Overview

December 2

States have been on a mission to modernize and improve digital services across their organizations. But the move to remote work and the focus on meeting increased demand for citizen services in response to COVID-19 has accelerated innovation. Extended analyses, pilots and procurement processes were streamlined and innovation sprang up especially in those agencies under greatest citizen demand. State CIOs have been working closely with their agency partners to learn how and where new technologies can provide immediate value – with some surprising results.

As states move to the next normal -- under tight budget constraints -- they will be looking to continue to drive innovation and new technologies into all aspects of government to modernize and redefine processes for the future. Please join us to hear this year’s Digital States Survey winners in Continuous Innovation discuss questions like:

How did remote work and increased citizen demand accelerate your move to innovative technologies?
What process do you use to drive innovation in your state IT organizations?
How do you work with your agencies and departments to drive innovation? Do you drive them or do they drive you?
How will you integrate pilots and new technologies that you stood up quickly in response to the pandemic into your overall IT plans?
Are there opportunities to streamline government processes with new technologies?
What are the security considerations as you move to innovative and new technologies?
What innovative technologies were high on your list? AI? What are some unexpected examples of the use of AI?

Speakers

John Hoffman

Deputy State Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer for the Texas Department of Information Resources

John Hoffman serves as the Deputy State Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer for the Texas Department of Information Resources. John joined the DIR team in 2010 and has held various roles within the agency in network and security. He is responsible for providing comprehensive strategic planning for the state's technology efforts as well as the agency. John ensures strategic development of contracts and services which DIR offers including enterprise architecture, application management, innovation, and technology implementation. John brings over 30 years of experience in the technology sector. He has held positions in operations, program management, planning, acquisition, integration, real estate and sales. John holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri and a Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.

Mike Hussey

CIO, UT Department of Technology Services

Michael Hussey was appointed Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Department of Technology Services in October 2015. He has been with the Department of Technology Services since 2006. In 2013, Hussey received the Governor’s Award for Excellence for Outstanding Public Service. Hussey started his IT career while attending the University of Utah working in the Marriott Library as a help desk assistant providing support to patrons of the computer lab. As computer technologies advanced, so did the opportunities within the library and he was promoted to network manager. While network manager, Hussey created the largest CD-ROM database network in the nation, which was crucial to the university’s research purposes.

Shawn Riley

CIO, State of North Dakota

Shawn Riley was born to a broken and abusive home. Shawn overcame the challenges of his youth and adopted a growth mindset and “we can make the world a better place” attitude. At the age of 16 he started a technology company. Later in his career he entered the private sector and worked as a thought leader for companies like IBM and the Mayo Clinic. His career has included massive change and transformation initiatives spanning multi billion-dollar organizations. In 2017 Shawn was appointed by Governor Doug Burgum to lead the state of North Dakota’s technology services as the Chief Information Officer. He is always looking to connect with others who have a “we can change the world” attitude as he strives to be a servant leader and improve lives, empower people, and inspire success.

Teri Takai

Co-executive Director, Center for Digital Government

Teri Takai is the Executive Director of the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. She worked for Ford Motor Company for 30 years in global application development and information technology strategic planning. From Ford, she moved to EDS in support of General Motors. A long-time interest in public service led her to the government sector, first as CIO of the State of Michigan, then as CIO of the State of California, and subsequently the CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense, the first woman appointed to this role. She then served as the CIO for Meridian Health Plan. She is a member of several industry advisory boards. Teri has won numerous awards including Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year, CIO Magazine’s CIO Hall of Fame, Government Technology Magazine’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers, the Women in Defense Excellence in Leadership Award, and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

Dustin Haisler — Moderator

Chief Innovation Officer, e.Republic

Dustin Haisler is the Chief Innovation Officer for e.Republic - the nation's leading state and local government media and research company - and the parent company of Government Technology, Governing, and the Center for Digital Government. Dustin also serves as an Eisenhower Fellow (2019 Zhi-Xing Program) and Program Faculty for the Certified Public Management Program (CPM) at Texas State University. As the former Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Assistant City Manager for the City of Manor, Texas, a city outside Austin, Dustin quickly built a track record and reputation as an early innovator in civic tech. Dustin pioneered government use of commercial technologies not before used in the public sector – including Quick-Response (QR) barcodes, crowdsourcing, and gamification. Named as one of the nation’s Top 25 Doer, Dreamer and Driver for government technology and was recently recognized as a 2021 Business Transformation 150 Leader by Constellation Research.

Webinar

Driving Innovation: How States are Continuing to Innovate Digital Services