Newsroom

December 4, 2025

Building an Inclusive, Digital Future at the Speed of Trust

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – 

A Question That Guides Everything 

I want to begin with a simple question— one that every technologist should ask themselves, and one that guides every decision I make: What if government technology moved at the speed of trust? Not at the speed of bureaucracy, nor at the speed of procurement, the speed of crisis, and not at the speed of the news cycle. 

Imagine a California where technology moves at the speed of trust. Where trust is embedded from the start. A California where emerging technologies don’t just automate processes, they expand opportunity for everyone, regardless of income, race, gender, or immigration status. Imagine a California where residents receive services in their language, and on their devices without navigating 50 forms or five different agencies. This is a California where technology reduces concerns instead of demanding vigilance, and a future where we anticipate needs, eliminate barriers before they exist, and build systems worthy of the people we serve. 

This is the California envisioned in Governor Newsom’s executive orders on Generative AI and on Efficient & Effective Government. It’s a call to modernize before inefficiency becomes inequity. It is also Envision 2026, our statewide technology plan that operationalizes that forward-looking, anticipatory digital government. 

As we build this future with industry, academia, local partners, and community-based organizations, we can create a digital infrastructure, identity systems, and AI-enabled services that predict needs rather than respond to failure. 

Today, you’ll leave with three takeaways:   

1. How California is building an accessible California—not just digital services. 
2. How the state uses technology to lift all communities, regardless of zip code. 
3. How we are building a future-ready technology ecosystem that rises above the headlines
   

Why This Work Is Personal 

We often talk about “human-centered design” as if it’s a methodology. For me, it’s not theoretical—it’s personal. 

After decades in technology leadership, I stepped away from IT to serve as the Chief Health Director for California’s public employees’ retirement system. Three and a half years into the role and without warning I became a patient of the healthcare ecosystem I managed. 

At 48, I was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer and given a 7% chance of surviving five years. Standing here today seven years later, I don’t take a single moment of public service for granted. 

When your life depends on the systems you helped design, you see government differently. 
You see that every portal, every form, every verification process touches someone at a moment that matters. Technology isn’t just code and infrastructure. Technology is a lifeline. That realization shapes how I lead and why trust must be the foundation of everything we build. 

There is a quote I return to often: 

“Technology becomes transformative not when it is powerful, but when people know it works for them.” 

That belief— that trust— is our real platform. 

From Headlines to Strategy 

Five years ago, Governor Newsom appointed me first as State Chief Technology Officer, then as State Chief Information Officer. We were emerging from a pandemic where the priority was saving lives. 

As the new CIO, I walked into difficult headlines: 

“California IT Department Comes Up Short on Strategic Vision.” 
“State Auditor Pinpoints California’s High-Tech Failures.” 
“Auditor Blasts State Technology Department— Again.” 

The message was clear: California had world-class talent and ambition, but it needed a unifying strategy. It needed to find its true north. So, we built one, but we didn’t do it alone. We listened to more than 1,700 agency leaders, local governments, tribal partners, industry leaders, frontline employees, and residents. They told us: 

“Make government multilingual.” 
“Make it mobile.” 
“Make it easy.” 
“Make it consistent.” 
“Make it feel like one California.” 

That listening became Envision 2026. 

Building Trust through Results 

Fast-forward to today’s headlines: California earned its first-ever A grade in the Digital States Survey. We won the top national award for Digital Government Experience for redesigning ca.gov. CDT’s GenAI Sandboxes were recognized in the inaugural AI 50 for responsible scale. When strategy meets humanity, trust rises and results follow. 

Building Trust through Connection 

When we talk about digital equity and trust, tribal communities have been invaluable partners. 

For generations, tribal communities have fought barriers to opportunity and equity forced upon them. Today, those impacts remain and one of the most significant is the digital divide. Many tribal communities still lack reliable, affordable internet access. As a result, they experience inequity and lack of trust. So, California responded structurally. 

Under Governor Newsom’s Broadband for All Initiative, we are building the nation’s largest open-access middle-mile network— 8,000 miles reaching every county. A project of this scale is only possible through collaboration across departments, industry, and tribal, city, and county partners. Because of industry, we nearly tripled the fiber miles the state could have built alone. As one tribal leader told me: “Connectivity is modern sovereignty.” 

We’re not just building fiber we’re building the foundation for digital equity and opportunity. 

Trusted Digital Identity Verification 

If broadband is the foundation, then digital identity is the key that reduces barriers before they arise. 

Picture a resident after a crisis—a wildfire survivor, someone applying for disability benefits, nutrition support, or critical healthcare. 

They may not have a driver’s license that survived evacuation, or documents proving identity or residence. They may lack the means to travel in person and the time or mobility to go through multiple verifications 

Today’s verification systems create friction not by intent, but because they were built around legacy requirements. California is choosing a different path. 

With California’s Digital Identity Gateway, residents control what they share and decide with whom and for what purpose. There are no redundant checks, and no in-person verification. One secure, simple identity that follows the resident and not the bureaucracy. 

Today, the Identity Gateway powers Tap2Ride transit discounts across Sacramento, Monterey, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Nevada counties—automatically and securely applying discounts and confirming eligibility. 

Industry plays an important role by providing scalable identity proofing, privacy-enhancing technologies, secure credential issuance, and interoperability. I want to see more departments connect their systems to the Identity Gateway because no survivor, student, veteran, disabled person, or resident should wait to prove who they are when they need help most. This is how we build trust and how we deliver government at the speed people live their lives. 

The PDL and the Future of Project Delivery 

Trust isn’t just what we build, it’s also how we build it. 

For years, the Project Approval Lifecycle (PAL) slowed progress and frustrated teams. Thanks to the Governor’s GenAI Executive Order, and the leadership of Government Operations Agency, Office of Data and Innovation, Department of Finance, and Agency CIOs, we replaced it with the Project Delivery Lifecycle (PDL). The PDL is faster, more adaptive, proof-of-concept driven and designed for emerging tech, including GenAI. 

With the PDL, industry becomes a proactive partner by co-creating prototypes, sharing risk early, iterating early, and ensuring taxpayer dollars go further. It ensures California’s technology is built for residents rather than for process. 

Building at the Speed of Trust 

Government is too often perceived as slow and reactive by meeting residents only after something breaks. In that model, every delay and every repeated identity check erodes trust. It doesn’t have to be that way. 

Imagine a California where government and industry use technology as a bridge to proactive, anticipatory, human-centered systems. A California where technology prevents friction, protects privacy, and expands opportunity before residents encounter a barrier. This is the charge of Envision 2026. This is the mandate of the Governor’s AI Executive Order and Efficiency Executive Order.  

This is our collective moment. 

A Call to Action 

Let’s build systems that earn trust before a resident ever asks for help. Let’s unite public and private innovation to move California at the speed of trust—not bureaucracy. Finally, let’s create the future we want—not the one we inherit. 

If we act boldly and collaboratively, what could be, will become what is, and trust will be the foundation upon which we build.