State Treasurer John Chiang has promoted Jan Ross to “deputy treasurer for technology and innovation,” according to an email to staff sent on Nov. 30.
Ross followed Chiang to the State Treasurer’s Office (STO) in January to be the organization’s IT director – a position she previously had at the State Controller’s Office when Chiang was controller.
Her duties will remain the same at the State Treasurer’s Office, but Ross will now have a bigger role in department-level policymaking and external affairs, the STO said.
Under the leadership of Ross, last month the STO launched a new open data website called DebtWatch that dives deep on the $1.5 trillion in debt issued by state and local government during the past three decades. Earlier this week at Techwire’s State of Technology Industry Forum, Ross said the STO would soon begin an alternative procurement method to modernize the Debt Management System.
At the State Controller’s Office, Ross oversaw the implementation of more than 24 independent IT initiatives, including government transparency websites: PublicPay.ca.gov, TrackProp30.ca.gov, and ByTheNumbers.sco.ca.gov.
Ross joined the Controller’s Office after 11 years with the Franchise Tax Board, where she supported a variety of technology initiatives. Her public service career was preceded by 16 years in private industry supporting technology systems, predominantly in the financial industry. Ross holds a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in management information systems, and a bachelor’s degree in French, both from California State University, Sacramento.
