Advertisement
Subscribe to our daily newsletter.
Subscribe

Announcing the winners of the 2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Scoop News Group is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 StateScoop 50 Awards.

The awards, now in their 12th year, honor the most influential people in the state government IT community, and the most innovative projects that advance government operations and citizen services.

The 2025 awards will be presented to winners at a reception that coincides with the National Association of State Chief Information Officers’ midyear conference in Philadelphia.

This year’s winners will also be featured in upcoming video interviews taped at the conference and highlighted on StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast.

Starting in early February, members of the state and local IT community nominated hundreds of leaders and projects for this year’s StateScoop 50 Awards. StateScoop narrowed the list to nearly 200 finalists, and from Feb. 19 through March 14, readers cast more than 1.25 million votes to select this year’s 50 winners.

“For the 12th year, the StateScoop 50 Awards truly represent the best of the best across the state government technology community,” said Jake Williams, senior vice president of modernization and SLED at Scoop News Group. “From some of the most tenured IT leaders, to some of the newest faces on the scene, state IT leaders are doing big things to improve life for their residents.”

This year’s awards recognize leaders and projects from 21 states, along with executives from 13 companies. 

The winners:

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Gov. Greg Abbott

Governor, State of Texas

GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year

Greg Abbott is the governor of Texas. Abbott first took office in 2015 after serving as the state’s attorney general, as well as a justice of the Texas Supreme Court. As governor, Abbott has signed multiple pieces of legislation boosting the state’s technology footprint, including the creation of the state’s regional security operations centers.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Liana Bailey-Crimmins

Chief Information Officer, State of California

GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year

Liana Bailey-Crimmins was appointed state chief information officer and director of the California Department of Technology by Gov. Gavin Newsom in June 2022. As state CIO, she provides comprehensive strategic advice to the governor on a wide range of technology issues, including best approaches to implement state technology-related strategic plans, policies, standards and enterprise architecture. Bailey-Crimmins is responsible for ensuring California’s technology landscape is resilient, secure and forward-thinking by optimizing IT operations and integrating emerging technologies like generative artificial intelligence, cloud services and digital identity solutions. She also plays a central role in advising on funding needs to support key technology initiatives, ensuring that projects are not only innovative, but also sustainable and scalable.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Stephanie Dedmon

Chief Information Officer, State of Tennessee

GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year

As chief information officer for the State of Tennessee, Stephanie Dedmon is responsible for all operational areas of the state’s central IT organization, Strategic Technology Solutions. This includes managing the team’s IT service delivery, technical infrastructure development and support, customer service management and a workforce of almost 1,300 IT professionals. Dedmon is a former president of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. She announced in December 2024 that she will retire from her role as state CIO after more than 20 years serving in state government.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

David Edinger

Chief Information Officer, Colorado

GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year

David Edinger was appointed as the State of Colorado’s chief information officer in November 2023. Edinger leads nearly 1,100 employees and oversees a $373 million annual budget and $1 billion in federal grant spending for the Governor’s Office of Information Technology. Edinger joined the state after serving the City and County of Denver for more than 15 years.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Alan Fuller

Chief Information Officer, State of Utah

GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year

Alan Fuller was appointed chief information officer for the State of Utah in March 2021. As CIO, Fuller oversees all IT functions for executive branch agencies in Utah with the goal to improve innovation and improve government services through the use of technology.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Matthew McCarville

Chief Information Officer, State of Nebraska

GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year

Matthew McCarville is the chief information officer for the State of Nebraska. McCarville joined the state government in April 2024, after working as CIO for the University of Colorado Denver. He was previously the vice president of education and data strategy at the global technology consulting firm MTX Group. Before that, he served as the State of Florida’s chief data officer.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Gov. Janet Mills

Governor, State of Maine

GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year

Janet Trafton Mills was sworn in as the 75th governor of Maine on Jan. 2, 2019. Mills is the first woman governor of Maine. Before her election to the governor’s office in 2018, Mills served twice as state attorney general. She served as a member of the Maine House of Representatives and a district attorney. As governor, Mills created the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future to examine forward-looking policies around workforce development and broadband expansion.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Craig Orgeron

