Gov Tech Today

Hosted by Russell Lowery, Jennifer Saha

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Aug 2026

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Bridging the gap between .com and .gov.

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August 11, 202636 min

E79: California’s New State CIO on SITES, AI Guardrails, and the Future of CDT

On Gov Tech Today, host Jennifer Saha speaks with Chris Given, California’s new state CIO and director of the California Department of Technology, about his first 10 weeks in the role and priorities for the state’s tech organization. Given shares his background across 10 federal agencies via the U.S. Digital Service and work with several states, then discusses how CDT must adapt as departments modernize away from legacy data center services, reshaping CDT’s budget and service model. He outlines CDT’s push to act as a broker of services through SITES (Statewide IT Shared Services), aiming to consolidate common software purchases, reduce duplicative negotiations, and expand beyond initial AI contracts such as Anthropic’s Claude. They also cover Poppy as a safe AI experimentation tool, updates to California’s AI risk assessment process (5305F) with tiered review, leadership transitions including state CISO Vitaly Panich, and CalSecure 2.0 and CalNet’s expanded managed security offerings. 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 00:28 New CIO Hot Seat 00:48 Career Journey to California 01:51 GovOps and Federated IT 03:55 Meeting Departments Where They Are 05:37 Early CIO Priorities 06:31 Budget Shifts and Data Centers 08:25 CDT as Service Broker 11:09 What SITES Means 11:36 SITES vs SLP Explained 12:13 First Deal Anthropic Claude 12:47 What’s Next for SITES 14:14 Poppy AI Sandbox 15:09 Power Users and Community 15:54 Power Users Scale AI 16:39 Responsible AI Guardrails 18:04 Risk Tiers and 5305F 19:50 Communicating Policy Changes 21:51 Cybersecurity in AI Era 23:17 Leadership Turnover and CalSecure 25:51 CalNet Adds Managed Security 27:04 Modernization and Vendor Flexibility 29:39 Budget Cycles and Agile Reality 31:46 Pre-Solicitations Build Trust 33:07 Transition Plans and Closing

July 16, 202630 min

E77: Rebuilding Trust in Government Identity and Fraud Controls

In this episode, Jennifer Saha interviews Jordan Burris, who leads Socure’s public sector business using AI to verify identity and predict fraud risk, drawing on his prior work in digital trust and as chief of staff to the U.S. CIO. Burris argues fraudsters—helped by digitized services and modern AI tools—are outpacing government, making old identity-proofing standards and “bouncer-at-the-club” checks insufficient at scale. They discuss how pandemic-era “pay and chase” benefit delivery created losses that are often unrecoverable once funds move overseas, and why agencies must shift to layered, preventative controls that reduce friction for legitimate users. Burris cites efforts in California (EDD, CalHEERS/ACA enrollment, DMV) and other states, and emphasizes sharing risk signals across agencies and with transparent vendor partners without broad PII transfer. He predicts success will mean manageable fraud rates and better citizen experience, with accountability led by senior agency leadership and organization-wide vigilance similar to cybersecurity. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:28 Jordan Burris Background 02:55 Why Fraud Is Surging 05:43 How Identity Checks Fail 07:49 Pay and Chase Breakdown 11:42 Building Prevention Programs 13:47 States Leading the Way 17:58 Breaking Data Silos 23:32 Five Year Fraud Outlook 26:06 Who Owns Fraud Risk 29:31 Closing Thanks and Wrap

June 30, 202629 min

E76: Why Government IT Procurement Costs More—and How to Fix It

On this episode of Gov Tech Today, host Jennifer Seha talks with longtime public-sector consultants Heide Cassidy and Eugene Martinez about why government IT procurement—especially in California—so often feels slow, expensive, and overly burdensome. They argue that the system is built for checks and balances, but growing complexity, centralized control, and shifting definitions of “success” drive up vendor risk and cost. The guests point to Washington State reforms as promising models, including master contracts with prequalified vendors, greater use of national cooperative agreements, and more consistent pre-procurement dialogue with industry. They also critique California’s heavy reliance on resumes and references, suggest weighting interviews more, and propose asking vendors to disclose project failures and lessons learned. The conversation closes with the launch of their new AI-native, women-owned public-sector firm, Lynxar. 00:00 Welcome and Mission 00:27 Meet Heide Cassidy 01:01 Meet Eugene Martinez 02:39 Why Procurement Goes Wrong 04:03 Why Government Costs More 05:42 Centralization vs Autonomy 06:48 Washington Master Contracts 07:44 Rolling Admissions and Vendor Pools 11:28 NASPO and Cooperative Buying 12:33 Vendor Dialogue Before RFPs 14:34 Making Vendor Days Useful 16:17 Ongoing Relationships and Timing 17:19 Timing the Funding Cycle 17:51 Why Budget Transparency Matters 18:55 Sharing Spend Limits 20:05 Policy Myths and Procurement Reform 20:46 Reference Checks Overload 22:48 AI and Interview Scoring 23:56 Scoring Trust and Vendor Risk 25:19 Ask About Project Failures 26:47 Launching Lynxar 28:30 Current Projects and Wrap Up

