Dominic Papa

Dominic Papa is the Vice President of Smart State Initiatives at the Arizona Commerce Authority. In the role Dominic leverages his expertise in emerging governance models and strategic partnerships to drive a broad portfolio of Smart State projects. Dominic was instrumental in the founding of the Connective, the nation’s largest and most connected Smart Region.  

Prior to the ACA, Dominic was the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Institute for Digital Progress, an innovation-driven, smart city nonprofit. In 2016, Dominic built the Smart & Connected AZ Council, which provides cities with an “Innovation as a Service” model, a platform that allows local governments, private industry and academic research institutions to collaboratively design and develop new innovative technology pilots that advance solutions to public challenges, have a measurable impact, and the potential to scale. Within its first six months, the Council helped the region secure a $6 million DOT grant around congestion management technology.  

Prior to his time in the public sector, Dominic was a professional soccer player. Dominic has a B.A. in Political Science and Italian, a M.A. in Public Administration, and a J.D. from the ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.