Chief Information Officer, State of Mississippi

GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year

Craig Orgeron is the chief information officer for the State of Mississippi. Orgeron joined the state government is 1997, and was named CIO in 2011. In 2020, Orgeron stepped down to take roles as an executive government adviser for Amazon Web Services and executive in residence for business intelligence and digital strategy at Millsaps College, before returning to serve again as Mississippi state CIO in June 2024.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Robert Osmond

Chief Information Officer, Commonwealth of Virginia

GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year

As Virginia’s state chief information officer, Robert Osmond leads the Virginia Information Technologies Agency. He previously led information technology, process improvement and strategic innovation as the chief of technology and business strategy at the Virginia Department of Transportation. Before that, he served as the division administrator of VDOT’s information technology division.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Ken Pfeil

Chief Data Officer, Commonwealth of Virginia

GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year

Ken Pfeil is the chief data officer for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Pfeil is a security and finance industry veteran, formerly serving as vice president and managing director of data protection and governance at the financial services firm OneMain Financial, chief security officer for the identity solutions firm TechDemocracy, chief security officer at MFS Investment Management and chief information security officer for the loan agency Pioneer Global Asset Management.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

J.R. Sloan

Chief Information Officer, State of Arizona

GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year

J.R. Sloan is the chief information officer for the State of Arizona. He joined the state in 2013 after working in the technology industry for more than 20 years in operational and executive-level roles in both private and public organizations. As CIO, Sloan oversees technology innovation, IT governance, policies and standards, as well as the delivery and operations of enterprise IT services and programs.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Jason Snyder

Chief Information Officer, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year

Jason Snyder is the chief information officer for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and secretary of the state Executive Office of Technology Services and Security. Snyder has more than 30 years of information technology experience in government, higher education and the private sector. He served as the chief technology officer at Harvard University and CTO of Massachusetts during the administration of Gov. Deval Patrick.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Trina Zanow

Chief Information Officer, State of Wisconsin

GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year

Trina Zanow has been the chief information officer for the State of Wisconsin since 2020, and has more than 25 years of experience in state government. Zanow was the deputy administrator of Wisconsin’s IT department and director of the Bureau of Infrastructure Support. She also held roles at the Housing and Economic Development Authority and Department of Health Services.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Jim Barnhart

Acting CIO, Commonwealth of Kentucky

State Leadership of the Year

Jim Barnhart is the acting chief information officer and deputy chief information officer for the State of Kentucky. ​​​As deputy CIO, Barnhart assists the organization with IT consolidation, governance and customer relations.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Sharen Brown

Senior Deputy Commissioner of Tax - Department of Revenue, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

State Leadership of the Year

Sharen Brown is a senior deputy commissioner of tax for the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Brown has spent more than 20 years working for the commonwealth in a variety of roles, including bureau chief for the Business Income Tax Bureau.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Christie Burris

Chief Data Officer, State of North Carolina

State Leadership of the Year

Christie Burris was appointed chief data officer in the North Carolina Department of Information Technology in January 2024. As CDO, Burris leads statewide development of enterprise data strategies, including governance, sharing and analytics across all platforms. Burris is director of the state’s Government Data Analytics Center, where she guides the state’s use of integrated data to support public safety, fraud, compliance, health care, finance and performance and policy decision analysis.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Amanda Crawford

Chief Information Officer, State of Texas

State Leadership of the Year

Amanda Crawford is the chief information officer for the State of Texas and executive director of the state’s Department of Information Resources. Crawford is responsible for the overall leadership, direction and daily operations of the state’s IT agency, which has an annual fiscal profile of approximately $5 billion. Crawford previously spent 17 years serving the Office of the Attorney General of Texas.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Frances “Frannie” Cox

Operations Manager - Department of Health, State of Florida

State Leadership of the Year

Frances “Frannie” Cox is an operations manager for the Florida Department of Health. Before joining the department in 2022, Cox was a business analyst for the technology consulting company Sanrose Information Services. She also held roles with the technology firms Vista Solutions Group and Mentis Technology Solutions.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Bryan Falk

IT Supervisor, State of Nebraska

State Leadership of the Year

Bryan Falk is an IT supervisor for the State of Nebraska, where he works on the web development team for the state IT office as a content management systems supervisor. Falk also serves as Midwest region president for the National Association of State Technology Directors.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

