NASCIO Voices
NASCIO Voices
NASCIO President J.R. Sloan on His Presidential and State CIO Priorities for 2026
Alex and Amy talk with NASCIO President and Arizona state CIO J.R. Sloan about his presidential initiative for 2026 and priorities in Arizona. He also tells us what he loves about living in Arizona.
Hi, and welcome to NASCIO Voices, where we talk all things state IT. I'm Amy Glasscock of Lexington, Kentucky.
Alex Whitaker:And I'm Alex Whitaker in a very frigid Washington, D.C. Today we're talking with current NASCIO president, Arizona CIO JR Sloan. JR is back on the podcast to tell us about what's going on in Arizona and what he hopes to accomplish while leading NASCIO this year.
Amy Glasscock:Not only is JR our NASCIO president this year, but I have to say I think he's our most loyal listener as well. JR, welcome back to NASCIO Voices, and thanks so much for joining us.
J.R. Sloan:Great to be here. Thank you for having me.
Alex Whitaker:Yeah, absolutely. So, J.R., it has been a while since we had you on the podcast. Um, can you remind listeners about your professional background and how you ended up in your current role as state CIO of the state of Arizona?
J.R. Sloan:Sure. Uh I came to the state of Arizona. I had a former CIO for the state, and that was Aaron Sandeen, and his deputy, Phil Manfred, uh had worked for me in the private sector. And when they had over time left left the organization that I was with there, and uh they reached out to me in kind of the 2013 timeframe with an opportunity to take on the government or digital government program for them. And they were looking to do a significant transition for that model. And I was at a point where I was ready, ready for a change. And but I also went through that whole mental exercise of you know you know, coming from the from the private sector, my perspective of government was, I'll say, not super positive in that um you know when people asked the question, I I honestly my mindset was, well, like who goes to work in government and does anything really good happen there? And uh I was I was impressed uh as I sat down from you know with them and their team. You know, I respected them as individuals, and but when I got to know them and their team, and uh honestly across the my entire career uh since then in government, um I I feel like I missed out in that uh as I travel uh within Arizona and then just even working with all the other uh states through through NASIO, I'm just so impressed with uh the caliber and the quality of people, uh their passion, their commitment to uh to service and to excellence and to working within you know constraints that are unique to government, all for the purpose of you know trying to deliver good government and to do good work. And so but that attracted me and I took on that program. It was probably two years or a year and a half after that that we went through an administration transition. And at that time, uh Aaron and Phil and the their CTO all determined that was the right time for them to move on to start their own company, so they did that. That left myself and at the time the the CISO, who was Mike Lettman, he took on the interim CIO role, and and I was uh in the deputy CIO role. So it provided me the opportunity to step up in the organization and take on a little broader set of responsibilities. Um we thought that it was going to be a short transition as they searched for a new a new CIO, um, but that actually ended up taking 10 months. So uh the good news is I got some got some runtime, and that CIO that they run in was Morgan Reed. And as Morgan came on, after giving him some time to get his feet on the ground, I we sat down and I just said, Hey, I'm happy to go back and you know run my digital government program, or if you want me to stay in this role, great. And if if you know I need to look for a different opportunity uh for the good of the organization, I can do that. And he asked me to stay on as his deputy. We had a great, great run during his tenure. And in 2019, when he when he moved on to take on a um a role in the private sector, um I was uh given the opportunity to take on the CIO role in uh on an interim basis, and then in 2020, uh was you know, I'll say it was made permanent and you know then got to really get my feet wet uh going into the pandemic because it was March of 2020 that that things were made official. So um I don't know if that's you know maybe baptism by fire or but it was it's been a great experience for me and really love the work.
Alex Whitaker:Yeah, absolutely. Well, I I think you'd have to love it to go through some of the things you've gone through. I mean, you mentioned the pandemic, and I know um how tough that was for a lot of people in state government. So so that's really great to hear about. Um so talk to us a little bit about what made you decide to get involved with NASCIO, and then specifically the executive committee, and then to ultimately take on this thankless role uh of president that you're of course executing so well so far.
