Longtime state technologist Andrea Hoffman is the chief information officer at the California Department of Aging (CDA), a role she has had since July. She was most recently assistant CIO at the California Department of Child Support Services, a position she occupied for more than four-and-a-half years. Hoffman’s 17-year-plus state career began at the California Department of Water Resources, where she joined in June 2005 as a senior supervisor and analyst. Before serving as assistant CIO, Hoffman joined the Project Management Office within the California Department of Technology, where she was project director for the Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources Wells Statewide Tracking and Reporting Project from January 2014-November 2017.
Hoffman has a bachelor’s of science in environmental biology and management from the University of California, Davis. Her professional development includes graduating with the California Department of Technology's IT Leadership Academy Cohort 20 in 2013. Her certifications include being a Project Management Institute-certified Project Management Professional, being scrum fundamentals certified and being certified in organizational change management by Prosci.
Industry Insider — California: As CIO at your organization, how do you describe your role? How have your role and responsibilities changed in recent years in terms of their intersection with IT and innovation?
Hoffman: I describe my role as a strategic business partner, IT broker and transformative leader. Over the last couple of decades, I’ve worked at several state organizations within four different agencies. I’ve seen IT done well and not so well, and I’ve seen the diverse IT and business challenges faced by state entities from the innovation, maintenance and operations perspectives. As I grew in my career, I moved from an IT mindset to become a leader focused on delivering business outcomes that transform how state entities think and operate. I led efforts with broad impact to comply with state policy and implement statewide systems. Business and technologists must adopt an innovative mindset to fundamentally transform organizations and advance digital services. Success starts with an organization’s leadership and willingness to embrace change resulting from technology innovation. At CDA, we are strategically aligned and ready to begin the digital transformation journey to become a truly data-driven organization. A key driver of CDA’s innovation journey is the need to prepare for California’s changing demographics, where one in four Californians will be over age 60 by 2030. My passion is to lead innovative solutions and initiatives that transform agencies, create business and IT efficiencies, and better provide services to the people of California. I am excited to leverage my experiences and lessons learned over the years to help CDA leverage technology as a business enabler.
Industry Insider — California: Does your organization have a strategic plan, and may we hyperlink to it? How big a role do you personally play in writing that strategic plan?
Hoffman: There are two strategic and complementary documents that drive the direction and initiatives within CDA. CDA has a current 2021-2024 Strategic Plan that is available on our external website. California’s aging demographics are changing, with the over-60 population projected to diversify and grow faster than any other age group. In June 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-14-19 calling for the Master Plan for Aging (MPA) development. The MPA is a model for advancing system change through private-public partnerships, especially in the areas of data and research. The MPA outlines five bold goals and 23 strategies to build a California for All by 2030 and prioritizes the health and well-being of older Californians and people with disabilities. It also includes a Data Dashboard on Aging to measure progress and a Local Playbook to drive partnerships that help us meet these goals. CDA also leads the 2021-25 Older Americans Act State Plan, which serves as a blueprint for Older Americans Act programs that provide vital services for older adults and are operated by local area agencies on aging. I joined CDA after these plans were developed and progress was well underway. However, I serve as a business partner to help guide and frame IT decisions and initiatives to help CDA meet the goals outlined in these plans.
Industry Insider — California: What big initiatives or projects are coming up? What sorts of developing opportunities and RFPs should we be watching for in the next six to 12 months?
Hoffman: I would keep an eye on the MPA initiatives. MPA initiatives are currently being prioritized for 2022-2023 and will be posted on the CDA website by the end of January 2023. We are developing new initiatives for the next two years that build upon the past two years of work and outline new efforts to prepare California for 2030, when one in four Californians will be over age 60. The statewide IT initiatives related to the MPA include a ‘no wrong door’ California Disability Web Portal (CADWP), call center, learning management system and a customer relationship management system. These efforts are in various stages of analysis and the Project Approval Lifecycle (PAL). Additional upcoming IT-related initiatives include the implementation of a learning management system and establishing enterprise data governance to move CDA toward becoming a data-driven organization.
Industry Insider — California: In your opinion, what should local government be doing more of in technology?
Hoffman: Technology can play a key role in building a cohesive statewide platform and provide universal access to services when and where they are needed. Older adults and caregivers often have a hard time navigating and finding services and resources related to their needs when making important care decisions. Aging-related information is found across multiple sources and platforms throughout the state. Some local governments use technology in new and innovative ways to provide information and services to their local older adults, and CDA is interested in opportunities to leverage what works at the local level to model approaches at the state level (especially related to call centers and public-facing web portals). CDA is in the process of planning a statewide customer relationship management system to tie the statewide program together to bring relevant and cohesive services and support information closer to California’s older adults who need them. To maximize the potential of a statewide system and realize the vision of our Strategic Plan and MPA, it is critical to partner with our local communities and governments, other state entities, and the private sector. Willing partnerships are essential to advance state and local Aging programs and the services needed to support California’s older adults.
