Honoring the People Powering California’s Digital Government

Why It Matters: The Ovation Awards honor the people who are shaping and evolving California’s digital government. As Californians increasingly rely on technology to connect with state services, these awards recognize the individuals and teams who design, build, and improve the systems residents use every day. Honoring these dedicated public servants acknowledges their skills that help to improve access to service delivery. 

The California Department of Technology (CDT) came together on December 18 for the virtual 2025 Ovation Awards Ceremony, taking time to celebrate something that doesn’t always get noticed: the people who make California’s digital government possible. 

More than ever, Californians are depending on technology—secure logins, online forms that make receiving services easier, systems that stay up even during emergencies, and much more.   

The Ovation Awards are CDT’s way of recognizing the individuals and teams who make those experiences possible. Managers and supervisors nominate staff in eight award categories, and an Ovation Awards Committee selects the recipients from a strong field of nominees.  

This year’s honorees worked through a rapidly evolving technology and rising cybersecurity threats. They modernized aging systems, strengthened cyber defenses, improved how residents access services, and supported partners across state and local governments. Much of this work happens quietly, but its impact reaches millions of residents online who connect with the state.  

Though the majority of Californians may never hear his name, John Florian, the sole engineer on the California Digital Identity Team received CDT’s highest honor—the Performance Excellence Award.  

John played a leading role in projects that help protect privacy and provide critical support in difficult times, including: 

• The California Privacy Protection Agency’s Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP), which gives Californians more control over how their personal information is used. 
• The Digital Disaster Recovery Center Vital Records Request application, which helps people quickly access important records after disasters or personal loss.  

As the technical owner of the California Identity Gateway, John has also been central to advancing secure identity solutions statewide. He expanded integrations, helped state entities adopt better practices, and offered guidance on privacy and security across government. John’s mix of technical skill and commitment to public service reflects what the Performance Excellence Award is all about—building equitable technology that improves accessibility and makes life easier, and more reliable for all of California. 

CDT also recognized standout achievements in Leadership, Innovation, Organizational Enhancement, Customer Service, Superior Accomplishment, and Team Excellence—each category highlighting a different way staff are improving how government works. Some honorees led teams through complex challenges. Others redesigned processes, solved long-standing problems, or lifted up colleagues and partners so they could do their best work.  

This year, CDT was proud to present the inaugural Partnership Award to the Department of Justice, honoring the collaboration and shared commitment that made their joint efforts a success for Californians.  

The 2025 Ovation Awards show that behind every digital service are public-service problem solvers working together to build a better California digital government.  

Below is the complete list of individuals and teams honored during the 2025 Ovation Awards Ceremony.

PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE AWARD  

• John Florian, Digital Identity Engineering Lead 

LEADERSHIP AWARD  

• Donna Aguilar  
• Jimmy Ren  
• Lothar Petrik  
• Pedro Perez-Mireles  
• Timothy Issertell 

INNOVATION AWARD  

• Sandeep Johl  
• CA.gov Redesign Team: Shalica Bracciotti, Christina Florente, Artem Khomishen, Konstantin Koryaka, Carter Medlin, Steven Pierce  
• Geographic Information Systems Community of Practice Team: Carmen Gonsalves, Lothar Petrik, Nick Santos, Mark Tyler  
• Poppy Development Team: Kermit Bonner, Hong Chen, Steven Garrett, Myles Maskovich, Shaun Owens, Jack Van 

ORGANIZATIONAL ENHANCEMENT AWARD 

• Abdullah Lababidi  
• Heather Jackson  
• Nick Flores  
• Internal IT Services Strategic Management Team: Timothy Fong, Tammy Hedgpeth, Jennifer Oreb, Bobby Ross  
• Technology Modernization Team: Jillian Adge, Beau Powers  

CUSTOMER SERVICE AWARD 

• Curtis Coles  
• Marcel Morris  
• Sirisha Ibrahimpatnam  
• Zack Wheat  
• Geographic Information Services Team: Carmen Gonsalves, Nick Santos, Mark Tyler  
• Pave Your Path Team: Jennifer Hamman, Keri Nomura  
• Planning & Product Management Team: Gopikrishna Ghatamaneni, Steven Pierce, Corinna Martinez, Paul Martinez, Anirban Sen, Karuna Tamatam 

SUPERIOR ACCOMPLISHMENT AWARD 

• Carter Medlin  
• Katie Regan  
• Konstantin Koryaka  
• Acquisitions & IT Program Management – Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative Team: Sindy Cesarini, David Friedman, Chris Groves, Anthony Nguyen, Nina Westphal  
• Office of Information Security Audit Team: Marc Hanson, Satish Sam Malla, Lee Sarratt, Michael Stanford  
• Office of Legal Services Contracts Team: Adam Crook, Gagandeep Kaur  
• Office of Legal Services HR Team: Jennifer Marquez, Lisa Cooper  
• Product Delivery Lifecycle Excellence Team: Julie Bianucci, Sean Briggs, Deborah Chu, Shelly Lima, Omar Mohey Eldin, Carmen Morrison, Shawn Nguyen, Sharon Nicholson, Denise O’Neill, Jeffrey Porcar, Adam Ralls 