J.R. Sloan:Thank you for that. You know, I I got exposed to NASCIO um fairly uh early on as I was in that kind of interim deputy CIO role. Um I had the opportunity to get my first exposure to NASCIO, and man, I mean the events are so different than anything I'd experienced in the private sector, a lot of other, yeah, I'll say traditional events where if there's going to be a mix of, we'll say, technology executives and you know vendors or you know, corporate providers, yeah, it you know, you you tend to have, okay, yeah, we have the sessions and you have the keynotes, but then there's this you know, endless haul of vendors that you know end up having to drive through. And the thing that was really unique about the NASCIO events from my perspective, um getting exposed to those was just the focus on value and I'll say the state member day still is like that is the highlight for me every time I go. Um, being able to get a full day of time uh with my peers with topics that we set the agenda for, and to be able to have those, I'll say, focused and guided discussions, and then just the ad hoc you know networking and relationship building opportunities on the side. Um and that I think is a thread that runs throughout everything that NASCIO does, not only in its annual and mid-year events, but also the leadership summit. And I think even just the way the community, the NASCIO community, is run and how it's structured, um, that allows uh state members to have uh focused and you know confidential conversations with one another, but then to also be able to engage with our corporate members to have valued conversations there, receiving their their input. Because my experience with the corporate member community is that these guys are also invested in our success. I mean, yes, they have companies they represent and products they sell, but so many of them, a lot of them have more years invested in serving government than you know some of the folks that are sitting across the table from them at the states because of this the turnover that happens in you know in the CIO role. Um, but for them to have that perspective of understanding what does it take to work with states to be successful and and to really be invested. I I see a lot of the corporate members who have the mindset that you know that I see in in state government employees, which is uh working for the good of the people that are being served. So as I got exposed to NASCIO, then uh you know, seeing the corporate member meetings and seeing the caliber of leadership, um, that was something that I aspired to. And I I benefited from you know both focused and maybe uh unintentional mentoring that I received from conversations, talking with uh others that were in leadership um at the time. And and so then uh for me it was it was a matter of I felt like I'd received so much that I wanted to be able to give back uh to the organization and to hope to be able to serve others in the way that I felt that I had been served over the years through NASCIO. So that's that's the why.
Amy Glasscock:That's great. I think you could be an advertisement for why go work in government and why get involved with NASCIO as well. Um so uh as we know, NASCIO presidents often choose a presidential initiative or a topic that they want to dig into a bit more um during their time as president. You know, it's not required, but I understand you are planning something, so tell us about that.
J.R. Sloan:Yeah, what I'm looking to bring forward is my my presidential initiative is to talk about the whole area of um I'll say identity. You know, we're just talking with uh uh Doug and and Erica actually about it this morning to try and flesh it out a bit. But there's certainly been a lot of interest in more recent years, uh, the emergence of digital identity and digital credentials. You know, identity has been on NASCIO's top 10 list for a lot of years. Um I think that we have some states that that um can be good exemplars of uh achieving uh enterprise identity, like how we deliver identity to uh the state employees and and folks working inside the organization and and the benefits of that in a unified approach as opposed to a very federated or distributed or disconnected approach. Um, similarly to the public on the public side of identity for all our digital services, having an identity uh there that is secured and identified or uh verified. We've seen uh progress with mobile driver's license and digital credentials there. All of that coming together to um address some of the most pressing issues around cybersecurity, you know, fraud, waste, and abuse. You know, these things, uh as well as uh if we want to provide a unified experience to the people that we're serving, uh identity is at the foundation of that. So I think I feel like the reason this is coming back again, I think is that you know more things have converged to again make um identity a foundational component to serve a lot of the key concerns and key needs, both for the individual and the public as well as uh governments as an entity. And you know, technology has continued to progress and some of the standards are have progressed that that are ready to start taking some good steps forward. I don't know that we can see a perfect future yet because you start thinking down the path of you know, well, I want to do this for the people that we serve in the state, how does that extend? Um, and maybe it's more easily extends to serve local local uh local government, uh, municipalities, local entities, how does it start to cross state borders so that a single identity can can serve any, you know, uh anyone within the U.S. And then you want to go another up another level, it's you know, how can that digital identity serve internationally, like a passport? And yet a value that I carry is to have that identity be controlled and owned by the individual, with whether it's a government or uh private sector entity or you know, internationally, that the user stays in control of the identity and folks that can either choose to you know provide or revoke services, and that the individual can choose to revoke access if they choose to do so. It's really a big, a big thing. There's a lot of good work that's going on around it. And um, I think there's there's lots for us to to even spend time to understand all the language, you know, the glossary of terms associated with this, because it's as it's developed over time, there's lots of different conversations and for us to just grow in our understanding so that we can look at folks that have made good progress, uh, ask them questions like, you know, what would you do differently if you had to do it today? What were some of the challenges you've experienced over time? How do you see your solution as you know what you've implemented being ready for for the future and the next steps that you're looking to take? Um, so that uh others that that want to come along, you know, can can be informed by that. So I'm yeah, I'm excited about it.
