Jacob “Jake” Johnson is the chief information officer and deputy director for IT Services for the California Department of Rehabilitation, the nation’s largest provider of vocational rehabilitation and independent living programs. In addition to vocational rehab, the department offers peer support, skill development, systems advocacy, referrals, assistive technology services, transition services, housing assistance and personal assistance.
Johnson, who has been legally blind since birth, began his career in the private sector, then joined the California Department of Finance (DOF) in 2001 as an associate systems analyst. After moving up the ranks in that department, first as a systems software specialist and then as a senior systems analyst, he moved to the state Franchise Tax Board (FTB) as an information security technical specialist. Johnson moved in 2012 to DOR, where he served successively as a senior business analyst, supervisor of Accessible Technology Services, IT supervisor and then IT manager before being named CIO and deputy director in November 2022.
Johnson provides executive oversight to the division, which includes 65 managers and staff who support Database Administration and Applications Development, Project Management and Administration, Software Quality Assurance, Web Services, Technical Support Services and Assistive Technology, Field Support, Infrastructure Services, and Information Security and Privacy.
Johnson has a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in linguistics and a master’s degree in education from California State University, Chico, and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional. He is a graduate of the California IT Leadership Academy and Sierra Health Foundation Leadership Program. He’s served as president of the Association of California State Employees with Disabilities (ACSED) and is active in the Asian Pacific State Employees Association. He and his wife, Patty, live in the Sacramento area.
IICA: As CIO of the Department of Rehabilitation, how do you describe your role?
Jacob Johnson: I have three primary functions as chief information officer at the Department of Rehabilitation:
First, I’m a member of the department’s executive leadership team. I, along with my fellow executives, have ownership of our organization. This includes our entire operation, everything the department does. Situational awareness of events that may impact us and clear understanding of our services and lines of business are imperative. I never know when I may need to jump in and support another division or enterprise effort. This keeps me on my toes in a good way. There’s always something new to learn and tons of opportunity to engage with people around me and connect the dots between technology and the value it can provide to our business.
Second, I serve as a voice for assistive technology, information accessibility, employment and independence for people with disabilities in the realm of California government technology, including with the California Health and Human Services Agency, the California Department of Technology, the California Department of Finance, my CIO peers, technology solution providers, and technology stakeholders throughout state government. This aspect of my role has focused thus far primarily on providing support for information accessibility and digital equity efforts around state government, connecting state technology leaders with subject matter experts and solution providers, assisting with strategic planning of technology efforts to ensure digital equity, and speaking publicly for the people I serve. If anyone reading this is aware of a technology effort in California government around employment of people with disabilities that I’m not already involved in or supporting, please get in touch. I would love a chance to help.
Finally, I provide executive oversight to DOR’s Information Technology Services Division, leading its managers and staff who perform database administration and applications development, product management, technology procurement and technology budget management, software quality assurance, web services, technical support (including assistive technology), infrastructure services, and information security and privacy. This is, I suspect, what most people think of when they consider what a CIO does. Despite all the 35-cent words in my job description, it’s more about the people than the technology. What I do most in this part of my work is prepare people to be ready for what’s coming next. Whether it’s for the technology we deploy or the next step in their career, my job is to ensure they have the tools and support they need. I firmly believe that the technology pieces are more attainable if we take care of and do things right with the people.
IICA: How do you define “digital transformation?” How far along is DOR in that process, and how will you know when it’s finished?
Johnson: To me, digital transformation is about reimagining the ways in which we provide services. The goals are to remove barriers to access, make services more intuitive and available, and create efficiency. We want services to be intuitive and efficient for our customers, partners and stakeholders to get what they need from us. DOR is on the transformation continuum. We’re committed to bringing everyone we serve along on our transformation journey. We’re mindful of the need to build and preserve equity and accessibility in our digital services. We want everyone who receives them to fully benefit and derive comparable value. We take a great deal of effort designing and testing to ensure our digital services will be available to everyone equitably, no matter their disability, community, or any other factor that could affect their ability to seek service from us.
We continue to see new technologies emerging that have potential to help us meet more people where they are and serve them better. The governor’s executive order to prepare California for the progress of artificial intelligence is an example. We’re looking at ways to leverage data and take advantage of technology implementations of other organizations to add value to our own efforts. When I think about how new technologies and practices can align with our mission and goals, I see opportunity. If we are to realize that opportunity, we will need to continue to explore new possibilities. I don’t see a point where we will be finished. Rather, the problems will change as we work through them. Just as assistive technologies like screen readers and video relay services enabled blind and deaf people to participate more fully in work and life, artificial intelligence and virtual/augmented reality may open doors that we’re not even thinking about yet.
IICA: What are your top two or three tech priorities for the remainder of 2023 and going into 2024? What opportunities should vendors be watching for?
Johnson: We’re in the middle of a two-year migration from our legacy financial management systems to the FI$Cal (Financial Information System for California) system. We brought in help for this effort and are making good progress. We’re working to modernize some of our other legacy systems while we’re at it. These efforts may seem kind of mundane. The reason I’m excited for them is because once we complete them, we anticipate having more technical staff resources available to perform more product development work instead of engaging in the maintenance of systems put in place before many of them were born.
We’ve started to invest in workflow automation. Many of our processes are completed manually using a combination of paper-based and legacy electronic processes. Our plan is to professionally develop more complex enterprise workflows using our own technology staff or contracted services. For less complex workflows that may be needed by one unit or section, we plan to offer non-technology staff opportunities to become business makers, sometimes referred to as “citizen developers.”
