Former State CIO Amanda Crawford Receives Bob Bullock Award

Texas Insurance Commissioner Amanda Crawford, who previously led the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) as executive director and state CIO, received the Bob Bullock Award for Outstanding Public Stewardship on Thursday in Austin.

Named after former Texas legislator, Comptroller and Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, the award recognizes a Texas official whose career demonstrates exceptional public service and innovation.

The award was presented during the 26th annual Bob Bullock Award presentation, recognizing Crawford’s 27 years of public service and public stewardship. Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Crawford earlier this year as Texas insurance commissioner after her tenure leading the Department of Information Resources from 2019 to 2026.

At the department, Crawford oversaw daily operations that included protecting state data and critical technology infrastructure, managing a multibillion-dollar cooperative contracts program and providing statewide technology leadership to all levels of Texas government. She was named one of Government Technology’s* Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers in 2023.

Tony Sauerhoff, who succeeded Crawford as executive director of the department and state CIO, introduced her at the event. He described Crawford as the agency’s second-longest-tenured executive director, serving just short of seven years, and pointed to her leadership during the August 2019 statewide ransomware incident. The incident led to a disaster declaration from Abbott and later was identified as the largest coordinated ransomware attack against local governments in the U.S. at that time.

“This award honors leadership, innovation and a career marked by meaningful public service [and] public stewardship, and Amanda Crawford exemplifies all of these qualities,” Sauerhoff said at the event. “Texas is better, Mandy, because of you and your work.”

Crawford’s tenure included work across modernization, cybersecurity, digital services and shared technology initiatives. Those efforts included statewide procurement, cloud adoption, data governance, security, contract modernization, accessibility and emerging technology strategies. Sauerhoff also highlighted her role in early state artificial intelligence policies and frameworks, including her service on the AI Advisory Council.

Her time leading the department also included the redesign of texas.gov and the launch of Texas by Texas, the state’s digital government platform. In her acceptance remarks, Crawford noted that more than half of Texas’ age-eligible population now uses the app as the state’s official digital government platform.

“This award is really a recognition of all of you,” Crawford said in remarks directed to her former colleagues at the department. “The folks at DIR are truly some of the smartest, most dedicated public servants anywhere in the country.”

Crawford also recognized agency leaders, legislative partners, technology teams and industry partners who worked with the department during her tenure. She said Texas has shown that government can innovate while remaining accountable, secure and responsible with taxpayer dollars.

Before leading DIR, Crawford worked for more than 17 years at the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, where her roles included deputy attorney general for administration and general counsel. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and earned her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.

Crawford is now applying lessons from her statewide technology leadership role at the Texas Department of Insurance, where her work includes insurance regulation, consumer protection and community resilience.

“Whether the work involves technology, insurance regulation, consumer protection or community resilience, the mission remains the same: serving Texans well,” Crawford said.

*Government Technology is a sister publication to Industry Insider — Texas, both divisions of e.Republic.