Julia Erdkamp Tapped to Lead Statewide Automated Welfare System

Julia Erdkamp has been appointed to lead the California Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS) as executive director.

CalSAWS is the massive 58-county undertaking to automate human services across a number of programs including CalWORKs, CalFresh, Medi-Cal, foster care, and several others. That effort began in June 2019.

Erdkamp brings more than 20 years of experience across a number of sectors and has held several leadership roles throughout her career. Most recently, she served as the director of FORWARD Platform, a solution provider that serves government and nonprofit organizations.

“CalSAWS stands as a beacon of hope and innovation, bridging the gap between technology and social welfare, ensuring that every Californian has access to the support they need. I am both humbled and excited to be entrusted as the chief executive officer of such a critical program,” Erdkamp wrote in a LinkedIn post.

In addition to consulting work, Erdkamp has worked in local and regional government, for the city of Sacramento and Orange County. She also worked at the federal level with the Department of Homeland Security, where she was a customer support and quality improvement manager, and the U.S. Department of the Interior, where she was the chief of the Enterprise Program Management Office.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California.