We’ve been working with a vendor partner to design an inclusive Teams Meeting Room experience for our employees, partners and stakeholders. We’re putting a few final touches on the room designs, and are getting close to implementing this technology in some of our Central Office conference rooms. We’ve had great support from Microsoft, including opportunities to engage with their accessibility experts and Teams Meeting Room design specialists. We anticipate these rooms will allow people with disabilities that might otherwise preclude them from conducting on-site meetings with remote participants to set up and run meetings independently without assistance.
IICA: The current state budget doesn’t include any significant changes in the department’s funding. Given that much of DOR’s funding comes from the federal government, is there any hope of an increase there?
Johnson: There are opportunities for one-time funding for investments in the current year, though new ongoing funding is far less likely. I don’t foresee an increase to a higher permanent funding level. We’re experiencing more of a one-time increase that could be made available for technology investments that make sense. It’s likely that we will have similar one-time increases for the next few years. The standard state and federal regulatory, administrative and oversight processes are applicable. The bottom line for readers is that we’re not looking to take on a bunch of new subscription-based software license or other structural expenses. We might, however, be interested in contracting for development services to build something valuable using technology we’re already using.
IICA: How do you prefer to be contacted by vendors, including via social media such as LinkedIn? How might vendors best prepare themselves before meeting with you?
Johnson: LinkedIn works well for me. I find most people who contact me there tend to be more intentional in their communications. I typically spend a few minutes a day reading articles and keeping up with colleagues. Email and phone calls are less effective, since I employ a variety of filters, settings and practices to safeguard my attention from unsolicited distractions. Vendors looking to connect with me should be focused on equity and be prepared to share how their company is working to increase it through products and services as well as business practices. The conversation goes much more smoothly if there is understanding of the basics of how state government technology procurement and budgeting work. It helps if vendors can provide a clear path for us to purchase their product and services using an approved state procurement vehicle that doesn’t require extraordinary administrative processing. Vendors can be well served by a sense of DOR’s business, the accessibility and equity needs of the people we serve, and the ways in which their business might add value to ours.
IICA: You started your career in the private sector, and now you have more than 20 years’ experience in state government, including with the Department of Finance and the State Franchise Tax Board before joining DOR 11 years ago. What makes your experience in your current role special?
Johnson: Every organization for which I’ve worked has provided valuable experience and tremendous opportunities for me to contribute in ways I found meaningful, challenging and rewarding. My first technology job in the private sector was as a help desk technician working for a regional Internet service provider. I was recruited by a guy from our local hobbyist computer club who owned the company. They needed someone who could support Mac and Windows without any training. I loved it there. No one cared that I was blind, as long as I could do the job. I realized, though, that there were significant potential barriers due to my disability. I’m legally blind. There weren’t many reasonable accommodations that seemed applicable, or at least we didn’t know about them if there were. The environment was so dynamic. I had to figure things out in an ad hoc manner. The organization was supportive. I never felt as though I was in danger of not being able to perform my work. I was, however, conscious of the fact that my situation might be unusual, that if circumstances were different or people were less willing to support the way I needed to work around my disability, I might not be as successful.
Dennis Noone / Industry Insider
Department of Rehabilitation is special because it seeks to combine and amplify everything great about employment and the benefits of work for people with disabilities. At DOR, we build accessibility and equity into everything we do and every service we provide. We constantly engage internally and externally to drive positive outcomes for the people we serve. We approach inclusivity and belonging with intention. At DOR, not only do I feel as though working there as a person with a disability is the norm rather than an exception, but I get to work every day to make this same wonderful ubiquity a reality for all people with disabilities. I no longer have that little voice in the back of my head telling me my situation is unusual or serendipitous. I feel like I’m 11 feet tall, and I’m not alone.
IICA: How do you stay abreast of developments and trends in government and technology? What else do you do to continue to learn and develop professionally?
Johnson: I try to read and develop familiarity with everything I can get my hands on that might have an impact on my department’s services, paying particular interest to anything that might be connected to technology. Examples include published documents and policy direction from executive branch oversight entities like Department of Finance and Department of Technology. I review all Governor’s Office press releases and other published material. I try to keep up on legislation that may impact services and technology, as well as legislative publications such as the Legislative Analyst’s analyses of the Governor’s Budget. I read professional development and leadership books. Some favorites include Crucial Conversations by Joseph Grenny, The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, and Discover Your True North by Bill George. I read online publications and forums that report on or follow California government, including Industry Insider. I participate in Government Technology* trade events and community sponsored events pertaining to the people I serve.
IICA: What are your hobbies?
Johnson: My hobbies are kind of stereotypical for a technology person. They’re mostly practical and the kinds of things I can do regularly without too much trouble. I play in and sometimes run a weekly Dungeons & Dragons game. I collect mechanical computer keyboards like the ones we had back in the ’80s and ’90s, but with some modern updates. I love to write and spend so much time working at the keyboard that having a nice typing experience makes my day much more enjoyable. I’m an unapologetic coffee nerd. My wife thinks I’m nuts. I weigh the beans and water, control the fineness of the grind, and basically obsess over the whole process. Most of my hobbies require research and learning, and I keep finding new ones to pursue. This past summer, I took the exams to become certified as an amateur radio operator (KN6ZQV). I got my Amateur Extra certification but haven’t done much with it yet. Maybe I’ll pick up a radio and get on the air sometime soon.
*Government Technology magazine is a publication of e.Republic, which also produces Industry Insider — California.
Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for style and brevity.