Amy Glasscock:That's awesome. And it it really is such an important thing now as more and more citizens do, you know, do their government online and digital services are increasing. And um, yeah, it's it's important that we talk about topics other than just AI, right? Yep. And which of course magnifies everything. I'm excited to see what you guys find out in your journey of exploration around this. So um, JR, I know that we do try to keep you busy at NASIO as president, but that's just a fraction of what takes up your time. What are your priorities in Arizona this coming year as state CIO?
J.R. Sloan:Oh so um in Arizona, um, you know, since we hadn't talked about AI for a little bit, I have to bring it back. Um, we're going to be really focusing on, you know, we we've spent a lot of time on sort of you know governance and policy and doing some of our kind of use case development. I really hope to see taking all you know, leveraging all of that forward to really moving into, I'll call it the maybe the plateau of productivity with AI in Arizona, really enabling agencies to benefit from, we'll say the pockets of work that have been done so they can see the use cases and the value propositions. And I think really, I think that's the key thing is moving this to more of a you know uh business case value proposition as opposed to we're really trying to explore and figure out the technology. Some of the things that I know we're gonna be doing soon is really talking, you know, even with the cabinet, about you know how we're positioned, what we've done, how how we want to encourage the further further adoption of AI for them throughout their businesses and to you know ensure that they uh they all understand that like you know, look, you we're not looking for you to ask for permission. We want to encourage you to explore this, and we feel we've got the right guardrails established to help you do that safely and responsibly. So encouraging the adoption and uh value-based implementation of AI going forward to benefit the the work of the agencies is gonna be a key focus. Another one is in the areas of digital services and and experience. Um, Arizona's got um our own initiative. We're we're just we've we've started to stand up that common public-facing portal with identity being attached to that. So um that's that that again is why identity is is kind of front of mind for me, is I see its core foundational need in terms of digital services, digital experience in the whole fraud, waste, and abuse area. And then another major thing that's that is I'll say it's kind of always going on is that uh modernization. We have a number of systems, I think, as most states do, right, that we're always in a cycle of you know what is it that needs to be refreshed and replaced or updated. And um continuing to work through that cycle. So those are I'll say three areas. But I as I went through the top 10 this year and I just reviewed that with in a monthly meeting I have with uh a lot of the IT leaders uh throughout the state, we have something going on with really every area. As we talk about, you know, even these these areas of AI and digital services and identity and modernization, like data is you know an underlying theme through all of that, how we're governing our data, managing our data, understanding our data, measuring the quality of it, making sure it's prepared and useful and accessible. So, yeah, all of the top ten areas really were showing up in the things that I see that we're working on.
Amy Glasscock:Yes, so true. And and JR is referring to the NASCIO top 10 list that we put out every year, and we had Eric Sweden on to talk about that just a couple episodes ago.
Alex Whitaker:So, JR, you were appointed in 2020 into your role, which is of course a pretty long time in the state CIO world. What are some of the biggest changes that you've seen in the role of the state CIO during your time?
