Join us for a daylong forum on innovation and efficiency in California state government!
Hosted by the CCGI and TechCA, the third annual Forum on Emerging Technologies and Government Modernization will be held on Thursday, December 4th, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at the May Lee State Office Complex at 651 Bannon Street in Sacramento.
State executives and industry experts will explore ways to improve government operations and overcome barriers to modernization. The forum will also showcase success stories across state government.
The program will feature keynote addresses, panel discussions, fireside chats, and breakout sessions focused on transforming the way California programs deliver services.
Immediately following the forum will be the TechCA Holiday Party at the Citizen Hotel, 926 J Street, in downtown Sacramento. RSVP here.
Speakers:
Nader Afzalan
Program Director/ Founder
UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design / The Triangle
Liana Bailey-Crimmins
State Chief Information Officer and CDT Director
California Department of Technology
Jennifer Barretto
Undersecretary
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Marybel Batjer
Partner, California Strategies
Former Secretary, Government Operations Agency
Keely Bosler
Founder and Principal,
Keely MB Strategies
Former Director, California Department of Finance
Keali’i Bright
Undersecretary for Natural Resources
California Natural Resources Agency
Wayne Chang
Founder & CEO
SpruceID
Anne Crew-Renzo
Chief Innovation Training Officer
California Office of Data and Innovation
Chris Cruz
Chief Innovation Officer
TabordaENS
Adam Dondro
Director, Office of Technology and Solutions Integration
Agency Information Officer, CalHHS
Stuart Drown
Senior Advisor for Strategic Initiatives
California Office of Data and Innovation
Tony Fortenberry
Chairman
Open Solutions for Government
Chris Given
Deputy Secretary, Technology and Innovation
California Government Operations Agency
Tyler Gentry
Founder and CEO
NEED-AID
Ajay Gupta
Chief Digital Transformation Officer
California Department of Motor Vehicles
Jillian Hammer
Senior Designer/Researcher
Nava
Jared Johnson
Deputy State Chief Information Officer and Chief Deputy Director
California Department of Technology
Ben Hafer
Chief Executive Officer
The Digital Services Group
Nick Maduros
Secretary
California Government Operations Agency
Bill Maile
Chief Executive Officer
TechCA
Isaiah Mall
Practice Director
Infinite Solutions
Jeffery Marino
Director
California Office of Data and Innovation
Sandeep Midha
Delivery Project Executive
IBM Consulting
Diego Morales
AI Strategist
Delegata
Amy Tong
Senior Counselor to the Governor
Office of Governor Gavin Newsom
Andrea Wallin-Rohmann
Director of Client Engagement, Public Sector
NWN
Michael Wilkening
Founder, Wilkening Strategies, Former Secretary, CA Health & Human Services Agency
Governor’s Innovation Fellows
Henri Aghaei Baradaran
Research Data Analyst, Research and Data Analytics Branch
Department of Developmental Services (DDS)
California Health and Human Services Agency
Elizabeth Betancourt
Natural and Working Lands Policy Advisor,
California Department of Conservation,
California Natural Resources Agency
Ben Bressette
Chief of Planning, Policy, and Program Development Office
Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
Lorna Brisco
Chief of the Office of Training and Administrative Services
Department of General Services (DGS)
Government Operations Agency
Senior Master Sergeant Blake E. Carter
Personnel Information Management Technician, Air Division
California Air National Guard
California Military Department (CMD)
Liyuan Guo
Equal Employment Opportunity Officer
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
California State Transportation Agency
Nikki Hatcher
Contracts and Procurement Services Branch Manager, Division of Business Services
Department of Water Resources (DWR)
California Natural Resources Agency
Jennifer Uyeda Issertell
Deputy Transformation Officer and Assistant Deputy Director
California Department of Technology (CDT)
Government Operations Agency
Samantha Kissane
Chief, Centralized Screening Team, Office of Internal Affairs
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
Kannan Krishnan
Assistant Deputy Director for Scientific Programs
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)
California Environmental Protection Agency
Molly Linares
Deputy Director, Digital Design and Delivery
California Volunteers
Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement
Jai London
Services Procurement Supervisor
California Military Department (CMD)
Christina Marin-Fitzhugh
Branch Chief, Human Resources
California Air Resources Board (CARB)
California Environmental Protection Agency
Bryanna McAdams
Manager, Office of Strategic Planning, Program Innovation Unit
Department of Child Support Services (DCSS)
California Health and Human Services Agency
Jeremiah Oakden
Business Taxes Administrator III
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA)
Government Operations Agency
Lieutenant Marc Peachey
Lieutenant
California Highway Patrol (CHP)
California State Transportation Agency
Staff Sergeant Kelton Pisano
Emergency Finance Travel and Fi$Cal specialist
California Military Department (CMD)
Will Robinson
Legislative Director
Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI)
Chris Siino
Associate Warden,
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
Kattya Trinh
All-Hazards Dashboard Product Owner / CalHHS GIS Enterprise Agreement Administrator
Office of Technology and Solutions Integration (OTSI)
California Health and Human Services Agency
Brent Vanderburgh
Project Director, UPWARD Initiative
California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB)
California Environmental Protection Agency
Program
Bill Maile, CEO, TechCA – 8:30 am
Andrea Wallin-Rohmann, NWN Director of Client Engagement, Public Sector and TechCA Advisory Council Member
Adam Dondro, Director, Office of Technology and Solutions Integration – Master of Ceremonies – Welcome and Opening Remarks
Fireside Chat: Nick Maduros, Secretary, Government Operations Agency, Chris Given, Deputy Secretary, Technology and Innovation, Government Operations Agency, moderated by Mike Wilkening, Former Special Advisor on Innovation and Digital Services, Office of Governor Newsom – 8:45 am
Keynote Address: State Chief Information Officer and CDT Director Liana Bailey-Crimmins – Statewide Technology Vision: Look at 2026 and Beyond – 9:10 am
Panel Discussion: Executive Perspectives on Government Innovation – 9:30 am
Amy Tong, Senior Counselor to the Governor, Marybel Batjer, California’s first Government Operations Agency Secretary, and former Gubernatorial Advisor and CalHHS Secretary Mike Wilkening, moderated by former Department of Finance Director Keely Bosler.
