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Newsom Appoints 3 to Key Tech Roles in State Departments

The governor named a new deputy director for broadband and digital literacy in the California Department of Technology, and a senior engineer and program manager within the Office of Digital Innovation, which comes under the California Government Operations Agency.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office has announced the appointments of three key leaders in state entities dealing in technology and innovation.

In the California Department of Technology (CDT), Newsom tapped a veteran of communications and politics, Scott W. Adams of San Rafael, for the role of deputy director of broadband and digital literacy. A news release from CDT described the position as “a critical role in the push to provide broadband equality throughout California.” 

According to a news release from Newsom’s office, Adams was most recently Scholar in Residence at the Rebuild NorthBay Foundation in 2020. He served as a director of government and external affairs for Comcast in the San Francisco Bay Area from 2010-2018, where he led the implementation of the company’s efforts to bring high-speed Internet to low-income households. 

State Chief Information Officer Amy Tong praised the appointee’s background.

“Scott’s professional history is rich in leading high-profile environmental campaigns and working to bring high-speed Internet to low-income households,” Tong said. “Given his experience working with diverse stakeholder groups and his passion to make broadband accessible, reliable and affordable for all, I have no doubt he will prove a valuable asset in California’s drive to bridge the digital divide.”

Adams has been a public affairs consultant with Scott Adams Consulting since 2018 and from 2007 to 2010. He was director of governmental and external affairs for Comcast from 2010 to 2018. Previously, Adams was statewide political director on the Yes on Proposition 87 campaign in 2006, and had been a field representative in the office of Assemblymember Joseph Canciamilla from 2003 to 2005. Adams, who serves on the board of the San Francisco Asian Pacific American Heritage Foundation, received a master’s degree from UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies from California State University, Sonoma, according to the CDT news release.  

Adams noted that the state is at a point where government leadership, policy and funding have aligned to close the digital divide.

“I look forward to working with the talented and committed team at CDT, the California Broadband Council and other stakeholders to work toward the goal of fast, reliable and affordable Internet for all Californians,” Adams said. 

This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $141,588.

Two appointments were announced in the Office of Digital Innovation (ODI), the forward-looking component of the California Government Operations Agency.

Jim Bumgardner, 58, of Los Angeles has been appointed senior engineer in ODI. Bumgardner has been a full-stack engineer contractor since 2020, and before that he was director of Application Development and principal senior software engineer for Walt Disney Imagineering from 2010 to 2020. Bumgardner’s other affiliations, all in technology, include roles with Yahoo!, Palace.com and Time Warner Interactive. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $147,576.

Jeffery Marino, 39, of Los Angeles has been promoted to insights program manager in ODI, having most recently served as insights product lead. According to the governor’s office, he has been a columnist for the Boulevard Sentinel for several years and head of research and development for Symbihom since 2019. He was senior content lead and data journalist at ZipRecruiter from 2018 to 2019, and before that he had been affiliated with Redfin and First Tuesday. Marino earned a Master of Arts degree in comparative literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $146,000.

Dennis Noone is Executive Editor of Industry Insider. He is a career journalist, having worked at small-town newspapers and major metropolitan dailies including USA Today in Washington, D.C.