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Kevin Cornish Named Covered California’s New Chief Information Officer

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https://www.coveredca.com

Covered California has a new executive to oversee the health agency’s IT strategy and tech initiatives, according to an announcement this week.  Kevin Cornish will serve as the chief information officer, replacing soon-to-retire Karen Ruiz, who has worked for Covered California since 2013 and has served as its CIO for the past five years.

Cornish has more than 31 years of experience in the IT industry. While at Kaiser Permanente, he led a multi-million dollar initiative to transform the healthcare provider’s technology infrastructure from the ground up. He then moved on to fill roles as CIO for the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and most recently as chief technology officer for the University of California Office of the President.

“Kevin has spent more than three decades helping organizations build and expand their information technology infrastructure,” said Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee. “His knowledge, experience and passion will serve us well as Covered California continues its efforts to use technology to make health care work better for consumers and to support our team in serving millions of Californians.”

Covered California’s announcement can be found here.

Veteran Agency CIO Andrew Armani to Retire

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After 30 years of service to the state, Information Technology Deputy Secretary for Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency (BCSH) Andrew Armani will retire at the end of this month, he told the GovReport.

Image: Twitter

In his role with BCSH, Armani was responsible for setting policies as well as overseeing technology activities for the Agency, a consolidation of agencies that assist in licensing and regulation for businesses and professionals. 

Prior to his current role, Armani served as the director of the office of eServices, where he led initiatives that expanded service delivery via the California State Portal. Armani says one of his greatest accomplishments with eServices was creating a sense of consistency throughout the state’s online services.

“I was able to bring a uniform look and feel and branding to all executive branches’ websites,” Armani said. “This was accomplished by bringing a handful of state staff volunteers to design and develop templates and provide all the tools necessary to agencies.”

Armani graduated from California State University, Chico with a degree in Electronics and Computer Technology, which led him to a career in the private sector managing software engineers in the development of enterprise applications and network architecture. 

Across multiple roles and decades in information technology, Armani noted that “change is the only constant in IT.” 

The most significant change from the beginning of his career, he said, was “moving on from [on-premises software] to cloud,” a mass migration that has taken place largely in the last three years. 

One of the most significant and challenging tasks in that migration was the switch to cloud email services for California state workers.

“As the Co-chair for implementing statewide email consolidation, we were able to bring CAmail which was the first-ever private cloud email service to the state of California,” Armani said. “It took several years and many meetings with the various departments to accomplish the task.”

When asked what advice he would hand down to a potential successor, Armani provided a number of useful maxims gleaned from a long career with the state.

A good reminder to anyone working in technology, Armani urged that “vendors are not the enemy, establish a good relationship with them.” 

As for maintaining good standing as an executive, he said, “don’t let the power go to your head . . . [and] employees will go to any length to do what you ask them, if they respect and trust you and know you have their backs.”

Armani cites one adage above all that guided him throughout his professional career: nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.

Armani’s retirement will become effective June 30. 

CHP Chief Information Officer Scott Howland to Retire

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After nearly 30 years of service, California Highway Patrol (CHP) Chief Information Officer (CIO) Dr. Scott Howland will retire effective July 1, the department has confirmed.

Howland began his career with the CHP in 1990, training to become an officer and eventually rising to the rank of captain in 2004, where he served as the CHP’s representative to California State Legislature and United States Congress for four and a half years.

Howland served as the department’s assistant chief for close to five and a half years before assuming his current position as CIO, where he has served since May 2014.

While serving as CIO, Howland has overseen IT policy and procurement for the CHP and led the implementation of the California Accident Reporting System, the state’s automated collision reporting system.

Howland also oversaw the redesign of the CHP’s website and worked to deter cybercrime as leader of the Computer Crimes Investigation Unit.

Prior to joining the CHP, Howland worked from 1985 to 1990 in various roles at Oakland’s KTVU 2 news, while simultaneously earning his bachelor’s degree in radio and television at San Francisco State University.

Furthering his education, Howland enrolled at the University of La Verne in 2011 to earn his master’s degree in business and later an educational doctorate in organizational leadership.

The CHP has chosen Assistant Chief Chris Childs to succeed Howland as new CIO in command of the Information Management Division, effective on Howland’s July 1 retirement.