David Gerstenfeld

Director - Department of Revenue, State of Oregon

State Leadership of the Year

David Gerstenfeld is the director of the State of Oregon’s Department of Revenue. At the time of nomination, Gerstenfeld was the head of the state’s Employment Department, which he had led since 2020. Between 2011 and 2020, he served as an unemployment insurance division administrator.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Hemant Jain

Chief Information Security Officer, State of Indiana

State Leadership of the Year

Hemant Jain is the chief information security officer for the State of Indiana. Jain joined the Indiana Office of Technology in May 2018, bringing with him more than 23 years of IT, security, portfolio/project management and customer service delivery experience from various industries. Jain and his security team work with agency partners, the Indiana Executive Council on Cybersecurity and other elected official offices to improve the state’s cybersecurity protections.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Lisa Jammer

Chief People and Culture Officer - Department of Information Resources, State of Texas

State Leadership of the Year

Lisa Jammer is the chief people and culture officer at the Texas Department of Information Resources, where she leads the vision, strategy, development and execution of talent and culture management programs to advance the agency’s mission, vision and core value statements. She has 19 years of human resources experience with 11 of those years in Texas state government. Prior to state service, Lisa served in a variety of human resource, treasury and accounting roles, including at Indeed, Waste Management and Continental Airlines.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Nick Marquis

Acting CIO, State of Maine

State Leadership of the Year

Nick Marquis is the acting chief information officer for the State of Maine. He previously served as the state’s executive director of client and infrastructure services, and the client technology and customer support director for the state’s IT department.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Bry Pardoe

Executive Director - Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

State Leadership of the Year

Bry Pardoe is the executive director of the Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience, also known as CODE PA. She’s served as the office’s inaugural director since 2023. Under Pardoe’s leadership, CODE PA works with the state Office of Administration and the governor’s office to infuse new energy and resources into ongoing customer service transformation efforts. The office also leads high-priority projects to improve digital experiences for Pennsylvanians. Pardoe previously worked as the director of web and digital experience at Main Line Health, where she improved website accessibility and made it easier to find and schedule appointments with providers.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Jonathan Reich

Chief Information Officer - Secretary of State's Office, State of Georgia

State Leadership of the Year

Jonathan Reich is the chief information officer for the the Office of the Georgia Secretary of State. Reich has more than 27 years of experience in information technology, including a diverse background in the public and private sectors. He has set innovative technology standards and provided visionary leadership for numerous organizations, including serving as CIO for the City of Gainesville, Georgia, and several roles with Fulton County, Georgia.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Marcus Thornton

Deputy Chief Data Officer, Commonwealth of Virginia

State Leadership of the Year

Marcus Thornton is the deputy chief data officer for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Thornton has worked in software engineering for the last 20 years. Thornton previously worked for a data company that specializes in the collection of retail pricing data across North America. As Virginia’s deputy CDO, Thornton serves as the chief operating officer to the chief data officer and the CDO’s technical adviser. He creates new partnerships between the Office of Data Governance and Analytics and other agencies, educating them on how sharing data can inform policy decisions and increase efficiency.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Pilot Program on GenAI Use with Gemini for Workspace

Pilot Program on GenAI Use with Gemini for Workspace, State of Arizona

State IT Innovation of the Year

In September 2024, the Arizona Department of Administration conducted a four-week pilot program using Gemini for Google Workspace with the participation of more than 200 users and nine agencies. The state’s goal was to explore ways to automate routine tasks and improve efficiencies to allow public servants to better serve Arizonans. The results of the pilot program suggest that by using Gemini, employees could increase their productivity by 2.5 hours per week, streamlining tasks like summarizing information, automating charts and graphics, taking notes and formatting or writing computer code. 

