Chris Given was appointed California State Chief Information Officer and Director of the California Department of Technology in April 2026 after serving as the Deputy Secretary for Technology and Innovation at the California Government Operations Agency. He previously led the team that designed and built IRS Direct File, making it possible to file taxes online directly with the IRS for the first time. A seasoned civil servant, he’s worked across ten federal agencies—including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Administration for Children and Families—as well as the states of Connecticut, Illinois, and the District of Columbia.