2023 Rising Star: Chris Polack
Strategic initiatives program manager, New York City Emergency Management
Skim the headlines of any major publication and you’ll surely notice there’s no shortage of projects for New York City’s Emergency Management department. Whether it’s extreme weather or a surge in migrants and asylum seekers, the agency’s strategic initiatives program manager Chris Polack rises to each challenge with enthusiasm, creativity and—perhaps most important—data expertise.
With hundreds of migrants entering the city each day, Polack’s data management skills have been a major asset in improving the processing of new arrivals, tracking shelter availability, allocating resources, and reporting to the state and federal government. His streamlined data flows, represented by carefully designed digital dashboards, help local officials make decisions quickly during high-stakes scenarios.
At any given moment, Polack is juggling more than a dozen projects, according to Ray Noble, director of strategy and innovation at NYC Emergency Management. “He's phenomenal at doing all this,” she said.
Polack’s excellence extends beyond emergency situations: He keeps an eye on improving his office’s daily operations, and he’s led an effort to quantitatively track 200 metrics related to the agency’s strategic plan, applying for the first time a data-driven approach to measure progress and identify gaps. Plus, Polack regularly collaborates with other parts of city government to improve data sharing across agencies.
Polack is forward-thinking, bringing innovative ideas about how new technology like artificial intelligence can help New Yorkers navigate emergencies and is constantly reading, listening and learning about the latest trends in emergency management, Noble said. In less than a decade, Polack has emerged as a strong leader in improving the city’s emergency management, and he encourages those around him to pursue creative, innovative solutions to help New Yorkers in difficult circumstances.
“It's just something that he feels passionately about,” Noble said. “He wants to improve the city and our ability to respond and serve people.”