Mar-Apr 2025 | Vol. 17, Issue 2

Georgia Technology Authority

State CIO's column

Women in technology: thriving and driving positive change

As we reflect on the celebration of Women's History Month and look ahead to observing Women in Technology Day on April 4, it’s an ideal time to acknowledge the significant contributions of women across all roles in government technology — from streamlining government operations to being more user-centered, efficient, and practical, to introducing digital and automated solutions aimed at improving the delivery of government services through innovative technologies, to modernizing our IT infrastructure and enhancing our ability to protect against security threats.

Men have long dominated the tech industry. However, women have consistently shown resilience, expertise, and leadership in driving positive change for our communities. Women have transformed government technology into an instrument of transparency and accessibility in everything from healthcare and education to disaster response and law enforcement.

The modern landscape of government technology has evolved rapidly, and women have been trailblazing. Women have played pivotal roles in laying the foundation for many systems and ensuring that innovation and representation are at the forefront of the technological advancements that shape governmental functions and public service.

Although women have made remarkable strides in their invaluable contributions to government technology, much remains to be done. Underrepresentation continues to be a challenge that women face. According to a report by The World Bank, women hold about 35 percent of technology jobs in the U.S., and fewer top leadership roles in IT are held by women. While the gender gap in technology is narrowing in the private sector, women are vastly underrepresented and comprise a smaller percentage of the technology workforce in government agencies, particularly in leadership and technical roles.

Overcoming these barriers requires systemic changes, including creating mentorship and internship programs, strategic talent acquisition and leadership initiatives that foster environments that include voices from various backgrounds, a wide range of perspectives and differing viewpoints. Dynamic teams tend to be more collaborative, innovative and better problem-solvers of tomorrow's complex challenges. By investing in these changes, we can inspire the next generation of leaders in government technology.

Encouraging women's increased participation in technology work supports the kind of results we're all after. I hope you'll join me in seeing this happen in Georgia. And for today, let's applaud the work of women already in IT roles at your agency and beyond.

In this issue:

Tech Day at the Capitol Shows Women's Impact in AI

IT Service Info You Need is on GTA Service Portal

AI Hackathon for Public Service Inspires Collaboration and Innovation

State Initiatives Highlighted at AWS/Accenture Georgia Innovations Day

Briefly …

- State CIO honored

- StateScoop 50 Awards

- Showcase entries

- AI newsletter

- GOVHub addition

- Technology Summit

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Previous newsletters

GTA website

Tech Day at the Capitol spotlights women's contributions in AI

On March 13, under the gold dome, women’s contributions to the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) took center stage, along with prospects women will play even more prominent roles. With its theme for 2025 tied to Women’s History Month and women in technology, Tech Demo Day at the Georgia State Capitol offered a chance to focus policymakers’ attention on AI's powerful potential. It encouraged leaders to consider the many ways Georgia can benefit. It also illustrated the achievements of women making a difference in the AI world today.

State Representative Dar'Shun Kendrick organized the event again this year, which drew a standing-room crowd. State leaders, technology enthusiasts from the investor community, and the Georgia public participated. It featured speakers and technology demonstrations, and GTA was pleased to participate. State CIO and GTA Executive Director Shawnzia Thomas pointed to a rich opportunity for women technology professionals as IT teams capitalize on artificial intelligence. Chief Digital and AI Officer Nikhil Deshpande described the GTA-led AI program that promotes responsible AI use and education across Georgia's state and local governments.

Among the topics discussed was GTA's planned Georgia Innovation Lab, which will open soon. It's to be a center for exploring how emerging technology like AI can be applied effectively across government services. GTA will partner with industry technology leaders and state agencies to experiment with innovative AI use and more in the lab.

The service info you want, the IT services you need

Shopping for IT services is a little more involved than buying eggs. Price is a factor, but you need to understand what's going in, what you get out, and what could get scrambled. System requirements, security concerns, licensing, support, and more all need to be clarified.

In presenting its IT service offerings online, GTA aims to clearly explain the technology services it makes available to state and local agencies. The details can be found on the GTA Service Portal, which is accessible from the GTA website.

Services outlined include the full range of offerings through the state's GETS shared IT services program administered by GTA. That's everything from email services, computing, servers and SSL VPN remote access to managed security services, telephone and network. For each service category, details are organized consistently to make shopping easier. That includes a service description, costs involved, and service level expectations that may apply.

GTA envisions adding details for other services it provides, too. That ranges from a website and digital services available via GTA's Digital Services & Solutions team to development and operations (DevOps), cloud, and more. For agencies already subscribing to GTA services, requests for action (e.g., email account changes, offboarding, port changes) are also described here. Taken all together, it's information to help you better manage your IT grocery list.

AI Hackathon for public service inspires cross-agency collaboration and innovation

GTA was thrilled to partner with Microsoft for AI Hackathon 2025 for Public Service on March 24-26. The Hackathon, a one-of-a-kind event and the first initiative of the Georgia Innovation Lab gave participants from the state and local governments an opportunity to collaborate cross-agency, explore capabilities, innovate, and push the boundaries of generative AI technology.

