings the expertise needed to guide smooth, impactful rollouts.

LinkedIn

Kendal Ferris

Kendal Ferris

Sales Manager

Ex-GoDaddy – Ex-Citrix

Kendal is Madison AI’s Sales Manager, helping local governments discover where AI can make the biggest impact. With a consultative approach, she guides leaders, electeds, and teams to understand and hone in on the opportunities that truly transform how government work gets done.

LinkedIn

Frequently asked questions

Q: What workflows does Madison AI help automate in local government?

A: Madison AI can be configured for a range of use cases in local government, including:
  • A chatbot research assistant for your elects and staff to search and analyze policy, voting records, statutes, and code.
  • Draft your staff reports with citations and error checking.
  • Access your history of board decisions.
  • Find and cite anything in your library of 50+ files.
Q: Madison AI was created by Washoe County and OnStrategy. Why?

A: Madison AI is a direct collaboration between the public and private sector in the name of good governance.
Q: What governments have deployed Madison AI?

A: Madison AI has been deployed within multiple government agencies and continues to expand its reach.
Q: How does Madison help prevent generative AI hallucination?

A: We recommend using Madison to access your government’s publicly available data. This includes your local codes, master authority documents, strategic plans, and 5+ years of your board meeting minutes, agendas, and staff reports/board packets.
Q: How long does it take to deploy Madison AI?

A: Madison AI’s set up, data science, and deployment can be completed and ready for your team in about 2 weeks. Custom staff reports can be deployed in approximately 4 weeks.

Book a Demo