Leonard T. Koonce 
Five years after his appointment to lead the improvement of the digital experience for residents, businesses and visitors, one of California’s top local government technologists is stepping down.
In one Tweet Monday night, Carrie Bishop, who was named San Francisco’s first director of digital services almost five years ago, has announced her departure.
“After five years of fun with the city and county of SF as the first director of digital services, I will be leaving in March. It’s been a roller coaster ride and I’m so proud of what the team has accomplished. Stay tuned because they are just getting started, ”Bishop said on Twitter. Her last day in San Francisco will be March 4, she said Technical wire by email, stating that they are “most proud to have established this team in San Francisco, which now has 50 people”, and are said to be among the largest municipal digital teams in the United States
“There are few teams with such talent, and we have accomplished some important things – during COVID-19, we led the city’s digital response and helped thousands of people book tests, get vaccinated and find critical information, ”Bishop said, noting the team has helped more than 2,500 companies get the grants and permits they need to keep their doors open during the pandemic. She said she had “something planned for the summer, which I will share publicly closer to the time”, but that it will take “a few months to decompress after a few hectic years!”
Bishop’s career in the public sector began in London City Administration, in the Borough of Barnet, and then as the founder of FutureGov, which created solutions to help UK city governments improve services in line. Its UK clients included the Government Digital Service. A panelist at events such as the California Public Sector CIO Academy 2020, his comments on govtech have been published in Technical wire. San Francisco announced her appointment on February 17, 2017 and the creation of the position – Bishop’s first position in the United States – as part of “San Francisco’s recently adopted digital services strategy,” adding: “Ms. Bishop’s is will focus on improving the experience for residents, businesses and visitors to San Francisco when they access the city government for information and services.
His friends and former colleagues offered their congratulations on social media. “An incredible and impactful race! You’ve built a great team in SF. I can’t wait to see what you do next, ”Michael Wilkening, Senior Advisor for Technology and Delivery at the US Department of Health and Human Services ¯ and former Special Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom on Innovation and Services digital ¯ said on twitter. “Thank you for all your contributions not only to SF but to the movement” tweeted Luke Norris, vice president of platform strategy and digital transformation at Granicus and former senior vice president of government relations and growth at OpenCities.
“Wow !!! This is news. So excited to hear where you’re headed and what the team has in store,” Angelica “Angie” Quirarte, director of federal partnerships at the Tech Talent Project and former deputy director of programs at the California Office of Digital Innovation, said on twitter. The two met in 2019, she said Technical wire, shortly before Quirarte – then assistant secretary for digital engagement for the California Government Operations Agency – and his state group began work on Project Alpha.
“I think as a leader in this space you have to learn to say no to things, and she was really good at keeping the team focused on projects that reinvented services,” said Quirarte. She brought her colleagues to meet the Bishop team, she said, “and they were able to provide coaching and advice on their experience building and navigating a digital services team in the context of ‘a municipal administration’. Named after alpha.ca.gov, the initiative focused on reinventing the state’s website. Quirarte has kept in touch with Bishop to offer his support and have a “sounding board” on Alpha, but also on the state’s work on cannabis permits and licensing.
“It was great to build a relationship with Carrie and her team and to encourage each other as we worked on our projects,” she added.