Georgia continues to take meaningful steps towards ushering in the future of an AI-enforced government workforce and constituent services. GTA Chief Digital and AI Officer Nikhil Deshpande shared updates on the progress in integrating AI into state and local governments by shaping forward-thinking AI policies, fostering responsible adoption, and driving impactful pilot programs.

The 3-day event concluded with competitive team presentations for security, business, and developer tracks on use cases leveraged by AI tools to solve real-world problems and shape the future of public services. For more information about Georgia’s AI Program, visit https://ai.georgia.gov.

State initiatives highlighted at AWS/Accenture GenAI Georgia Innovation Day

Generative AI's unique challenges and opportunities for governance and public policy, how cost, accuracy and speed are major factors in AI solutions, and the benefits of public-private partnerships were just some of the topics covered at a recent GenAI Georgia Innovation Day panel discussion, hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Accenture at the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) office.

Shawnzia Thomas and Nikhil Deshpande participated in the conversation, highlighting GTA’s 3-tiered training program and approach to increase employees’ comfort levels and the agency's role in promoting responsible AI by ensuring Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is protected and conveying that commitment and trust to constituents. Ms. Thomas emphasized that "while the evolution of artificial intelligence continues to transform industries by automating complex processes and improving efficiencies, AI is not designed to replace humans—it is designed to enhance our abilities." The rapid development of AI brings with it an exciting future, but that "future will be shaped by human involvement—by the decisions, creativity, and values humans bring to the table," she said.

Other panelists included Lars Trey, an AWS public sector GenAI strategist; Kevin Kerrigan, the Fulton County Government CIO; and panel moderator Patrick Moore, Accenture’s state of Georgia client account executive. The day also included educational sessions diving deep into how generative AI is evolving and applied across industries, and live demonstrations of new and innovative generative AI solutions.

Briefly...

State CIO and GTA Executive Director Shawnzia Thomas was recognized in February as recipient of the prestigious 2025 BEYA Modern Day Technology Leader Award. With more than 12,000 in attendance, she was honored at the 39th Annual Becoming Everything You Are (BEYA) Conference and celebrated as a leader shaping the future of STEM. Shawnzia's work, spanning 17 years in Georgia state government and capitalizing on technology to improve citizen services, was highlighted.

Georgia’s Orchard web design system has won a StateScoop 50 Award, reinforcing the value of this system that promotes a uniform look and experience across state agency websites. It’s one of 11 technology-powered projects nationwide honored this year in the StateScoop 50 State IT Innovation of the Year category. GTA’s Digital Services & Solutions team manages the Orchard and helps earn site visitors' trust by building a consistent appearance across 90-plus agencies' websites. It also incorporates accessibility considerations into the site layout. Georgia also boasts a winner in the StateScoop 50 State Leadership of the Year category -- Jonathan Reich, CIO of the Georgia Secretary of State's Office.

GTA extends sincere thanks to all Georgia government entities that submitted project entries in the 2025 GTA-sponsored Technology Innovation Showcase. More than 20 submissions were received from state agencies, local government and state universities. The nominations suggest innovative technology use continues to thrive in Georgia. A panel of reviewers will weigh the entries, and those selected for honors will be announced in the coming months. Showcase awards are presented at the Georgia Digital Government Summit in the fall of each year. The showcase recognizes the teams who make the projects succeed and promotes the exchange of ideas for innovative use of technology.

A newsletter introduced in March by GTA’s Office of Artificial Intelligence aims to keep readers in step as the state of Georgia tackles integrating AI into how government serves Georgians. It will inform them of state AI program components, including AI training, ethical guidelines, the Georgia Innovation Lab for AI experimentation, the AI Advisory Council, and more. The debut issue of the AI newsletter highlighted the AI roadmap and governance model that will help guide responsible, ethical and efficient AI usage across state and local governments. Subscribe today to receive the email newsletter.

In February, the Georgia Sexual Offender Risk Review Board (SORRB) launched its new website on GovHub, joining some 90-plus agency websites hosted on the state’s official web publishing platform. SORRB helps safeguard Georgians by evaluating and identifying convicted sexual offenders who pose the most significant risk of repeated offenses. The new website provides resources for victims and offenders and makes information easier to find. GovHub, managed by GTA’s Digital Services & Solutions team, provides a consistent experience and accessibility for visitors across Georgia government websites.

Tentatively slated for June 10, this year's GTA-sponsored Technology Summit will focus on technology supply chain management, service delivery and AI linkages -- all part of capitalizing on IT in government. The full-day virtual summit will again be directed toward IT and business leaders from Georgia's state government agencies. Industry experts like Dr. Gerald Auger (creator of the Simply Cyber YouTube channel) will discuss themes in each area, with additional input from GTA leaders. The 2025 event will be offered at no charge for Georgia public-sector staff. Stay tuned for more details, including registration information.