California Gov. Newsom names new technology chief

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday named Suzanne Changus, formerly the chief information officer of the California Prison Industry Authority, as the new statewide chief technology officer.

Changus fills a role that was most recently held by Liana Bailey-Crimmins, whom Newsom earlier this year appointed to the role of statewide CIO. As CTO, Changus reports to Bailey-Crimmins and heads the operational side of the state’s technology offerings, which range from developing enterprise IT platforms to supplying informational websites to the public. 

Before joining the state government, Changus held several IT roles in the private sector, including at the insurance firm Western Health Advantage, the Salesforce consultancy Zennify and a payment technologies company called POS Portal. According to her LinkedIn, she also worked for a decade as a competitive skating coach at Roseville Skate Club.

Changus joins a state Department and Technology that’s currently developing a $3.25 billion statewide broadband initiative. The network follows legislation passed last year with a goal of reaching 98% connectivity across the state.

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