TEAM EXCELLENCE AWARD 

Accountability Website Team: Shalica Bracciotti, Gregory Duncan, Christina Florente, Anh Tuc Ho, Sandeep Johl, Artem Khomishen, Konstantin Koryaka, Carter Medlin, Mark Ohanesian, Stephanie Olivera, Katie Regan, Anneli Wong  

Delete Request Opt-out Program Team: Shalica Bracciotti, Surendrababu Chenneerappa, Christina Florente, John Florian, Narayana Gaddipati, Gopikrishna Ghatamaneni, Ryan Hamilton, Sirisha Ibrahimpatnam, Selvarani Janarthanan, Sandeep Johl, Michael Lakey, Anthony Lozano, Shanthan Madadi, Steven Noguchi, Satish Rikhi, Anirban Sen, Arjun Sing, Narayana Sudanagunta, Karuna Tamatam, Robyn Uyeda, Drew Van Diest  

Enterprise Services Division Reimagining Team: Kermit Bonner, David Chang, Raymund Dizon, Eric Ehnisz, Shatasha Felton, James Finch, Mathew Francis, Steven Garrett, Reeta Hook, Christopher Langston, Vishal Laroyia, Timothy Lyons, Fred Owens, Shaun Owens, Henry Pham, Jamaal Price, Raymond Rios, Cole Tadlock, Michelle Takeda, Navreet Takhar, Swati Tiwari, Shannon Warren, Corey Wise, Cheryl Wright  

GenAI Consultation Team: Mario Andrade, Ashok Bhatla, Kermit Bonner, Raphael Chan, David Chang, Hong Chen, Raymund Dizon, Kurtis Errecart, Roy Ferguson, Steven Garrett, Sam Hayashi, Eleanor Jordan, Manju Kamalamma, Myles Maskovich, Ryan Mekata, Steven Noguchi, Shaun Owens, Henry Pham, Jack Race, Raymond Rios, Amandeep Shahi, Antione Stovall, Leilani Sweeney, Minh Tu, Eric Woodford  

GenAI Procurement Team: Raymond Estey, Tien Le, Edna Toy  

LA Fires Portal Strike Team: Shalica Bracciotti, Gregory Duncan, Greg Fair, Christina Florente, John Florian, John Ginn, Ryan Hamilton, Jacob Han, Sirisha Ibrahimpatnam, Sandeep Johl, Artem Khomishen, Konstantin Koryaka, Ivy Teng Lei, Pia Lomboy, Carter Medlin, Mark Ohanesian, Lothar Petrik, Sharon Rabang, Katie Regan, Nick Santos, Anirban Sen, Caroline Smith, John Tangenberg, Linda Tracy, Blaine Wasylkiw, Anneli Wong  

Middle Mile Broadband Initiative Team: Alicia Alvarado, Eric Anderson, Michael Andrade, Lorena Candia, Jordan Davis, Lamont Dukes, Kenechi Emodi, Nick Giustini, Richard (Rick) Goldberg, Michelle Halverson, Pegah Kaviani, Mohammad (Mo) Khan, Mery Kieng, Adam Kirasic, Kyle Knapstad, Gary Le, Hang Liang, Shannon Martin-Guzman, Jason Moore, Kawika Nunenkamp, Louie Rowley, Mackenzie Shea, Parisa Soultani, Chris Street, Nicholas Wellington  

Network & Security Infrastructure Branch ServiceNow Migration Team: Ronika Christian, Scott Cole, Curtis Coles, Jennifer Detres, Mark Enfante, Shatasha Felton, Carol Horan, Joseph Ignacio, Abraham Khoury, Sandra Laxton, Anthony Lozano, Phong Pham, Sreeram Pothukuchi, Leslie Ross, Saan Saetern, Joseph Spooner, Laura Trejo, Khoi Tu, Kyle Voong, Ting Wang, Christopher Wilson, Jim Wong, Sara Wright, Kevin Yu  

Product Delivery Lifecycle Modernization Impact Team: John Avila, Julie Bianucci, Justin Black, Sachin Brahme, Sean Briggs, Deborah Chu, Michael Halverson, Beth Jackson, Delphin Kyubwa, Shelly Lima, David Machol, Jennifer McKinley, Omar MoheyEldin, Carmen Morrison, Shawn Nguyen, Sharon Nicholson, Denise O’Neill, Ilyas Payab, Wais Payab, Jeffrey Porcar, Adam Ralls, Raquel Rivera, James Smith, Anooja Tandon, Micheline Wilcoxen  

Server Based Computing Support Citrix O365 Team: Amit Chand, Danielo Dolar, Carlos Falero, Diana Garcia, Scott Kawamoto, Steven Lee, Christopher Miller, Ron Suster 

PARTNERSHIP AWARD 
Department of Justice: Greg Call, Brandon Fields, Florabelle Golchyna, William McMahon