Heather L. Pettit has been chief information officer and director of technology at the Judicial Council of California, the policymaking entity of the state judiciary, since December 2018. She was previously principal manager for the Council from April - December 2018 and managed programs including data center hosting solutions, data integration services, and identity management and digital evidence. Before that, Pettit was CIO at the Superior Court of California in Contra Costa County from September 2014 - March 2018, and chief technology officer at the Superior Court of California in Sacramento County from May 2007 - September 2014.
Pettit is also a faculty member for the National Center for State Court’s educational division and the Institute for Court Management, and she’s certified to teach courses in Managing Technology and Resources, and Strategic Planning and Visioning.
She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and history from the University of Texas at Austin; a master’s certificate in business administration and general management from Tulane University; and a master’s certificate in judicial administration from California State University, Sacramento.
Techwire: As CIO of your organization, how do you describe your role — and how have the role and responsibilities of the CIO changed in recent years?
Pettit: As the CIO for the Judicial Council of California my role is that of a partner, collaborator, adviser, innovator, translator, cheerleader, change agent and someone who inspires the people they work with, the courts, judicial officers and staff to find solutions to the problems within the judicial branch.
I am not sure that the role of the CIO has changed. However, I think business and IT now recognize the importance of a partnership in order to maximize success within an organization. In IT, we understand the critical nature of our role to provide solutions for the problems that the business is trying to solve. Without truly understanding those problems and partnering with business to create the solutions, success is more difficult to achieve. The pandemic has really highlighted the importance of that partnership. Business now understands the importance of engaging with IT early to make sure that there is alignment and agreement on the ‘best’ solution to the problem they are trying to solve. This practice has been evolving over the last several years, but I believe the pandemic has solidified it, which will be critical to future innovation and meeting the needs of the public.
Techwire: How big a role do you personally play in writing your organization’s strategic plan?
Pettit: The judicial branch has a very unique governance model where our work is managed by the Judicial Council and its advisory committees. The branch has a strategic plan for all its initiatives, however (as) a recognition on the importance of technology in moving towards a modern judicial branch, we also have a technology strategic plan and a tactical plan. The Judicial Council Technology Committee, which includes justices, judges and CEOs, and I am the Judicial Council staff member to that committee — is responsible for updating the technology strategic plan every four years. The Information Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC), which is the advisory committee to the Technology Committee and also includes judges, justices, CEOs, trial court CIOs — and I am the Judicial Council staff member to the committee — is responsible for updating the tactical plan every two years. The Judicial Council approved the new tactical plan on March 12 at its public meeting.
Techwire: What big initiatives or projects are coming in 2021? What sorts of RFPs should we be watching for in the next six to 12 months?
Pettit: The cornerstone of justice is equal access to all, including physical and remote. The chief justice introduced this as Access 3D — physical, remote and equal — and that is the basis for all the programs we focus on. Therefore, we have lots of large-scale projects going on right now to achieve those goals. Our current focus is on the digital court, which includes remote access to court services, including court functions like online traffic adjudication, court proceedings, and electronic submission of court filing or evidence and access to case records. We also have a large focus on helping self-represented litigants with our new self-help portal. Beyond remote access, we are also focusing on technology within the courthouse to better provide access to court users, such as multi-lingual signage, way-finding and workshops to assist litigants with their cases.
I would encourage vendors to look at our website regularly. We had a significant RFP for branchwide IT services released in March. We are looking for IT service providers in all the pillars of IT to provide services to the courts throughout the state. We also have an RFP coming out for digital forms and forms management in the next month. You can find our RFPs here.
Techwire: How do you define “digital transformation,” and how far along is your organization in that process? How will you know when it's finished?
Pettit: Digital transformation is a term often used to describe moving from manual to automated processes. However, I view digital transformation as business evolution through innovation. Innovation can happen through a variety of methods and tools; technology is only one. For the judicial branch, digital transformation is not only improving business processes by using technology, but it is about creating new channels to serve all court users and the public.
Techwire: What is your estimated IT budget and how many employees do you have? What is the overall budget?
Pettit: The Judicial Council IT budget is approximately $109 million, with 147 positions. Because of many one-time funding initiatives, we also use contractors for some of our branchwide projects. We also support 58 trial courts, six courts of appeal and the Supreme Court throughout the state of California.
Techwire: How do you prefer to be contacted by vendors? How might vendors best educate themselves before meeting with you?
Pettit: For inquiries, vendors should email ITAC@jud.ca.gov. Vendors should review the technology, strategic and tactical plans, as well as the Information Technology Advisory Committee’s annual agenda.
Techwire: In your tenure, which project or achievement are you most proud of?
Pettit: Several years back, the judicial branch worked on changing its governance model for technology from a top-down approach to a bottom-up approach. I was involved in the design of that new governance model, and I am extremely proud of how successful this model has been. The judicial branch does have traditional committee structure for management of our plans, but to achieve consensus and collaboration, we built out the ‘workstream’ model. The workstream model engages with the experts in the field of topic to evaluate and recommend the ‘best’ solution for the problems we are trying to solve within the judicial branch. The workstreams are managed by the Information Technology Advisory Committee and represent all areas of the branch.
Techwire: If you could change one thing about IT procurement, what would it be?
Pettit: The speed of procurement processing. I would like to see more of a partnership between vendors and procurement groups to get through negotiations more efficiently.
Techwire: What do you read to stay abreast of developments in the gov tech/SLED sector?
Pettit: I read Gartner, Government Technology*, Techwire and Wired.
Techwire: What are your hobbies, and what do you enjoy reading?
Pettit: I am someone who loves to be active. During the summer, I love to hike and camp, listening to live music and watching my San Francisco Giants play! During the winter, I love to snowboard. Year-round, I feed my creative side by working on different art projects.
*Government Technology magazine is a publication of e.Republic, which also produces Techwire.
Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for style and brevity.