Industry Insider — California: How do you define “digital transformation?" How far along is your organization in that process, and how will you know when it’s finished?
Hoffman: Digital transformation is multifaceted from a people, process and technology perspective. All three are needed to transform an organization using technology as an enabler. I find that digital transformation is an organizational mindset as much as it is technology. Transforming technology starts with reimagining business possibilities, aligning on goals and envisioning service delivery now and in the future. In my experience, digital transformation allows organizations to break free from siloed operations and legacy systems that often prevent them from maximizing the use of technology to deliver services. It’s an exciting time at CDA because we’re growing as an organization, and we are aligned to support the people, processes and technology needed to transform the way we provide digital services to Californians. CDA is just starting the digital transformation journey, and I am honored to serve as CIO during this exciting time! With California’s changing demographics, our digital transformation will evolve, mature and grow over the next 10 years and beyond. The key today is to establish a flexible, adaptable and scalable technical foundation and to "grow smart" so we can scale to future needs. In my opinion, the best measure to know when we are finished is when older adults in California can find and receive the services they need when and where they need them.
Industry Insider — California: What is your estimated IT budget and how many employees do you have? What is the overall budget?
Hoffman: The IT budget is under $5 million. Although the department has doubled in size over the last couple of years, IT staffing has remained the same level. We currently have approximately 21 IT positions, some of which are limited term.
Industry Insider — California: How do you prefer to be contacted by vendors, including via social media such as LinkedIn? How might vendors best educate themselves before meeting with you?
Hoffman: The Master Plan for Aging and the Strategic Plan are key drivers for CDA initiatives and direction. These plans are available on our website and include descriptions and status of all our priority initiatives. When vendors contact me, it is most helpful when they bridge a general understanding of our top priority initiatives and stakeholders to their services. Referrals from within my network work well versus cold calls. Below are ways vendors can best be prepared to make the most out of a connection:
- Have a basic understanding of the CDA customer base and top initiatives.
- Identify the tools and service offerings that are applicable to CDA versus the entire suite.
- Provide state use cases (examples) for your products and services, especially within the California Department of Health and Human Services (CalHHS).
Industry Insider — California: In your tenure in this position, or in a previous role, which project or achievement are you most proud of?
Hoffman: There are a couple of projects that come to mind, but I will speak to the Project Approval Lifecycle (PAL). I led the initial team that developed the early version of the PAL, which at the time was referred to as STAR (State Technology Approval Reform). It was extremely challenging to transform a well-established and familiar 30-year-old state policy and process because it impacted the whole state, was very different from what people were used to, and some stakeholders were resistant. Key to success was engaging state entities early and throughout policy development, which helped break down barriers and address department-level challenges. I also want to give a shout-out to the STAR team. This was truly an amazing synergistic team that worked so hard, and I am extremely proud of each one of them! This effort has made a big impact on the way the state of California plans, budgets and approves IT projects to this day. I helped deliver the initial state policy from a state oversight perspective but also led the completion of PAL processes at the departmental level. Having been on both sides of the fence from an oversight perspective and a department perspective, I have seen more attention placed on establishing a business case and better planning before implementing IT solutions across state entities. It is very rewarding to see the firsthand results of my past efforts. No doubt the process needs continual refinement and improvement, but I am seeing benefits, planning maturity and reduced IT risk at the department level.
Industry Insider — California: What has surprised you most this year in government technology?
Hoffman: Organizations haven’t completely normalized since the pandemic. I would say the effects of the pandemic on technology and business processes are still being felt. The pandemic highlighted the need to invest more in digital services and collaborative tools. I’m finding the need to identify digital automation opportunities and to leverage automation from existing tools, especially automated processes. In addition, in our post-pandemic era, it’s essential to educate users on basic technology tools and features more than we have in the past. Another interesting development is the idea of a zero-trust security framework. This strategy labels every user as suspicious unless they are validated. With the White House order for federal agencies to adopt a zero-trust framework, this has become a hot topic but is still in its infancy at the state level.
Industry Insider — California: What do you read to stay abreast of developments in the govtech/SLED sector?
Hoffman: I like to read and follow various private-sector partner websites for their latest research, trends and use cases. I am also a big fan of reading Gartner white papers, connecting with analysts, and watching webinars led by industry leaders. I also follow Government Technology*, Industry Insider* and many other IT publications.
Industry Insider — California: What are your hobbies, and what do you enjoy reading?
Hoffman: In my spare time, I like to do creative activities. I really think practicing creativity through activities you enjoy translates to creative solutions and problem-solving at work. A couple of my favorite hobbies are playing the guitar, creating colorful art pieces and playing with my new puppy. I do most of my reading online and currently enjoy reading about ancient Egyptian history and puppy training tips and tricks.
*Government Technology and Industry Insider — California are part of e.Republic. Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for style and brevity.
