U.S. Conference of Mayors Announces Winner of Civic I/O Mayor's Matchup Pitch at SXSW

AUSTIN, Texas, March 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) announced Cloud 9 as the winner of the Civic I/O Mayor's Matchup: Tech Innovation Pitch Competition where emerging companies pitched their ideas to address challenges facing cities in a "Shark Tank"-style forum during South by Southwest (SXSW). The competition was the culminating event of Civic I/O, an event that was created in partnership with the United States Conference of Mayors, South by Southwest and the Office of Austin Mayor Steve Adler immersing forward-thinking mayors with some of the most innovative technologists, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and creatives.

Mayors Christopher Cabaldon (West Sacramento, CA), Mike Rawlings (Dallas, TX), Adrian Perkins (Shreveport, LA) and Nan Whaley (Dayton, OH) joined Sara T. Brand, founding general partner of True Wealth Ventures as judges. Cloud 9 was one of five companies competing for prize money totaling $10,000.

Cloud 9 is on a mission to disrupt massive waste and mistreatment of mental illness. The technology and service model innovation deliver a paradigm shift that can save billions for city, county and state budgets. The patient-centric, mesh software network allows strategic behavioral healthcare teams, including first responders and clinicians, to communicate and share data with one another and the patients they jointly treat over a simple mobile application.  Arming law enforcement, fire and EMS with Cloud 9 helps underserved populations before they land in ERs, jails, courts or the streets.

"Cloud 9 shows great promise in its ability to scale its technology to have an enormous impact on the health and public safety issues facing cities.  All five of the start-ups, like the Civic I/O program here at SXSW, really teased our minds about what's possible and how mayors can deliver services in a more effective and practical way in the future," said Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.

"We are humbled and honored to win this award.  We are encouraged to see that mental health and the health of communities is a top priority for cities. We look forward to continuing our conversations with mayors in the coming months at the Conference's Annual Meeting," said Dr. Elizabeth Truong, Chief Clinical Officer and Co-Founder of Cloud 9.

More than 20 mayors from across the country convened in Austin for SXSW and participated in a series of interactive discussions with leaders focused on how cities can leverage emerging technologies to tackle some of the biggest civic and municipal challenges and deliver better services. Mayors also took part in a variety of SXSW Interactive panels highlighting how cities are leading the way in finding solutions to the nation's greatest problems—from public safety and racial equality to disaster response and climate change.

About The United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are nearly 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

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SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors