Stephen Caines is an accomplished technology policy professional with a proven track record of success in Government, Academia, and the Public Sector. He currently serves as the Chief Innovation Officer for the City of San Jose and Senior Advisor to Mayor Matt Mahan. He is a Legal Technologist, Policymaker, Academic, and Attorney. His main areas of focus for the City include Privacy, Public Safety, Digital Services, leading the Internship and Fellowship Program, Digital Inclusion, and Intergovernmental Relations.

Prior to working for San Jose, Stephen completed a two-year residential fellowship at CodeX – The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics where he researched government and law enforcement use of facial recognition and surveillance. He was also a member of the Day One Project’s Technology Policy Accelerator Cohort and was most recently published in “The Oxford Handbook of AI Governance”. While at CodeX Stephen co-founded the CoronAtlas project, co-organized multiple popup classes, and created experiential experiences for undergraduate and graduate students. Today, he continues his work as a non-residential fellow.

Stephen is passionate about the democratization of STEM and technology policy education for the youth, increasing government transparency, and generating mutually beneficial partnerships between the City and local non-profits. Stephen currently serves on the Board of Directors for Good Karma Bikes, a California NonProfit of the Year Award winner. He holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Miami School of Law with a concentration in the Business of Innovation, Law & Technology.