June 16, 202619 min

E75: Appointments, State IT Leadership, and the Risks of Being ‘At the Pleasure’

On this episode of Gov Tech Today, hosts Russell Lowery and Jennifer Saha discuss how California government transitions affect thousands of gubernatorial appointees and the broader technology landscape, especially with an uncertain governor’s race and early “lame duck” dynamics. They use the departure of longtime state technology leader Liana Bailey Crimmins and the arrival of a new state CIO as a case study in how leadership changes ripple through procurement, priorities, staff retention, and vendor relationships, while core operations continue. The conversation explains the difference between political appointees and Career Executive Assignments (CEAs), including at-will risk, return rights, and why CEAs are sometimes called “career-ending assignments.” They argue that “personnel is policy,” urging listeners to prepare accomplishments, elevate strong public servants, and build relationships with the managers who will remain through future administrations. 00:00 Welcome to Gov Tech Today 00:14 California Transition Stakes 01:42 Positioning for New Governor 03:10 CIO Departure Shockwaves 06:37 Keeping Projects Moving 09:21 Explaining CEA Roles 11:25 Return Rights and Risks 14:07 Personnel Is Policy 15:58 Transition as Opportunity 18:19 Build Middle Manager Ties 19:32 Wrap Up and Thanks

June 2, 202624 min

E74: Sales Mistakes That Undermine Government Trust

On this episode of Gov Tech Today, hosts Russell Lowery and Jennifer Saha discuss common private-sector sales behaviors that can offend or erode credibility with government clients. They argue titles matter (e.g., “Vice President of Capture” feels cringey), caution against pushing “land and expand” too early, and warn that ghosting after a contract—often driven by commission and renewal structures—damages long-term relationships unless there’s a strong handoff to implementation and support. They explain why end-of-quarter discounts and quota-driven deadlines irritate agencies that expect best pricing upfront, and why posting lavish “President’s Club” or QBR trips can look like spending public dollars. They also critique generic “discovery” and meet-and-greet meetings as outdated when public plans and budgets are online, and urge respect for workload seasons like budget cycles, new roles, or audits. 00:00 Welcome to Gov Tech Today 01:09 Cringey Sales Titles 03:14 Land and Expand Timing 04:30 Don’t Ghost After Sale 08:27 Discounts and Fake Deadlines 10:42 Stop Posting Lavish Wins 12:50 Discovery Sessions Are Dead 14:35 Informed Discovery Done Right 17:32 Don’t Go Over Their Heads 22:09 Respect Government Timing 23:24 Keep Learning and Listening

April 28, 202621 min

E73: What State Employees Want From Gov Tech

On this episode of Gov Tech Today, hosts Russell Lowery and Jennifer Saha discuss Engage California, a virtual suggestion box run by California’s Office of Data and Innovation and previously outlined by Director Jeffrey Marino. Drawing on more than 1,400 employee comments, they highlight top themes: digitizing paper-heavy workflows (including replacing PDFs and wet signatures), automating repetitive tasks so staff can focus on higher-value work, and modernizing outdated legacy systems that drive delays, errors, and duplicate data entry. They also cover calls to better use existing tools the state already pays for (including Microsoft products), create more shared enterprise solutions across departments, improve data integration and trust through cleaner data and better dashboards, expand AI and advanced analytics for low-hanging processes, and increase digital access to public services. The hosts conclude that the success of the effort depends on leaders actually implementing the recommendations. 00:00 Gov Tech Today Intro 00:13 Engage California Explained 01:25 Digitize Paperwork First 03:56 Why Digitization Matters 05:37 Automate Repetitive Work 07:10 Modernize Legacy Systems 09:23 Use Tools You Own 12:24 Share Platforms Across Agencies 13:36 Integrate Data and Dashboards 16:11 AI and Advanced Analytics 17:06 Digital Access for the Public 18:11 Cross Cutting Leadership Insights 19:02 What Happens Next 20:18 Closing Call to Action

April 14, 202618 min

E72: RSA Conference Takeaways – Governing AI Agents and Securing Public Infrastructure

