Gov Tech Today

On Gov Tech Today, host Jennifer Saha talks with Amanda Renteria, CEO of Code for America, about bridging technology and government to help residents access safety-net benefits like food assistance, school lunch programs, healthcare, SNAP, and Medicaid. Renteria argues modernization should start with real user experience—watching people apply at kitchen tables—and emphasizes “no wrong door” access across phone, in-person, and mobile, plus culturally competent language and iterative design tailored to each state. They discuss why the “apply once” vision is constrained by shifting policies such as new renewal and work requirements, and how better data sharing and common definitions across agencies are still lacking. Renteria outlines Code for America’s values-first approach to AI, warning it requires infrastructure and should be tested carefully with humans in the loop, while highlighting promising uses like document verification and caseworker support.

00:00 Welcome to Gov Tech Today

00:32 Meet Amanda Renteria

00:58 Code for America Mission

02:46 Modernization That Works

05:48 No Wrong Door Access

07:59 One Time Data Dream

11:17 Progress Since COVID

13:26 AI Values First Approach

18:11 Where AI Helps or Hurts

22:52 Lightning Round Trends

24:53 Modernization Mistakes

27:17 Predictions and Dashboards

30:49 Wrap Up and Thanks

On this episode of Gov Tech Today, hosts Russell Lowery and Jennifer Saha step back from day-to-day procurement details to examine what California’s public data reveals about technology spending trends. Jen shares analysis comparing FY 2024–25 to 2025–26 across major contract vehicles, finding a sharp decline in IT services: about $3.8B down to $2.59B, nearly a 30% drop, with notable decreases in interagency agreements (down roughly 50%), formal competitive bids, and non-competitive bids. At the same time, IT goods spending is steadier and slightly up—from about $2.3B to $2.7B—suggesting continued purchases of software, hardware, and cloud while agencies reduce reliance on long-term vendor-managed services. They discuss policy changes enabling implementation services through the Software Licensing Program and consider political pressures, budget constraints, and potential pent-up demand ahead of the next administration.

00:00 Show Intro

00:14 Why Spend Is Down

02:28 Services Spending Drop

05:07 Interagency Declines

06:33 Competitive Bid Slowdown

09:09 SLP Services Surge

11:49 Goods Mostly Flat

13:51 What Counts As Goods

16:26 Big Picture Outlook

19:21 Wrap Up And Contact

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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