Colorado Names First Principal Director of AI Architecture - GovTech

Colorado’s IT office has recently undergone changes amid a significant restructuring as the state shifts to a product-oriented delivery model. Among the changes, David Edinger stepped down as CIO in June, handing the reins to Sarah Tuneberg. Tuneberg was most recently deputy executive director for digital and delivery, and before that she led the Colorado Digital Service.

Yang reports directly to Tuneberg, according to an email from OIT Marketing Communications Manager Erin Jeffreys. Her first day was July 6, Jeffreys said.

Yang joined OIT after serving as the U.S. Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) first chief AI officer, according to her state bio. At ACF, she launched an enterprise generative AI platform to let teams create assistants for their workflows. She also initiated the organization’s “AI street sense” program to support workforce experimentation.

Before joining ACF, Yang worked for privacy-focused tech companies and for IFF, a community development financial institution. She was also involved with One Acre Fund, a social enterprise that invests in farms across sub-Saharan Africa. She has a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Princeton University.

“I’m excited and honored to be part of the team and my sleeves are rolled up,” Yang said in a LinkedIn post. Her profile indicates that the role will involve “charting and executing Colorado’s shared services that enable the thoughtful application” of AI for government services.

Other state IT leadership changes are also intended to support this restructuring. Earlier this year, the state eliminated its chief data officer position — pursuing a different path for data strategy of having teams across OIT leverage best practices for data instead of one office leading the efforts.

Colorado also recently established another new OIT role, the principal director of enterprise architecture. Casey Cook, named in June, is the first to hold the position.

Enterprise architecture (EA) is an operating discipline of frameworks and processes to manage government complexities, per the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. Establishing Colorado’s EA discipline is intended to help OIT better serve other agencies’ needs, Edinger said in June.