Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Chris as DHCS’ new Chief Operating Officer for Programs (COOP), effective October 16. As part of the Directorate, Chris provides leadership of Enterprise Data and Information Management, Enterprise Technology Services, and Program Operations. Chris previously served as DHCS’ Deputy Director for Enterprise Technology Services (ETS) and Chief Information Officer (CIO). In this role, Chris provided effective leadership by overseeing policy development, information technology product delivery, and program advancement, and by developing collaborative cross-functional teams.
Chris has several decades of IT experience in both public and private sector organizations. Prior to joining DHCS, he served as the CIO for the California State Lottery, where he provided oversight on developing the vision, strategic direction, policy, and management of the department’s IT systems in support of a $6.5 billion business. He also served as the Chief Enterprise Architect and Business Intelligence Program Owner at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), where he managed architecture development projects, business intelligence and reporting, information management, security engineering and consulting, and strategic innovation. He also served in various IT positions with the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) over an eight-year span.  Chris earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Evolution and Ecology and a minor in Oceanography from the University of California, Davis.

Appointed in March 2022, Crystal Taylor serves as Chief IT Strategy Officer and Chief of the Information Technology Strategy Services Division within the Enterprise Technology Services at DHCS. With nearly two years in this pivotal role, Crystal has been a driving force in implementing strategic changes, enhancing programmatic efficiency, and delivering exceptional business value, exemplifying leadership in public sector technology management. In her current role, Crystal is instrumental in guiding department-wide IT leadership, orchestrating the development and execution of enterprise-level product modernization and architecture strategy, managing a vast portfolio of projects, and delivering comprehensive IT administrative services. Her efforts are central to DHCS's commitment to strategically modernize its technological infrastructure and services in support of the programmatic needs of DHCS.
More broadly, Crystal career spans over 18 years with the State of California, marked by various impactful, high visibility leadership positions and a track record of successfully managing complex strategic initiatives. Crystal has excelled as Chief of the Product Branch within DHCS's Medi-Cal Enterprise Systems Modernization Division, served as Assistant Director and Acting Deputy Director of the California Project Management Office at the California Department of Technology, Information Technology Manager for Franchise Tax Board’s Systems Engineering and Access Management Section within Technology Services Division, Budget Officer for the Franchise Tax Board’s entire fiscal portfolio, and Fiscal & Policy Analyst for the California Legislative Analyst’s Office. In these roles, Crystal directed state project portfolios, developed and implemented project management processes and tools, managed technology operations, modernized technology systems, testified to the Executive Branch and Legislative Committees on state programs and budgets, and oversaw the day-to-day operations of state offices. Crystal holds a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics from Lafayette College and two Master's Degrees from Princeton University in Public Affairs and Urban & Regional Planning.

Steve Trimble currently serves as DHCS’ Chief over the Medi-Cal Enterprise Systems Modernization Division. At DHCS, Steve provides leadership of legacy system modernization efforts across the department. This includes Product Management, Factory and Engineering, Data Warehouse and Business Automation activities. Before joining DHCS, Steve led the development organization at OSI’s Child Welfare project where he brought strong organizational and product delivery experience and expertise. Before joining OSI in October of 2017, Steve spent nearly three decades in the private sector leading technical organizations through positions ranging from Software Engineer to Vice President in a number of companies including AT&T Wireless, SirsiDynix, Cvent and ContentWatch. Steve brings with him to the state, innovative product delivery and organizational structure expertise including his strong experience practicing agile and incremental delivery for well over a decade in the private sector.