StateScoop Honors Georgia Technology Leaders

Georgia was well represented among the 2018 winners of the StateScoop 50 awards, which annually highlight outstanding leaders and innovations in the state IT community.

Chief Digital Officer Nikhil Deshpande was among eight people nationwide to receive the State Leadership of the Year award, while Walter Tong, formerly Director of Cyber Intelligence, was one of seven winners in the State Cybersecurity Leader category. In addition, Georgia Gateway was among 12 projects recognized as a State IT Innovation of the Year award winner.

Mr. Deshpande leads the Georgia Technology Authority’s Office of Digital Services Georgia, which manages the web-publishing platform supporting more than 80 state agency websites.

Prior to his retirement from state government, Mr. Tong worked with state agencies on security program development, evaluations, and risk management.

StateScoop named Kendra Skeene to the list of Top Women in Technology for the second year in a row. Ms. Skeene, formerly product director for Digital Services Georgia, was one of several women from state and local government and private industry who were recognized for "their dedication, excellence, and use of technology in the course of public service."

Award recipients were selected by members of the state IT community in nationwide voting. More than 500,000 votes were cast on StateScoop’s website, narrowing hundreds of readers’ nominations in six categories to select the 2018 winners.