Spears Retiring as Deputy Director of CDT’s Project Delivery Office

Andrea Spears, the award-winning deputy director in the California Department of Technology’s Office of Statewide Project Delivery (OSPD), has announced her retirement.
Spears was reappointed to the OSPD role in the Department of Technology (CDT) in October by Gov. Gavin Newsom, capping a 28-year career in government technology. She had held the deputy director role since 2017. Spears was among the recipients of an IT Leadership Award in 2015 at the California Public Sector CIO Academy.
“I’ve truly enjoyed the past 28 years in state service, having worked in several departments, each with important missions,” Spears said in a statement to Techwire. “It has been an honor to have served the administration for the last three years as the state chief project officer and a member of CDT’s great executive leadership team. It’s been rewarding to work alongside my colleagues and other IT leaders to deliver projects that provide critically needed services to Californians. As a public servant with a passion for project management, I couldn’t have asked for a better career. I’m grateful to have had this opportunity and will miss the wonderful people who I’ve had the privilege to work with every day … so many great memories.”
The state’s chief information officer, CDT Director Amy Tong, praised Spears’ state service.
“In her role as chief of OSPD, Andrea has had the broad responsibility to ensure the state delivers effective technology projects and services to all California residents,” Tong told Techwire. “We are grateful for her good work and for building a dynamic team to carry that work forward. We all wish her the best.”
Before moving to CDT, Spears had served in a variety of senior and executive-level management positions, including as chief of technology information and business advancement at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, and as its chief of Portfolio Management Services.
She was the program management officer for the California Department of Health Care Services, and chief of the Planning and Project Management Branch at the California Department of Public Health. Her professional history includes serving as chief of systems administration for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; as IT project manager for the California Department of Justice; and as IT project manager in the Infrastructure Services Management Division at the Employment Development Department. She held several positions from 1993 to 2005 at EDD, including information systems business analyst, project coordinator and employment program representative.