CDT Hires Carlos Isaac Cabrera as Geographic Information Officer

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The California Department of Technology has appointed Carlos Isaac Cabrera as the state geographic information officer (GIO), a newly-created position tasked with overseeing the regional distribution of technology funding and service delivery throughout the state.

The appointment of Cabrera follows the recommendation in 2019 by the Little Hoover Commission (LHC) to create a GIO position to coordinate the state’s geographic information systems (GIS), which collects geo-spatial data and allocated technology services accordingly. 

In their Oct. 2019 report titled “Mapping a Strategy for GIS,” the LHC also recommended the state create a GIS advisory council comprised of “government leaders and other stakeholders” and noted that the state’s GIS strategy was “inconsistent, and lacks centralization and coordination.”

The state originally named a GIO when the GIS program was created in 2009, but the position was absorbed by the chief information officer until the state began recruiting for a full-time GIO this past February.

Cabrera, an alumni of California State University, Fresno, most recently served for over four years as the GIS administrator for Contra Costa County where he managed a broad-based enterprise GIS used by various departments across the county.

Pedro Nava, chair of the LHC, applauded Cabrera’s appointment as GIS, saying in a statement released on April 28 that “we called for a dedicated, full-time GIO position, and we’re pleased to see Mr. Cabrera’s appointment. Though we hope to see the position elevated as outlined in our report, we are encouraged by this action and wish Mr. Cabrera the best as he steps into this critical role.”

 

Governor Newsom Reappoints Amy Tong as CDT Director

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Gov. Newsom on Thursday announced the reappointment of Amy Tong as CDT Director, a position she has served in since 2016:

Source: CDT.ca.gov

Amy S. H. Tong, 46, of Elk Grove, has been reappointed director of the California Department of Technology, where she has served as director since 2016. Tong was acting director at the California Department of Technology in 2016. She was chief deputy director at the Office of Systems Integration and agency chief information officer at the California Health and Human Services Agency from 2014 to 2016, deputy director and chief information officer at the California Lottery from 2012 to 2014 and chief technology officer at the State Board of Equalization from 2011 to 2012. She served as chief of the California Public Employees’ Retirement Pension System Data Center from 2008 to 2011 and acting chief information officer at the State Water Resources Control Board from 1994 to 2008. Tong is a member of the California Northstate University Board of Trustees, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Asian Pacific State Employee Association, and Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association. Tong earned a Master of Business Administration degree from California State University, Sacramento. Tong was confirmed to this position by the Senate in 2017 and the compensation is $197,797. Tong is registered without party preference.

CDT Hires New Deputy Director for Project Management Office

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The California Department of Technology announced that Carolyn Nordstrom will become the new deputy director of the Project Management Office (PMO).

Nordstrom has worked over two decades in both the private and public sector, including positions in IT consulting services, the California State Lottery, and most recently as executive consultant for Alexan RPM, a Sacramento-based risk and project management advisory service provider.

From 2015 to 2019, Nordstrom served as chief of staff to the chief information officer at her alma mater, UC Davis, where she graduated in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in applied behavioral sciences. At UC Davis, Nordstrom “spearheaded an effort to develop and implement IT governance for the University,” said CDT spokesman Bob Andosca in an email.

In her new role in the PMO, Nordstrom will be tasked with leading teams that manage project-related data and analytics as well as providing consulting services for various statewide IT projects.

The CA PMO develops, implements and maintains statewide project management policy, methodology and standards to strengthen and mature project and portfolio management practices and improves the overall success of the State’s IT project portfolio, according to Andosca.

Nordstrom takes over as deputy director for Andrew Wertin, who was recently promoted to Deputy State Chief Project Officer within the Office of Statewide Project Delivery. She will report to Andrea Spears, the chief project officer in the Office of Statewide Project Delivery.

OSI Hires Brian Wong as Chief Deputy Director

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Brian Wong, former CIO and Deputy Director for the California Department of Social Services (DSS), has been hired as the new Chief Deputy Director at the Office of Systems Integrations (OSI), Wong has confirmed via email.

Effective March 16, Wong will replace the previous chief deputy director, Matt Scheuller, who had been acting in that role since Dec. 2017.

