As part of Techwire’s ongoing efforts to educate readers on state agencies, their IT plans and initiatives, here’s the latest in our periodic series of interviews with departmental IT leaders.
Cruz Nieto is project management office chief at the California Environmental Protection Agency, a position she has held since October. She was previously the chief technology officer at the California Secretary of State’s Office, a post she occupied for more than three years. Before that, Nieto was portfolio manager at the Office of Digital Innovation in the California Department of Technology (CDT) from June 2017-September 2018.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Golden Gate University and is an advocate and supporter of the national nonprofit organization Latinas in Tech.
Techwire: As director of the Project Management Office at the California Environmental Protection Agency, how do you describe your role; and how have the role and its responsibilities changed or evolved in recent years?
Nieto: So, I can tell you, with a renewed focus and emphasis on environmental stewardship and the environmental challenges that we face in this state — of course, that includes climate change and the environmental impact — it created a need for a more concise and comprehensive management of projects that have a direct impact on the people in California. With that, our leadership recognized the importance of sound and appropriate methods and measures; that resulted in the creation of my position as PMO chief. My role is new and it is to direct and provide leadership in this highly important (area). My primary focus in the role is to mature our project management practice in support of the agency and our boards, departments and offices, which we refer to as the BDO. It’s, again, to support the agency and the BDOs and their goals; and in order to bring this to pass, I’ll be instituting standards, methods and governance to ensure that CalEPA organizational goals are met for the application of sound project management and support. ...
Each BDO does have the resources that support planning. ... Because each of the BDOs have their own internal organizational efforts that they’re looking to advance ... and as you would suspect many of those have a technology component. Each BDO could have their own projects that are maybe in a planning stage through PAL (the Project Approval Lifecycle), or in a reportable project stage that has a CDT oversight component.
Techwire: How big a role do you personally play in writing your organization’s strategic plan?
Nieto: My role and my office will be able to support and contribute to the agency’s strategic plan by being an oversight and implementation partner. That will enhance the agency’s abilities to meet its goals and objectives. One of the primary roles of the Project Management Office is to ensure that the common thread of collaboration, understanding and awareness supports our agency goal of “One CalEPA.” We do everything following the “One CalEPA” value; that’s something that we really strive to do.
Techwire: What big initiatives or projects are in the works or coming up? What sorts of RFPs should we be watching for in the next six to 12 months?
Nieto: So, at the agency level, one of our largest projects is the replacement of the legacy California Environmental Reporting System (CERS). And that’s a statewide management system that supports the electronic exchange of required unified program information among the regulated businesses, local governments and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. We recently just had a (Request for Offer) RFO that was released; it was a (California Multiple Award Schedules) CMAS and it was to support PAL and that was just recently released ... . We’re very excited about the replacement of that legacy system.
Techwire: What term or phrase do you use to refer to what many call “digital transformation?” How far along is your organization in that process and how will you know when it’s finished?
Nieto: I’ve got to tell you, this is an excellent question. I love this and I would love to hear others — their takes on this one. Because I think it will probably vary based on who you’re asking and their vantage point. But from my perspective, I don’t know if there’s a term or phrase that we can ascribe to a concept related to continuous improvement. A transformation is never complete, it’s continually evolving and is a mindset that adapts and evolves with the operating environment. I also think there are many externalities that impact and potentially direct our work, whether it’s related to the nature, the human or the political environment. So, we have to continually enhance and evolve our methods and our approach, whether that be through policy, technology or governance or other, right, other input, to meet the needs at that time. Ultimately, I think it’s about the right solution at the right time.
Editor’s note: Find the entire Techwire One-on-One series by name or under Q&As With IT Leaders on our website.
Techwire: What is your office’s estimated IT budget and how many IT/project management employees do you have? What is the overall budget?
