Registration and Breakfast

Grand View Ballroom

Welcome and Introductions

Phil Bertolini, Chief Delivery Officer, e.Republic

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

Jeff Clines, Chief Information Officer (CIO), State of Wyoming

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

Jeff Clines, CIO, State of Wyoming

Break

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 policymaking.

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

Nathan Hogue, CIO, Office of Technology and Information Services, State of South Carolina

Dr. Matthew McCarville, Chief Information Officers, State of Nebraska

Lunch

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

Break

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. 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

Teena Piccione, Secretary & CIO, Department of Information Technology, State of North Carolina

Brandon Ragle, Secretary and State CIO, Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT), State of Illinois

Break

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

Break

Meet in Lobby to walk to Downtown Jackson Hole

Reception & Dinner

Breakfast

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

Amanda Crawford, Executive Director and State CIO, Department of Information Resources, State of Texas

Jason Snyder, Secretary of Services & Technology, Chief Information Officer, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Shawnzia A. Thomas, Executive Director, Georgia Technology Authority & Chief Information Officer, State of Georgia

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

Closing Comments

Digital States Annual Summit 2025 Adjourns