This panel will look at the future of government digital services in California, including ways to create a sustainable innovation landscape that will span future administrations, discussing both the challenges and opportunities to create meaningful impact.
Featured Speaker: Nader Afzalan, UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design / The Triangle – 10:15 am
BREAK 10:30 am
Fireside Chat: Jeffery Marino, Director, California Office of Data and Innovation and Nader Afzalan, UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design – 10:45 am
Featured Speaker: Keali’i Bright, Undersecretary, California Natural Resources Agency – 11:15 am
Featured Speaker: Jennifer Barretto, Undersecretary, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation – 11:35 am
LUNCH – 11:50 am
Breakout Session One: Anne Crew-Renzo and Stuart Drown, ODI Deputy Directors – Room SE158 – 1:00 pm
Lightning Rounds with Governor’s Innovation Fellows
Breakout Session Two: Jared Johnson, CDT Chief Deputy Director and Deputy State Chief Information Officer – Room SE151 – 1:00 pm
Project Delivery Lifecycle
Breakout Session Three: Ben Hafer, Digital Services Group, Tony Fortenberry, Chairman, Open Solutions for Government -Stop Building Dashboards, Start Asking Questions: AI’s Role in State Data Modernization – Room SE152 – 1:00 pm
Breakout Session Four: Anne Crew-Renzo and Stuart Drown, ODI Deputy Directors – Room SE158 – 2:00 pm
Lightning Rounds with Governor’s Innovation Fellows
Breakout Session Five: Diego Morales, Delegata, From Data Complexity to AI Confidence: Readiness in the Public Sector – Room SE151- 2:00 pm
Breakout Session Six: Chris Cruz and Thomas Mowchan, TabordaENS – Beyond Chatbots: The Rise of Agentic AI in State Operations – Room SE152 – 2:00 pm
10-Minute Lightning Talks: Auditorium – 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Ajay Gupta, CA-DMV & Sandeep Midha, IBM Consulting – Unlocking Legacy Knowledge with AI: Accelerating Modernization Through Intelligent Code Translation
Robb Thompson, Riley Consulting Services – Legacy Application Replacement
Tyler Gentry, NEED-AID – Modernizing Government Payments with Blockchain and Stablecoin Digital Dollars
Jillian Hammer, Nava Public Benefit Corporation and Riverside County – How Agentic AI Tools Can Improve Human Service Delivery
Wayne Chang, SpruceID – Data Portability for Residents: Improving Access to Benefits while Cutting Fraud
Fenris Daniel, Ernst & Young LLP – EY Catalyst – AI, Automation Implementation and Support Solution
Intermission / Networking – 3:00 pm
Remarks: Isaiah Mall, Practice Director, Infinite Solutions and TechCA Advisory Council Member – 3:15 pm
Panel Discussion: CEQA, Permitting and Regulatory Reform – 3:20 pm
Closing Address: Amy Tong, Senior Counselor to Governor Newsom – California Vision – 4:00 pm
Note: This year’s venue is the May Lee State Office Complex in Sacramento (pictured below).
Location: 651 Bannon Street, Sacramento, CA 95811
Time: The event starts at 8:30 am and concludes at 4:30 pm.
Parking: There is a cashless parking garage adjacent to the facility with ample parking.
Food and beverages are not allowed in the facility lobby, auditorium, or breakout rooms. There is a full-service cafeteria and coffee shop on site.
Contact: Please contact us at info@techca.org or call or text us at 916.360.0239 with any questions.
