Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed Ayushi Roy as California’s state chief technology officer, naming a public-sector technology official with experience in federal modernization efforts to one of the state’s top technology positions.

The California Office of Data and Innovation (ODI) held its second annual Data Demo Day 2026, with opening remarks by ODI Director Jeffery Marino and ODI Statewide Chief Data Officer John Ohanian, presenting three demonstration projects showcasing innovative government data solutions.

Cal-Secure 2.0, an updated statewide cybersecurity strategy intended to help California agencies address increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, including threats enabled by artificial intelligence, has been published by the California Department of Technology, Governor Newsom announced on Friday (7/31/26). State Chief Information Security Officer Vitaliy Panych said the framework is intended to support improvements over time while maintaining a coordinated statewide approach.

TechCA and the California Center for Government Innovation will host the fourth annual Emerging Technologies Forum on October 15 at Aggie Square, Sacramento’s innovation district on the UC Davis Sacramento campus near Stockton Boulevard. The forum will once again bring together government and industry leaders to explore emerging technologies and new approaches to public-sector innovation. Event organizers will soon send out a call for proposals to present at the annual event.

California’s ongoing debate over how to fix troubled government technology projects will enter a new phase on June 25, when the Little Hoover Commission convenes the third and final hearing in its review of IT project delivery. The upcoming session will include testimony from Nick Maduros, secretary of the California Government Operations Agency.

At the Forum on Emerging Technologies and Government Modernization in December, the inaugural Governor’s Innovation Fellows discussed efforts to modernize California government processes through human-centered design, discovery, and iterative prototyping. Watch the 30-minute panel discussion.

As Gov. Newsom’s second term and tenure as governor nears an end, the GovReport spoke with current and former state technology leaders, including some now on the vendor side, to gauge whether the Newsom administration has achieved its goal and what obstacles remain. The broad consensus is that the big ship that is California is slowly turning in the right direction, but that an emphasis on compliance, which stifles procurement innovation, persists.

Fenris Daniel of EY’s Data and AI practice delivered a lightning talk on how agencies can approach AI-enabled modernization in a practical, outcome-driven way. Speaking at the Forum on Emerging Technologies and Government Modernization, Daniel emphasized that successful adoption depends on strong leadership, clear priorities, and a focus on measurable improvements rather than using AI for its own sake.

SpruceID Founder and CEO Wayne Chang outlined how user-controlled digital wallets could help modernize public services by allowing people to securely carry and reuse verified information such as identity, residency, income, and eligibility across agencies. Instead of repeatedly submitting paperwork, residents could share trusted digital credentials when applying for benefits or other services.

Nava Senior Researcher and Designer Jillian Hammer presented a Riverside County pilot project that uses agentic AI to help caseworkers complete public-benefit applications faster and with fewer errors, while keeping human interaction at the center of service delivery. She described how the process enhanced transparency, trust, and privacy, while staff utilize and explore AI tools in frontline public services. Watch her 10-minute lightning talk at the Forum on Emerging Technologies and Government Modernization on December 4, 2025.

At the Forum on Emerging Technologies and Government Modernization, Tyler Gentry, founder of Need Aid and a strategic advisor to the Stellar Development Foundation, outlined how blockchain-based payment tools could help modernize the delivery of government benefits. Drawing on his experience during the pandemic, Gentry said traditional prepaid card systems often fell short due to fraud, lost cards, failed delivery, and unused funds.

Robb Thompson, CEO of Riley Consulting Services and Oak Technical Services, outlined how generative AI is poised to significantly accelerate the replacement of legacy applications and the development of custom software in state government.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed Thomas Boon as Director of the Division of Enterprise Information Services at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), a leadership role overseeing the department’s technology program, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

DMV Chief Digital Transformation Officer Ajay Gupta and Sandeep Midha from IBM Consulting described how the California DMV is using IBM’s generative AI tools to extract business rules and institutional knowledge from millions of lines of legacy code, reducing reliance on scarce mainframe experts and lowering modernization risk. They said the approach has helped the DMV accelerate documentation, testing, and system redesign needed for its transition to modern customer-facing platforms.

CDCR Undersecretary Jennifer Barretto outlines how the nation’s largest state corrections agency is modernizing paper-heavy operations. She highlights tablet-based housing logs, a pilot for sensor-driven digital heat logs, plans to digitize 20,000 monthly grievances, providing Wi-Fi across agency locations, and workflow redesign using data and analytics.

Kealiʻi Bright, undersecretary at the California Natural Resources Agency, explains how modernizing government is harder—and more urgent—across a decentralized agency of 27 departments with vastly different capacities. He highlighted modernization efforts, such as improving campground reservations, building a single statewide grants portal that uses data and AI to guide applicants, and the need to track outcomes and reduce administrative hurdles. Watch Bright's 15-minute speech at the Forum on Emerging Technologies and Government Modernization on December 4, 2025.

In a candid Fireside Chat, Nader Afzalan, P.h.D, sat down with Jeffery Marino, Director of California’s Office of Data and Innovation (ODI), to explore what it takes to build a lasting culture of innovation within state government. The conversation offered an inside look at ODI’s mission to empower departments through collaboration, training, and human-centered design.

Nader Afzalan, P.h.D., a California public servant and educator, recently shared lessons from his career at the intersection of data, governance, and program design—highlighting both structural challenges and opportunities for more effective state government. Afzalan, Program Director at the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design and Founder of The Triangle, delivered a keynote address at the Forum on Emerging Technologies and Government Modernization on December 4, 2025.

Veteran state leaders gathered at the Forum on Emerging Technologies and Government Modernization on Dec. 4, 2025, in Sacramento, hosted by the CCGI and TechCA, to share strategies for transforming government through agile practices, collaboration, and resilient leadership amid shifting policy and budget landscapes.

State Chief Information Officer and CDT Director Liana Bailey-Crimmins called for California technology leaders to shift toward operating at the “Speed of Trust,” a concept she outlined in her December 4th keynote address at the TechCA Forum on Emerging Technologies and Government Modernization. Watch the video.