Overview

June 16

The recent move to remote work in response to COVID-19 broke down barriers in a short period of time. Long-held views on why remote work could not or would not be widespread are now gone and policies are being reviewed and rewritten to accommodate this change. But remote work can only be effective in the long term if applications and infrastructure are modernized to allow secure access to the processes and data needed to run government. States have seen the value of operating as a service in crisis response – from standing up new services rapidly or expanding services like call centers – it could only be done with different approaches and technologies.

As states move to the next normal, under tight budget constraints, they will be looking through a new lens where remote work is expected and digital services are required. This DSPI webinar will explore how ‘going remote’ will drive decisions and plans for moving to digital services. Please join us to hear state CIOs discuss questions like:

Will the move to remote work drive cloud adoption at a faster pace?
Where are the opportunities to utilize digital services?
What is the impact on current data centers?
What are the security considerations with the expansion of remote work and digital services?
What are real-world examples of how states responded to COVID- with digital services?

Speakers

Tracy Barnes

CIO, State of Indiana

Tracy serves as Indiana’s Chief Information Officer, appointed by Gov. Eric J. Holcomb in March 2020. In this role, Tracy oversees the Indiana Office of Technology and provides strategic oversight of the State’s technology portfolio, as well as leadership on technology and cybersecurity policy. Tracy brings significant business leadership and information technology experience to his role, having previously served as Chief of Staff for the Lieutenant Governor, Deputy Auditor and IT Director for the Indiana Auditor of State. Additionally, he was president and chief executive officer for ENTAP, Inc. which designed and delivered effective enterprise focused information technology solutions to organizations in various industries across the globe. Tracy has been recognized as Inc. Magazine's 9th Fastest Growing Black Entrepreneur and has received accolades from Top 50 Indiana Companies to Watch, the TechPoint MIRA awards and the IBE Governor's Award for Achievement in Technology. Tracy holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Butler University and a certificate from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Yessica Jones

CTO, State of Arkansas

Yessica Jones has served as state chief technology officer and director of the Division of Information Systems (DIS) since 2017, brings 22 years of experience in IT to her government work, mostly in the private sector, but she also spent time as an assistant professor at Harding University in Arkansas in what is now the Information Systems Department. Her introduction to public-sector work was as a liaison to the Hispanic community for Gov. Asa Hutchison (Jones grew up in Mexico and is bilingual). But the governor’s staff knew of her background and had her come into DIS to help review IT procurement contracts. That led to Jones’ appointment as the department’s deputy director in 2016, followed by acting and then permanent director.

Amy Tong

CIO, State of California

Amy Tong serves as State Chief Information Officer and California Department of Technology Director. In this dual role, she provides the administration with best approaches to implement state technology-related strategic plans, policies, standards, and enterprise architecture while minimizing redundancy and cost for efficiency. A champion of the user-centered design approach, her direct actions and focused leadership have been instrumental in modernizing the State’s project delivery, technology procurement, Cloud Smart adoption, open data, workforce development pipeline and cybersecurity measures. She advocates for data-driven decision-making, and looks to utilize new technologies, used responsibly by government, for the benefit of California residents.

Teri Takai — Moderator

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.

Webinar

Going Remote: Accelerating the Move to Digital Services