J.R. Sloan:So, as you as I looked at this question and thought about it a little bit, you know, it really I'll go back to uh having gone through the pandemic, I think that going through that cycle, that time, there was so much in government. Um, I think that the rest of the, I'll say the business of government started to see how reliant and how embedded technology is into how government is delivered and how work gets done every day. And so I think the the importance of technology, not necessarily I'll say the role of the CIO, but you know, the the importance of that technology, its coordination, its execution, its availability in support of the business, um, just how vital that is, and all the things that that are impeded or slowed down or stopped or prevented if it's if it's not working right. And so then I think relative to the role of CIO, it gave me an opportunity and place to stand and to advocate that look, I'm not just here to talk about technology or what what you know cool thing can be done next, but I'm here to help support the mission of each organization. And the CIOs within the agencies that serve throughout Arizona, they were all focused on ensuring the availability and access to the services that the people that we serve need, whether that's you know for health and human services or for them to be able to enjoy the beauty and you know of being outside in Arizona and all of the natural resources that are available here. Um so really I think it's the CIO as the business partner and business enabler is the transformation or or at least a growing in an understanding of that. And so I've seen definitely, even among our agencies, and as there's been opportunities where there's been maybe turnover in a position at an agency that agencies have proactively reached out to me and said, hey, you know, what are your thoughts about this? And what do you think we should be looking for? And to be able to have a conversation with them about just being able to advocate, to say, you know, what I what I want for you in uh your in the role of an IT leader for you is someone who is a business partner who understands the technology, but is at the table with you in your strategic meetings talking about how that technology supports your key objectives and serves your business. That he's not just a guy in the back room watching flashy lights blink and asking to spend money on cool things. That I think is the biggest transformation that I've seen, and I'm excited to see it because I think that that's what we're called to do. You know, technology is not the end in itself, um, it's it's an enabler and a support structure.
Alex Whitaker:Yeah, and so you kind of just answered this in your last response, but we'd love to know a little bit about what's been the most rewarding thing that's happened to your role in the last couple of years. I mean, I think we've really gotten a sense for you of of why you do what you do, but is there a specific moment that you look back to and say, wow, that was really great?
J.R. Sloan:Not to go back to the pandemic, but I think it was such a significant event in a lot of people's lives. As I reflected on the pandemic and and watched some some of the struggles that I saw happened throughout the nation in terms of also from the through the lens of technology, right? Some of the struggles that folks had in whether it was making the transition to remote work or services that weren't prepared or uh struggled with with scaling to be able to serve the needs. And you know, uh again, not that we didn't have our challenges, and I have stories I can tell you about you know days that were that were long during during the pandemic, but I think largely Arizona was in a good position and weathered that storm pretty well and didn't experience uh some of the same challenges that I that I saw others you know wrestling with. But then to see I think how everyone came together to respond. Like the spirit was not you know finger pointing, it was it was focused on problem solving. And that's where I think the best of us you know showed up to solve problems and and serve one another and make sure that the services that were needed and that the government could continue to operate and fulfill its role. So that in the midst of a really tough time for a lot of people, the government could continue to fulfill its role. That in people continue to be the thing that is most rewarding, whether it's in my own organization, the people that I get to work with, the leaders that I get to work with, and then again across in NASIO, it's the people in the relationships that continue to be the most rewarding thing for me.
Amy Glasscock:Yeah, that's awesome. And I will say it's been a while since the pandemic was mentioned. Um it used to be like every single episode we would have to talk about the pandemic, and now it's like AI is that thing.
Alex Whitaker:So Yeah, I just had to remove pandemic language from our advocacy principles because it felt dated.
Amy Glasscock:That's right.
Alex Whitaker:Yeah.
Amy Glasscock:I know. But I mean it is still something that uh has changed our work, our society, the way that we do things, public health, technology. I mean, it it really was a a flashpoint, you know, in in so many things that we're still doing today.
J.R. Sloan:So yeah, that I mean to pull out another term, if you don't want to say pandemic or or the you know uh new normal, right? Like the way the way that we work today has you know was forever changed, you know, through the things that were necessary um and that we learned to do during during that time. And now you know government operates differently. And I think uh so many government services were elevated through that process. A lot of the you know technical issues I think got uh you know many of them got addressed. Yes, you know, not that there's there's still lots of work to be done, but yeah, if we want to look for a silver lining on a on a very dark cloud, you know, there's some good things that that came out of that.
Amy Glasscock:Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, JR, I really do appreciate you taking the time to talk with us about um, you know, what's going on in Arizona and your plans as president. And of course, as you know before we let you go, you know the drill. It's the lightning round. Are you ready?
J.R. Sloan:I am ready.
Amy Glasscock:All right. Question one What is your favorite way to use AI in your personal life right now?
J.R. Sloan:I probably encounter it most in uh I'll say uh in the area of music currently, which is which most of us are very inquisitive. Like, well, why do you think I would like that?
Amy Glasscock:Yeah.