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Orchard Design System

Orchard Design System, State of Georgia

State IT Innovation of the Year

Orchard is Georgia’s official design system. Orchard makes it easy to quickly build an accessible, mobile-friendly and uniform digital experience. The state uses it to stay on brand and save valuable engineering and design time.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Pivot

Pivot, State of Indiana

State IT Innovation of the Year

Pivot is an Indiana workforce engine that uses the Indiana Statewide Longitudinal Data System to provide a powerful set of data that links together education and workforce outcomes, tailored to the needs of job seekers. With Pivot, people can automatically receive relevant, personalized job options without the need to create a list of work experience. Using information available only to the State of Indiana, Pivot can compare similar individuals to suggest career pathways that will provide higher wages and meet users’ career goals.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Evidence-Based Corrections Dashboards

Evidence-Based Corrections Dashboards, State of Iowa

State IT Innovation of the Year

The Iowa Department of Corrections worked with SAS to help improve operations and support data-driven decisions. Through the development of three dashboards, the department helped control and monitor the spread of COVID-19, calculated risk scores for people to be potentially placed before the Board of Parole and helped parole officers monitor released individuals and intervene where appropriate to prevent recidivism.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

A New Era for Revenue Services

A New Era for Revenue Services, State of Maine

State IT Innovation of the Year

Maine Revenue Services replaced all of its previous online services with a new tax portal designed to make paying, filing and managing state taxes faster, more efficient and more convenient and accessible. The portal is available for more than 140,000 business taxpayers and covers more than 20 types of tax.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Judge E-Signature

Judge E-Signature, State of Nebraska

State IT Innovation of the Year

Previously, judges in Nebraska had to download, edit, sign and re-upload documents. This method was inefficient and time-consuming. Now, judges can access, review, edit and sign documents directly within a web application. This eliminates unnecessary steps, significantly improving efficiency and user experience. The Judge E-Signature implementation saves roughly 1 minute and 30 seconds per document. With 175,000 documents signed annually, it has saved an estimated 4,300 man-hours per year. Judges and court staff can now focus on more pressing tasks, rather than handling digital paperwork. The process is intuitive and user-friendly, leading to higher adoption rates and satisfaction, while reducing bottlenecks in document management. By modernizing document signing, it sets a new standard for efficiency and usability in government technology, demonstrating how simple enhancements can lead to substantial efficiency gains and cost savings.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Unemployment Insurance Employer Self-Service

Unemployment Insurance Employer Self-Service, State of Nevada

State IT Innovation of the Year

In February 2024, the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation replaced its IT system with a mobile-friendly cloud solution, enhancing efficiency and accessibility. In just 13 months, the department launched the modernized Nevada UI Employer Self Service system, with Nevada UI Claimant Self Service set to follow this year. Key upgrades include streamlined employer registration, reduced paper filings, easier wage report submissions and online payment setup. The system has already collected $53 million in its first quarter, doubled audit output and accelerated mergers and acquisitions processing — down from weeks to minutes. These innovations and automations eliminated a nine-month backlog.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Mobile Driver’s License

Mobile Driver's License, State of New Mexico

State IT Innovation of the Year

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has authorized the state’s Motor Vehicle Division to begin issuing mobile driver licenses, or mDLs. The state allows residents to securely store their driver’s licenses or IDs on their phones for easy access. Using the latest international standards for mobile identification, New Mexico license holders can present their IDs in Apple or Google wallets at select Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, businesses and venues, and using select mobile apps.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Next-Generation 911

Next Generation 911, State of North Carolina

State IT Innovation of the Year

The North Carolina 911 Board has modernized the state’s 911 system so everyone in the state can quickly reach emergency services regardless of location or communications technology. All 124 public safety answering points that receive board funding are now part of the state’s next-generation 911 network. In November 2018, Durham, North Carolina, 911 became the first in the nation to join NG911. Using a managed IP network called AT&T ESInet, NG911 securely routes landline and cell calls and text messages to the appropriate call center based on location. Every center on the network can serve as a backup for others. The Network Monitoring and Assistance Center is the nation’s first to continuously monitor the statewide network. NG911’s resiliency and redundancy were proven during Hurricane Helene as 19 answering points in the western part of the state rerouted calls to 23 answering points across the state. There were no reports of 911 calls not being delivered. Between Sept. 26-28 last year, telecommunicators answered nearly 90,000 calls statewide, 55% more than the year prior.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Frances Online