Gov Tech Today hosts Russell Lowery and Jennifer Saha recap this year’s RSA cybersecurity conference in San Francisco, noting the event’s commercial scale and a smaller, dedicated public-sector track. Key takeaways include how “agentic AI” is moving from buzzword to reality, with public agencies urged to treat AI agents like users—requiring identity and access controls, least-privilege permissions, logging, and auditing—within existing governance frameworks such as FedRAMP, StateRAMP, and NIST. They discuss governance as a primary security control, growing attention to critical infrastructure and physical access as cybersecurity issues, and the challenge of tiny local utilities lacking staff and budgets, suggesting collaboration and shared services. The conversation also flags procurement and tool sprawl concerns, and explores what outcome-based security might mean for measuring automation, effectiveness, and ROI in government contracts. 00:00 Welcome to Gov Tech Today 00:15 What is RSA Conference 00:53 San Francisco Cleanup Talk 01:52 Public Sector at RSA 04:42 AI Everywhere at RSA 05:34 Agentic AI as Users 07:42 Governance as Security Control 09:25 Critical Infrastructure Cyber Shift 10:57 Small Districts Big Risk 12:38 Shared Services and Support 14:20 Procurement Must Catch Up 16:31 Outcome Based Security Metrics 18:09 Wrap Up and Next Year

March 31, 202615 min

E71: Supply Shocks, Fixed Contracts, and the AI Regulation Patchwork

On this episode of Govtech Today, hosts Russell Lowery and Jennifer Saha examine how global disruption and an AI-driven hardware boom are colliding with government procurement realities. They discuss how rapid supplier price spikes and delivery uncertainty strain California’s fixed price schedules—often locked for six months—creating delayed quotes, uncompetitive bids, and the risk that vendors stop bidding rather than sell at a loss, leading to project delays and a focus on mission-critical needs. The conversation then shifts to federal AI regulation: a new plan and executive-order direction may set guardrails while still leaving states to manage AI procurement rules, potentially forcing early-moving states like California, Colorado, and New York to roll back some efforts later. They close on how legislation lags fast-moving AI, and how adoption varies widely across agencies and cities. 00:00 Welcome to Gov Tech Today 00:33 Supply Chain Shockwaves 01:18 AI Boom Hardware Crunch 01:53 Fixed Pricing Meets Reality 03:54 Quoting Chaos for Vendors 05:47 Project Delays and Workarounds 06:12 Can California Adjust Rules 07:35 Reseller Margins and Value 08:25 Federal AI Regulation Push 09:39 Bills Versus Executive Orders 11:08 Guardrails and Wild West 13:54 Uneven AI Adoption in Government 15:29 Wrap Up and Next Episode

February 24, 202618 min

E70: AI Tops NASCIO’s 2026 State CIO Priorities — Ending Cybersecurity’s 12-Year Reign

What happens when cybersecurity is no longer the No. 1 priority for state CIOs? On this episode of Gov Tech Today, hosts Russell Lowery and Jennifer Saha break down the National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO) annual Top 10 list for 2026—and the major shakeup that put AI, including generative and agentic AI and machine learning, at the top for the first time in more than a decade. 00:00 Welcome to Gov Tech Today + What’s Coming Up 00:23 What the NASCIO Top 10 List Is (and Why It Matters) 01:24 Major Shakeup: AI Takes the #1 Spot 03:00 #2 Cybersecurity: Still Critical, Now Shaped by AI 04:58 #3 Budget & Cost Pressures Move Up the Rankings 06:15 #4 Modernization: Tackling Legacy Systems (and Funding It) 07:28 #5 Digital Government Services Debut in the Top 10 08:23 #6 Accessibility: New Federal Rules Drive State Action 09:20 #7–#8 IAM + Data/Analytics: The “Foundation” Priorities 13:20 #9 Consolidation & Optimization: Fewer Systems, More Shared Platforms 16:25 #10 Cloud Services: From Trendy to Ubiquitous (Cloud Smart) 17:56 Wrap-Up: Thanks to NASCIO and State CIOs

February 10, 202615 min

E69: Transforming Maintenance and Operations — From Maintenance to Modernization

In this episode of Gov Tech Today, hosts Russell Lowery and Jennifer Saha dive into a new trend in government contracting: transforming maintenance and operations (M&O) into modernization opportunities. They examine how traditional M&O contracts are increasingly including system improvement requirements, effectively shifting from simple maintenance to significant technological upgrades. This approach allows government agencies to modernize within existing budgets, avoiding the complexities and scrutiny of new IT projects. The discussion also explores the balance between maintaining existing systems and leveraging M&O contracts for continuous modernization. 00:00 Introduction to Gov Tech Today 00:24 Exploring Maintenance and Operations (M&O) Opportunities 01:06 Shifting from Maintenance to Modernization 01:50 Evaluating Contracting Processes and Budget Impacts 04:41 Maximizing Value from M&O Contracts 07:42 Vendor and Government Collaboration 12:57 Final Thoughts and Future Directions