Government that works for everyone, from everywhere, on every device has never been more critical, and our Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers for 2022 are tireless advocates for ensuring digital services across the country check all those boxes. From county CIOs to agency leaders, state CISOs to diversity advocates, and technologists working behind the scenes to keep the public sector running, this year’s honorees embody what it means to be doing the people’s business in a world where technology — and our expectations of it — is changing faster than ever. These profiles tell the stories of 23 individuals and two teams demonstrating a fierce commitment to pushing state and local government boldly into the future. Their numbers include four California technology leaders:
- Lea Eriksen is director of innovation and technology and chief information officer for the city of Long Beach, a role she took on in 2018 after more than 20 years in local government. She has helped broaden her department’s vision to include digital services, civic resiliency, smart city projects and data privacy. As CIO, she leads a staff of 173 to implement the city’s technology vision, and manages a $57.2 million operating budget. (Eriksen spoke to Techwire in June 2021.)
- Linda Gerull is chief information officer and executive director of the Department of Technology for the consolidated city-county of San Francisco, roles she has had since 2017. San Francisco’s 30,000 underserved residents are among her priorities, and she has spearheaded the delivery of free Internet to affordable housing. Gerull has also worked to make city services more available via digital tools — and to include residents in the building of those tools. (Gerull spoke to Techwire in August 2021.)
- Veronica Gilliard is deputy director of platform services for the California Department of Technology, where she has been for about 14 years of a 30-plus-year state career. There, she leads a team of more than 200 to ensure state services are available around the clock. Gilliard describes herself as “a helper,” and among the projects she has shepherded to completion is the city of Los Angeles’ migration of its mainframe business applications to CDT’s state data center in Rancho Cordova.
- Mike Shapiro was Santa Clara County’s first chief privacy officer, a post he relinquished earlier this year after having the role for five years. He joined the local government at a moment when few counties had such a role on their organizational charts, bringing with him a background in privacy consulting for clients across the corporate, federal, civilian and state government sectors. While at the county, Shapiro helped its more than 40 departments preserve the privacy of sensitive data ranging from voter information to data on domestic violence.