Frances Online, State of Oregon

State IT Innovation of the Year

In March 2024, the Oregon Employment Department completed the final rollout of its new system, Frances. Launched in three phases, the new system supports unemployment insurance benefits, paid leave benefits and contributions and recovery, replacing decades-old legacy systems. Frances, which exceeds Americans with Disabilities Act and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines standards, offers real-time tracking, fraud prevention, automation and enhanced data integration. Key features include a secure, mobile-friendly self-service portal for customers and a unified employer reporting mechanism, streamlining reporting for 170,000 employers. With Frances, Oregon became the first state to connect directly to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies’ ICON Cloud Hub, setting a precedent for national collaboration in data-sharing. The system shifts from paper- and phone-based fact-finding to digital methods. Claimants have easier access to messages, and chatbot and live chat are built into Frances, eliminating extra logins and costs.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Commonwealth Data Trust Portal

Commonwealth Data Trust Portal, Commonwealth of Virginia

State IT Innovation of the Year

The Virginia Office of Data Governance and Analytics manages the Commonwealth Data Trust, the data sharing agreement that allows the office to work with other commonwealth agencies for data-sharing and management projects. This agreement completion process was previously handled manually via PDF documents. The ODGA team improved this process in February by implementing an automated agreement completion process through the Commonwealth Data Trust Portal. The new Commonwealth Data Trust Portal acts as a centralized platform where agencies can easily join the Commonwealth Data Trust and request data from other agencies. By streamlining the agreement process, the portal reduces the time required to complete agreements from days to just minutes. This efficient, user-friendly system is designed to break down data silos, enabling faster and more seamless collaboration across agencies for interagency data projects.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Jennifer Axt

Senior Vice President - North America Public Sector, Tanium

Industry Leadership of the Year

A stalwart industry veteran, Jennifer Axt is the senior vice president of North America Public Sector, including U.S. state and local government and education, and Canada public sector, at Tanium. Her leadership has driven the success of Fortune 100 powerhouses, including Dell Technologies, EMC and CA Inc., by building high-impact sales initiatives, strategic partnerships and innovative government-focused programs. Axt is regarded as a trusted adviser and thought leader among chief information officers, partners and decision-makers.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Michael Cole

Chief Technology Officer, General Dynamics Information Technology

Industry Leadership of the Year

Michael Cole, the civilian chief technology officer at General Dynamics Information Technology, has expanded his expertise to help state governments — including Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia — by bringing federal sector discipline and innovation to make state government IT operations more efficient and productive. Through his “art of the possible” approach and GDIT’s digital accelerators, Cole is helping state governments speed up innovation and reduce the time needed to deliver services to citizens. With a focused consultative approach and expertise in cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum computing and cyber resilience, Cole is transforming GDIT’s IT business to enhance the state government IT landscape through innovation.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Sam Combs

North America Public Sector Leader, Coursera

Industry Leadership of the Year

Sam Combs is the North America Public Sector Leader for Coursera, where he focuses on helping public sector agencies embrace new ways to train and upskill state government employees.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

John Evans

Chief Technology Adviser, World Wide Technology

Industry Leadership of the Year

As a chief technology adviser at World Wide Technology, John Evans enables state and local governments to design, develop and integrate innovative solutions that improve citizen outcomes. With more than 20 years of experience in the public sector, Evans supports agencies as they navigate the intersection of AI and cybersecurity, helping secure their artificial intelligence initiatives and incorporate the technology into their cybersecurity programs to streamline operations and gain better insights and visibility.  Evans has empowered many states to adopt a “whole-of-state” cybersecurity approach, allowing cities, counties and critical infrastructure to collectively improve their cyber postures. Through these efforts, he’s helped states create digestible plans for traditionally under-resourced cyber programs. Before joining WWT, Evans served as chief information security officer and deputy chief technology officer for the State of Maryland, where he helped lead statewide technology and security initiatives.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Tommie Fern

Executive Vice President for State, Local and Education, Salesforce

Industry Leadership of the Year

Tommie Fern is the executive vice president for state, local and education at Salesforce. Fern has more than 30 years of experience working with state and local governments to improve the lives of citizens and families. During the COVID pandemic, Salesforce supported 43 states with contract tracing, vaccine management, call center management and vaccination scheduling programs. Fern’s team has also supported 14 states’ unemployment modernization efforts.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Dave Karakis

National Director for State, Local and Education, Wiz

Industry Leadership of the Year

Dave Karakis is the national director for state, local and education at Wiz. Karakis, who has been with Wiz since August 2023, was previously an area sales director for Okta. Karakis has also held sales roles at Adobe, Symantec and GXS.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Adita Karkera

