One such leader was Stephanie Garland, who has been on a mission to make public sector leaders more data literate—first as the data lead for NYC Health + Hospitals, the country’s largest municipal health care system, and now as data literacy director for the state of Maryland. In this role, she is on the verge of delivering a first-of-its-kind glossary of data terminology that will provide civil servants with a shared vocabulary about effective data practices.  

Below, Garland discusses why she joined the AI Government Leadership Program and how it informed her work. This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.

The content is phenomenal, and the opportunity to learn from others around the country about what is happening in this space is phenomenal.

Data literacy director, Maryland Department of Information Technology; former AI Government Leadership Program participant.

Why did the AI Government Leadership Program appeal to you?

I was immediately interested because I wanted to increase my knowledge of current trends, and I wanted the opportunity to learn more about how other governments use AI. I also wanted to integrate AI literacy into the statewide data literacy training program I am building—AI ethics and bias, and AI strategic innovation, are two of the 12 competencies identified for the program, so this course was ideal.

How did the program inform your effort to develop an authoritative glossary of data terminology for Maryland?

We don’t speak the same language in Maryland state government. People use different verbiage to mean the same thing and come to the table with different vocabularies when it comes to data. So, we need a living glossary that is accessible, creates shared definitions and allows us to speak using consistent terms.

The collaboration in the program helped inform this project. We all genuinely listened to each other and learned about the strategies and challenges of doing similar work in other state governments. I got very solid advice, and the feedback was always thoughtful.

How would you pitch someone on the course? 

I have pitched the course to colleagues already. The content is phenomenal, and the opportunity to learn from others around the country about what is happening in this space is phenomenal. The Partnership does a great job of putting people first and making sure the ethics and biases around AI are addressed. That is critical for working in the government.