A graduate of Long Beach State, Wong worked for the California Department of Motor Vehicles for nearly nine years in a variety of positions, including his role as Project Director for IT Modernization, during which he oversaw the modernization of the DMV’s legacy application infrastructure. 

Wong left the DMV in Aug. 2017, beginning his previous role at the DSS where he served for nearly three years.

As Chief Deputy Director for OSI, Wong will lead the department’s IT projects dedicated to delivering health and human services to Californians. 

Current OSI projects include California Health Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention System (CalHeers), Case Management Information and Payrolling System (CMIPS), and Child Welfare and Digital Services (CWDS). 

Governor Appoints GovOps Chief Data Officer, Deputy Secretary for general services, CDSS Chief Data Strategist

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Governor Newsom on Thursday announced the appointment of Joy Bonaguro as chief data officer at the Government Operations Agency, Krista Canellakis as deputy secretary for general services at the Government Operations Agency, and Natasha Nicolai as chief data strategist for the California Department of Social Services.

According to the announcement:

Joy Bonaguro, 39, of Oakland, has been appointed chief data officer at the California Government Operations Agency. Bonaguro has been head of systems and data at Corelight Inc. since 2018. She was chief data officer for the City and County of San Francisco from 2014 to 2018, information technology manager for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 2011 to 2014 and information designer for the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center from 2002 to 2009. Bonaguro earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California, Berkeley. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $151,728. Bonaguro is a Democrat.

Krista Canellakis, 37, of San Francisco, has been appointed deputy secretary of general services at the California Government Operations Agency. Canellakis has been chief innovation officer at the Office of Civic Innovation at the City and County of San Francisco since 2018, where she has held several positions since 2013, including deputy innovation officer, innovation officer and mayor’s innovation fellow. She was co-founder and chief technology officer at UrbanKit from 2012 to 2013. Canellakis was project assistant intern for housing development at Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation in 2011. She was development planning researcher for the development planning unit at the University College London in 2010. Canellakis held several positions at 3Degrees from 2004 to 2009, including senior marketing and partnerships manager, marketing manager and office manager. She earned a Master of Science degree in building and urban design in development at University College London. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $151,728. Canellakis is a Democrat.

Natasha Nicolai, 37, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief data strategist for the California Department of Social Services. Nicolai has served as branch chief of the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids and Family Resilience program since 2019, where she served as lead research consultant for California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids from 2016 to 2019. Nicolai was a researcher at Mathematica Policy Research from 2014 to 2019. She earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Puget Sound. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $156,240. Nicolai is a Democrat.

 

Reappointed: Patricia Monahan, California Energy Commission

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Governor Newsom today announced the following appointment:

Patricia Monahan, 56, of Berkeley, has been reappointed to the California Energy Commission, where she has served since 2019. Monahan was transportation program director at the Energy Foundation from 2010 to 2019 and held various positions at the Union of Concerned Scientist from 2001 to 2010, including director for the California office and deputy director of clean vehicles, and senior analyst. Monahan worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, as lead for the Toxic Release Inventory program from 1997 to 2001 and as an environmental protection specialist from 1990 to1992. She was a research associate at the international studies program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 1992 to 1994. Monahan earned a Master of Science degree in energy analysis and policy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $159,068. Monahan is a Democrat.

Governor Appoints Yolanda Richardson as GovOps Secretary

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Governor Newsom today announced the appointment of Yolanda Richardson to serve as the new secretary of the Government Operations Agency, according to his press office:

Yolanda Richardson, 49, of Roseville, has been appointed secretary of the Government Operations Agency. Richardson has been president at Teloiv Consulting since 2016. She was chief deputy executive director at Covered California from 2011 to 2016. Richardson was chief operating officer at Cal eConnect from 2009 to 2011 and at San Francisco Health Plan from 2007 to 2009. Richardson held several positions at Pac Advantage from 2003 to 2007, including vice president of operations, director of operations and training officer. She is a member of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $217,292. Richardson is a Democrat.

Richardson takes over for acting secretary Julie Lee who was appointed after the departure of Marybel Batjer.

GovOps oversees several Executive Branch agencies, including the California Departments of Technology, General Services, and Human Relations.

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