Nieto: I’m still getting up to speed so when I’m thinking about the budget, I look at it from the perspective of agency level, so it’s each board, department and office, each BDO has their own budget. I’m getting up to speed on that and what that is, as I engage from an agency level with each of the BDOs. And then, there’s also the understanding that there are fluctuations depending on the demands of the organization, changes and projects that they’re currently undergoing. The PMO office, again, I think the answer depends on which perspective. Our agency PMO is very small but then again, each BDO has resources dedicated to planning for their BDOs and their projects that they’re undertaking. One of the things that I’m working on is doing the collaboration across the BDOs; and in my role and the agency role, supporting those BDOs in areas of project management. I think it would really depend, if it’s agency-level it’s small, but then each BDO has planning resources, and then we’re continuing to look at and have those conversations with the BDOS. That’s one of the things I’m looking to understand, how many resources they have ... . I’m really learning and upskilling on the resources, which include staffing as well as budget. And I’ve just started that.
Techwire: 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?
Nieto: I recommend vendors ... go to our CalEPA website, review our project portfolio history through control agency documentation ... to get an understanding of what it is we engage in, so that they can come to the conversation and have a better discussion related to a solution or services. I always think that those conversations are much more fruitful that way. Things like we talked about earlier, reviewing the strategic plan and really getting an understanding of what we’re about and what problems we’re trying to solve so we can partner better on that. LinkedIn is fine; I’m fine with that.
Techwire: How would you describe your goals and priorities in your current position?
Nieto: Our goals and priorities at the PMO, they’re in direct alignment with and support the strategic plan. We’re developing a broader community of practice and creating a PMO at scale for the agency that will support the BDOs with processes, procedures and best practices. By doing so, agencies and the BDOs, the thought is that we’re walking in lockstep with each other, and we’ll be able to collectively develop the initiatives that best support the overall health of our CalEPA project portfolio. It’s really that collaboration across, from an agency and a BDO perspective, is part of our portfolio and the overall health of our portfolio.
Techwire: If you could change one thing about IT procurement, what would it be?
Nieto: I would like to see more procurement activities and engagement that resemble what’s been done with RFI2. There’s a lot of merit in understanding what we stand to gain from our vendor partners, to showing the solution in action and proving the efficacy of their product. It carries a much more powerful message than words on paper, when you can see it and have something to look at and react to. That would be one area where I would like to see more.
Techwire: What do you read to stay abreast of developments in the gov tech/SLED sector?
Nieto: Well, I’m going to tell you, and this is true, I read the edition of Techwire daily. That’s one of the first things I do when I plan my day out and I’ve got to tell you, I really enjoy doing that. I also like to broaden and expand my resources. I follow information related to technology that comes out of Forbes; there’s many resources. But definitely, those are two right off the top.
Techwire: What are your hobbies, and what do you enjoy reading?
Nieto: I spend my ... spare time advocating and supporting greater representation of the most under-represented segments in technology, which is Latinas. I do that by supporting a nationwide nonprofit organization which is called Latinas in Tech. Their mission is to connect, support and empower Latina women working in technology. And ... I want to make a plug — they have a website, latinasintech.org, and folks can learn more about the organization there. They can also register to become a member and it’s free. That way, they will get all of the resources and information related to events that are happening. And fortunately, and unfortunately, all of the events are being done virtually because of COVID-19 concerns. However, I think that’s also broadened the ability for — it’s a nationwide organization, it has 21 chapters. So, what that has allowed us to do is join other chapter events ... nationwide and so that’s been very beneficial. But it also allows allies to register and recruiters to register. If you’d like to support Latinas in Tech as an ally or if you’d like to work with the organization, if you’re looking to broaden diversity in your particular organization, then the recruiters can go to Latinas in Tech and do that there as well.
I very much enjoy reading; I am an avid reader. I have just begun reading Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. Based on what I’ve read so far, I encourage you to get to it.
Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for style and brevity.
Techwire One-on-One: Agency Project Management Chief on Support Role, Projects
