Simon Brandler

Simon Brandler is Director of Public Policy Innovation at Sidewalk Labs, where he thinks about how smart urban policy can foster innovation, empower communities, and improve quality of life.

Prior to coming to Sidewalk, Simon served as Senior Advisor and Special Counsel at the New York State Office of the Attorney General, where he participated in many of the agency’s most technically complex, highest profile, and most successful strategic policy initiatives. These included major regulatory and enforcement actions involving technology and emerging businesses, from broadband delivery to the sharing economy. As an attorney, Simon has litigated complex commercial matters in private practice and prosecuted significant public corruption cases. Earlier in his career, Simon developed a deep understanding of public policy and communications as a legislative advisor in the United States Senate, as a political speechwriter, and as a policy and communications advisor to a statewide political party.

Simon graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. in history. He earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was recognized as a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar in his final year. He is unusually proud of his three years rolling for the neighborhood bocce team, “Inglorious Bocce.” Simon was born and raised in Brooklyn, where he lives with his wife and twin sons.