Curtis Cadwallader, who had held a variety of management roles since joining state government in 1997, has joined Outreach Solutions as a Service LLC (OSaaS) as a senior solution architect. Before going into state service, Cadwallader spent about seven years in the private sector, where “I always enjoyed the action … the ability to pivot, pursue opportunities and react to changes.”
Cadwallader said that after working for various state agencies for almost a quarter century, he had decided to retire – and then reconsidered.
“Okay, I gave retirement a try,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “That was fine for awhile, but I’m glad to be back doing what I do best, providing solutions as a senior solution architect for Outreach Solutions as a Service.”
“Rather than ending my career in government and enjoying a retirement,” he told Techwire, “I decided to leave a little early and return to the private sector, where I could pursue my goal of building innovative solutions.”
In his role with OSaaS, Cadwallader works extensively with Salesforce solutions. That, he said, gives him freedom.
“With Salesforce, not only am I able to find employment nationwide or worldwide, but since it’s a cloud service, I can work from almost anywhere, which allows me to balance work and leisure,” he said. “After working for the state in Sacramento for 25 years, it’s been nice to visit the coast, doing some work in the morning and then getting out in the afternoon for a walk or bicycle ride, especially when it’s 104 degrees in the valley!”
Cadwallader started with the state in 1997 as IT manager for the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), where he spent 10 years. In that time, he says, his achievements included leading the creation of the commission’s first internally hosted website and email system and heading up two software development projects to replace hardware and software impacted by Y2K.
After his tenure at the FPPC, Cadwallader served as Infrastructure Section chief for the California Department of Food and Agriculture; deputy division chief and then data processing manager for the California Department of Public Health; and Operations Center manager for the Office of Technology Services within the California Department of Technology. His last role with the state was as bureau chief for application development in the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
With tech jobs being plentiful in the private sector, Cadwallader said he considered his options before joining OSaaS.
“The environment and tone of the organization convinced me that I’ll be able to work on challenging and meaningful projects, grow as an individual, and be able to be part of transforming government application development methodology,” he said.
He said he values OSaaS’s affiliation with Salesforce.
“I realized that state of California application developers struggled to keep up with the pace of program requests,” Cadwallader said. “Salesforce tracks people and interactions very well, and all public-facing governmental functions require a detailed record of public interactions that is easily accessible. Storing that information in a flexible system that can be modified and enhanced to meet changing directives, legal requirements and external influences should bring efficiency to government and enable agencies to provide better service to the public.”
Cadwallader studied computer science at San Joaquin Delta College, and he earned his bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of California at Davis. He has numerous professional credentials and certificates.