J.R. Sloan:So I'm trying to I'm trying to figure out how to work with AI in that area. We're transitioning, we're moving from uh being uh you know a Spotify family to right now we're exploring both Apple music and YouTube music and trying to figure out what's gonna work best for us. And and honestly, going through that transition, like I found how I used to and embedded I was in in the way that Spotify worked and you know what to expect, and and now I'm encountering things I don't expect and how things are organized differently. And so the DI elements of it are um interesting. Like I can see, like I think this is gonna be helpful, but right now I'm not sure it always feels helpful.
Alex Whitaker:Can I share one on this? Sure, Amy. So we just got back from London, great little trip, and we got a chance to see the changing of the mounted guard at Buckingham Palace, which is really cool. So I took pictures of these soldiers on horses, and there's just like hundreds of people around them. So I just plugged it into AI and said, Can you remove the people from this picture? So it spit out this wonderful clean picture of these uh uh this this mounted guard, and that was kind of a cool, uh, cool way to use it. And I don't usually think about it.
Amy Glasscock:No Photoshop skills needed.
Alex Whitaker:I exactly so yeah. All right, J.R., what do you like about living in Arizona?
J.R. Sloan:I think the fact that it's being able to enjoy uh the outdoors so much. In Arizona, I am no more than um a couple of hours from uh whatever change in climate I would I would like to enjoy. You know, right now I'm sitting down here and you know, uh here we are, uh what, late January. A lot of folks are probably staring at uh snow and very cold temperatures, and you know, I'm I'm staring at currently 52 degrees and it's gonna be you know mid-70s today and sunny. Um so this is why. This is the why you want to live in Arizona. Um we'll say from probably October through April into May. And then you know, okay, yes, the summers here are are really hot, but I can drive a couple of hours north and get out of the heat, get into the trees, uh, see all kinds of different scenery. I I know Arizona's not the only place that has that sort of uh variety of ecosystems, but Arizona's got a great set of ecosystems and a lot of variety that you can enjoy, and there's so much to explore. Being in uh a large metropolitan area, I think we enjoy a decent amount of cultural diversity and being able to just have a lot of different, you know, whether it's musical experiences, food experiences, us to be enjoyed.
Amy Glasscock:Yeah, such a beautiful state. All right, and final question: if you had to pick one and many is no object, would you choose your dream car or a private driver anytime you want?
J.R. Sloan:Ooh. I think I might choose private driver now because I get the time back. Um there's things I enjoy about driving, but um, you know, going back to you know, things that things that changed, right? With this new change in work, you know, during the pandemic, we actually went through a a move that the benefit for me was a result in me being a little closer to downtown, which was a dual benefit. We were trying to get closer to my folks at the time because they were at a point where they needed some more care and attention from us. And then cutting down the commute because you know, I would I had probably about a 40, 45-minute commute downtown each way. Uh so getting that time back, but but now being able to enjoy kind of a hybrid work environment, I don't have to spend as much time driving as I used to. But what I do, you're always thinking about the oh, I oh, you know, I should be doing this or I should be doing that, or maybe I need to be involved in a meeting. And so to have a driver, like to really be able to utilize that drive time, that sounds really attractive to me.
Amy Glasscock:Yeah. When I lived in Washington, D.C., I would have 100% chosen a driver.
Alex Whitaker:Oh, it's no question for me.
Amy Glasscock:Yeah, but now that I live in Kentucky, I'm like, I'd probably take the nice car.
Alex Whitaker:Um, all right, JR. Well, thank you so much. It was really great talking to you today. And I know we at NASCIO are all looking forward to working with you over the next year.
J.R. Sloan:Uh, pleasure to speak with you as well. Um, thank you guys for what you do here. I this is one of the you know highlights. Uh, I always look forward to the new episodes that you guys put together. You do such a great job with this podcast and the the guests you have, the topics you have. Uh, you both are great facilitators. Um, it's a privilege to be on. I was excited when you invited me to come back again and uh you know look forward to all the work that you're gonna continue to do, continuing to engage our community and also tell good stories about all the good things that are happening uh within state government.
Amy Glasscock:Thanks, JR, and thanks so much for your support of the podcast since the very beginning. You've always been our biggest cheerleader.
J.R. Sloan:Absolutely. Thank you. Bye. Bye.
Alex Whitaker:Thanks again for listening to NASCIO Voices. NASCIO Voices is a production of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. Learn more at NASCIO.org.
Amy Glasscock:We'll be back soon with more great state IT content. And don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.