Digital States Annual Summit 2025 (Membership Required) Banner

Overview

The Annual Summit is a unique opportunity to build relationships in a small group setting. The Center convenes state CIOs and senior IT officials together with industry technology leaders to explore issues and opportunities facing state IT today. The goal of the summit is to create a friendly and engaging environment to build and foster relationships.

The summit is an action-packed opportunity to share information and experiences while building relationships for the future.

A message from our Keynote Speaker

Speakers

Phil Bertolini

Phil Bertolini

Chief Delivery Officer, Government Technology

Phil Bertolini is a Chief Delivery Officer for Government Technology, the premiere event and thought leadership content provider for state and local government technology professionals. Previously, he served as deputy county executive and CIO for Oakland County, Michigan. During his 31-year tenure, Phil built a world-class IT organization in the second-largest county in Michigan, just north of Detroit. As Oakland County CIO, he oversaw more than 150 employees serving over 1.2 million residents. In 2005, he was also promoted to deputy county executive, holding dual positions until his retirement. Phil’s efforts earned the county national attention, winning numerous awards for technology innovation and excellence. He was named Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year and Government Technology Magazine’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers. He was also honored by the President Obama White House as a Champion of Change.

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Jeff Clines

Jeff Clines

Chief Information Officer, State of Wyoming

Jeff Clines has dedicated his career to leveraging technology for positive impact. With over 25 years in IT, he's navigated diverse roles across various sectors, from infrastructure and help desk support to enterprise applications and leadership positions. A passion for mission-driven organizations led him to the non-profit world, where he spent 13 years making a difference.
His journey then took him to the public sector, serving as CIO/Director of Information Technology for the Illinois Secretary of State. There, he spearheaded a major modernization of their mainframe systems, focusing on driver and motor vehicle licensing.
After two years, Jeff was appointed CIO for the State of South Dakota under Governor Kristi Noem. During his four-and-a-half-year tenure, he led significant modernization initiatives, including securing funding for and launching a massive upgrade of the state's 25-year-old financial system. His vision transformed this project from a technical necessity into a comprehensive business transformation.

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Teri Takai

Teri Takai

Chief Programs Officer, Center for Digital Goverment

Teri Takai is Chief Programs Officer, 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.
Teri is a member of several industry advisory boards. She 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.

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Agenda

Wednesday, June 4

8:00 am Mountain

Registration and Breakfast

Grand View Ballroom

9:00 am Mountain

Welcome and Introductions

Phil Bertolini, Chief Delivery Officer, e.Republic

Teri Takai, Chief Programs Officer, Center for Digital Government (CDG)

Jeff Clines, CIO, State of Wyoming

9:45 am Mountain

Government Efficiency Is Trending: What Does It Mean for IT

Government efficiency is once again a top-line priority in many states—driven by new federal initiatives, fiscal pressures, workforce challenges, and rising expectations for public service delivery. But while the rhetoric is familiar to previous efficiency pushes, the implications for IT are evolving quickly.

In this session, we will examine how state-specific efficiency initiatives are shaping IT agendas today. What does efficiency look like in practice - from consolidation efforts and process redesigns to the slow but steady push toward modernization. What’s actually changing? What continues to stay the same? And how are IT leaders positioning their teams and technologies to align with these shifting priorities?

Moderator: Teri Takai, Chief Programs Officer, CDG

10:45 am Mountain

Break

11:00 am Mountain

AI Unleashed: Transforming Government Operations

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how governments operate, offering unprecedented opportunities to enhance efficiency, improve decision-making, and deliver better public services. From automating routine processes to unlocking deeper data-driven insights, AI is driving a new era of digital transformation in the public sector. With constituents becoming more and more AI literate, states must keep up as part of their constituent service delivery. This session will explore the evolving role of AI in government, highlighting real-world applications that are streamlining workflows, optimizing resource allocation, and enabling more responsive policy-making.

Moderator: Phil Bertolini, Chief Delivery Officer, e.Republic

12:00 pm Mountain

Lunch

1:00 pm Mountain

Resilient and Secure Digital Services: What’s Next as Federal Support and Funding Change

As federal support evolves for cybersecurity, state governments must review and update their cybersecurity plans to meet the changes in funding, changes in federal support and challenges of supporting the whole of state approaches that have been implemented. This will come at a time of increased demand for secure citizen services, an increasing need to ensure protection of critical infrastructure, and the ever-changing threat landscape. This session will explore what states can do to embed resilience into their digital strategies, strengthen cybersecurity postures with available resources, develop new partnerships and alliances, and continue delivering secure, citizen-centered services during changing times.