Chief Data Officer for Government & Public Services, Deloitte Consulting LLP

Industry Leadership of the Year

Adita Karkera is the chief data officer for Government and Public Services at Deloitte Consulting LLP. With a 25-year public sector career and a doctorate in the CDO role, Karkera has the technological and strategic acumen for driving success at Deloitte and in the public sector. As a leader in the Deloitte AI Institute for Government, Karkera has authored a CDO Playbook, white papers and presented at key conferences, influencing public sector data strategies. As a prior government CDO, Karkera’s leadership has been key in breaking down silos and promoting data sharing and cooperation, leading to more informed and effective public services.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Keri Lovitt

Director of North America Public Sector Services, Red Hat

Industry Leadership of the Year

Keri Lovitt is the director of North America Public Sector Services for Red Hat. In this role, Lovitt leads Red Hat’s state, local and higher education services, driving innovative open-source solutions nationwide. Her leadership and customer-focused approach have built a high-performing team dedicated to client success. Lovitt’s impact is evident in large state agencies and educational institutions, notably transforming operations through automation in partnership with a major East Coast city’s Office of Technology. This has reduced manual workloads and allowed agencies to focus on critical missions.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Rowan Miranda

Managing Director for State & Local Government/Education, Workday

Industry Leadership of the Year

Rowan Miranda is the managing director for state and local government and education at Workday. In this role, he regularly presents on topics related to finance, technology and transformation at national conferences sharing his wealth of knowledge gleaned from roles as budget director and chief financial officer at City of Pittsburgh; Allegheny County, Pennsylvania; University of Michigan; and University of Chicago, as well as leadership roles at Workday and Accenture. Miranda has advised state and municipal governments across the country on enterprise resource planning implementation, finance organization redesign and IT transformation. He has trained hundreds of students in public policy, finance and administration throughout his tenure in academia.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Mary Lou Prevost

Group Vice President - U.S. State, Local Government and Education, Splunk

Industry Leadership of the Year

Mary Lou Prevost is the group vice president for U.S. State, Local Government and Education at Splunk. Prevost ensures state and local leaders operate with the resilience necessary for today’s cyber threats. With decades of experience at the state and local levels, Prevost is heavily involved in addressing various challenges across the industry, from stopping fraud in government systems to bridging the workforce gap and talent shortages. For example, to address the cyber talent gap, she spearheads programs with higher education to give students up to 1,000 hours of real-world experience in security operations centers, gaining skills that translate into government work. Additionally, she led efforts to identify unemployment systems under organized nation-state attacks.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Vidhu Shekhar

Director of Public Sector Artificial Intelligence Strategy, Microsoft

Industry Leadership of the Year

Vidhu Shekhar is the director of public sector artificial intelligence strategy at Microsoft. Shekhar’s innovative approach, dedication and visionary leadership have advanced AI technology and positively impacted various government agencies. His efforts harnessed AI to address complex challenges, improve operational efficiency and enhance public services. Shekhar’s commitment to innovation, collaboration and ethical AI practices set a benchmark for industry leaders.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Meghan Steele

Vice President - State, Local and Education - East, Cisco

Industry Leadership of the Year

Meghan Steele is the vice president of state, local and education in the East Region for Cisco. Steele and her team support government IT leaders on initiatives to power and secure AI, expand broadband access for all, protect critical infrastructure and solve the public sector’s biggest IT challenges. From helping government agencies in Arkansas and Washington, D.C., use Cisco Networking Academy to build a government IT workforce pipeline, to supporting the State of New York with its transportation infrastructure, to utilizing Cisco technologies to help North Carolina in its disaster recovery, Steele’s IT leadership has accelerated the digital modernization agendas of state governments and has helped public officials serve their communities more efficiently and cost-effectively.

2025 StateScoop 50 Awards

Stephanie Weber

Industry Lead - SLED, Appian

Industry Leadership of the Year

Stephanie Weber is the industry lead for state, local and education at Appian. Weber focuses on modernizing procurement and case management systems. Weber’s broader focus is on enhancing the government workforce’s experience and the quality of services provided to citizens.