245: How Long Beach, CA is Closing Its Digital Divide

What does it really take to close a digital divide in a city as complex, diverse, and dynamic as Long Beach, California?

In this episode of the Innovation Storytellers Show, I sit down with Lea Eriksen, Director of Technology and Innovation and CIO for the City of Long Beach, to unpack the human stories behind civic innovation. We met in an unexpected setting, a steakhouse in Los Angeles during a CXO Rise gathering, where conversations about AI flowed alongside cream spinach and big ideas. That evening sparked a deeper discussion about how technology, when grounded in people and purpose, can reshape communities in meaningful ways.

Lea brings more than 25 years of experience in local government, with a career that spans budget, finance, economic development, and ultimately technology leadership. What makes her perspective stand out is that she did not arrive at innovation through a traditional tech pathway. Instead, she came through public service, relationships, and a deep belief that government can work when it listens first. In our conversation, she shares how Long Beach transformed its technology function from an internal service provider into a catalyst for digital equity, smart city experimentation, and community co-creation, earning national recognition along the way.

We explore how innovation in government differs from innovation in the private sector, why people and process often matter more than tools, and how programs like Smart City Challenge, Pitch Long Beach, and LB CoLab invited city staff, residents, and vendors into the same room to solve shared problems. Lea is refreshingly honest about what worked, what failed, and what cities can learn from pilots that did not survive. She also explains how Long Beach approached the digital divide as more than access to devices, focusing equally on connectivity, skills, language access, and trust.

At the heart of this episode is storytelling. Lea explains why data alone is never enough, and how real resident stories helped secure long-term support for digital inclusion efforts, even as federal funding declined. From building fiber infrastructure to empowering residents to participate directly in procurement decisions, this conversation shows what becomes possible when innovation is designed with communities rather than for them.

So as cities everywhere wrestle with AI hype, budget constraints, and growing inequality, what would change if more leaders started by asking whose voices are missing from the room, and whose stories still need to be told?