Moderator: Teri Takai, Chief Programs Officer, CDG

1:45 pm Mountain

Break

2:00 pm Mountain

Actionable Data: Who is Responsible for Strategy, Security, and Technology?

As public sector data strategy becomes more critical, the ‘C-suite’ technology leaders – CDOs, CTOs, CISOs and CPOs must collaborate around a unified strategy and execution. The CDOs can develop governance and policy but does this fit with the rapidly changing demand for data for analytics and AI? What is the right data technology stack to support the growing AI implementations? As Federal data sharing focus is shifting to state collaboration in areas like criminal justice, what should the states do to promote data sharing the country? This session will explore the next steps for implementing data governance that fits with the technology architecture and the potential for greater data sharing across state borders.

Moderator: Phil Bertolini, Chief Delivery Officer, e.Republic

2:45 pm Mountain

Break

3:00 pm Mountain

Managing Fraud, Waste, and Abuse – Group Discussion

With increased focus on government spending, the topic of fraud, waste and abuse in public assistance programs has risen in public awareness. The solutions touch technology topics from legacy modernization to identity management to use of AI to better manage data. What are the challenges that states are facing? Will legacy modernization continue without federal funds? Are identity management solutions being implemented fast enough and are they effective? Will AI really help? This session will explore what states are doing today and the steps that will continue to address these issues.

Facilitators:

Phil Bertolini, Chief Delivery Officer, e.Republic

Teri Takai, Chief Programs Officer, CDG

3:30 pm Mountain

Break

4:30 pm Mountain

Meet in Lobby to walk to Downtown Jackson Hole

6:00 pm Mountain

Reception & Dinner

Thursday June 5

8:15 am Mountain

Breakfast

9:00 am Mountain

The Changing Role of the CIO – What Will the CIO Be Doing in 2030?

The conversation around the role of the State CIO used to be focused on decentralized vs federated vs centralized models. Those days are long gone. State CIOs are fitting into the structures of their states while continuing to make progress. But with the rapid evolution of technology, there are new questions regarding structure. What will Governors expect from IT as they become more ‘tech savvy’? Is shadow IT just a given in the age of AI? With computing ‘at the edge’ that is needed for Transportation, Public Safety, and Emergency Management to name a few – does this fit into an enterprise approach to managing state IT? This session will look out 5 years as AI and other technologies transform what State CIO’s will be doing in the future.

Moderator: Phil Bertolini, Chief Delivery Officer, e.Republic

9:45 am Mountain

The Answer is in the Room – What Did We Miss?

We will cover incredible ground together. What are the issues that rank high in the minds of the government technology leaders that we didn’t cover? Did you engage on your priority topic? This final session will go around the room to capture those important issues, challenges, and opportunities that you want to hear more about.

Facilitators:

Phil Bertolini, Chief Delivery Officer, e.Republic

Teri Takai, Chief Programs Officer, CDG

10:15 am Mountain

Closing Comments

10:30 am Mountain

Digital States Annual Summit 2025 Adjourns

Snow King Resort

400 E. Snow King Ave.
Jackson Hole, WY 83001
3077343099

Get Directions To
Snow King Resort

Registration Information / Contact Us

Event Dates: June 4 and 5, 2025

This is an invitation-only event, open to Public Sector only. For more information or to request an invitation, please contact Brittany Roberts.

If you represent a Private Sector organization and are interested in Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact Heather Earney.

Contact Information

To RSVP and for general assistance contact:

Brittany Roberts
Government Technology
Phone: (916) 932-1388
E-mail: broberts@erepublic.com

For assistance or questions concerning Sponsor Logos or Logistics please contact:

Mireya Gaton
Government Technology
Phone: (916) 296-2617
E-Mail: mgaton@govtech.com

Sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, contact:

Heather Earney
Center for Digital Government
Phone: (916) 932-1339
E-mail: heather.earney@erepublic.com

Venue

Snow King Resort

400 E. Snow King Ave.
Jackson Hole, WY 83001
3077343099