San Diego, CA, Tuesday, September 29, 2026 — The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) presented the State Technology Innovator Award to three deserving public servants during the NASCIO 2026 Annual Conference. The NASCIO State Technology Innovator Award honors outstanding state government employees who have made contributions to advance state technology policy through the promotion of best practices, adoption of new technologies and advancements in service delivery. Nominations were submitted from NASCIO members with recipients selected by the NASCIO Executive Committee.
The NASCIO 2026 State Technology Innovator Award recipeints are:
Christopher Bramwell
Chief Privacy Officer, Utah Office of Data Privacy
Nominated by: Wayne Chang, CEO, SpruceID
Christopher Bramwell, Utah’s inaugural Chief Privacy Officer, has transformed the state’s approach to digital identity and privacy by advancing a model centered on individual control of personal data. He championed the State-Endorsed Digital Identity (SEDI) framework, helped draft and implement Utah’s Government Data Privacy Act and built statewide privacy capacity by training 59 personnel across 16 agencies and requiring every agency to designate a privacy officer. His work directly supports NASCIO priorities in identity and access management, cybersecurity, digital government and data management while demonstrating measurable bipartisan and cross-ideological support. Bramwell has also extended Utah’s influence nationally, convening the first multistate SEDI Summit, growing participation from 12 states in 2025 to more than 25 states exploring adoption in 2026 and helping establish a consortium to provide a replicable, vendor-independent governance model for privacy-focused digital identity.
Mark Craymer
Executive Director, Shared Services, Alabama Office of Information Technology
Nominated by: Daniel Urquhart, Secretary of Information Technology (CIO), Alabama Office of Information Technology
Mark Craymer has transformed Alabama’s enterprise technology environment by building standardized statewide capabilities that strengthen security, efficiency, resilience and digital service delivery. His leadership spans cybersecurity, identity, infrastructure, cloud, artificial intelligence and digital modernization, supporting 151,000 endpoints, 9,400 network devices, 2,200 servers, 32,000 managed identities and 200 domains. Over four years, his modernization efforts generated an estimated $4–6 million in savings and cost avoidance through consolidation, shared services, strategic agreements and legacy technology retirement. He has also advanced Zero Trust, identity governance, cyber resilience and automation while helping establish Alabama’s responsible AI strategy and a multi-agency community of practice. By combining technology modernization with governance, financial stewardship and workforce readiness, Craymer has reduced technical debt, strengthened cybersecurity and positioned Alabama to deliver more secure, reliable and cost-effective government services.
Devyn Paros
Commonwealth Chief Digital Officer, Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security
Nominated by: Mark Burrell, Director of Experience Design and Research, Mass Digital, Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS); Matthew Moran, Assistant Secretary & Chief Engagement Officer, MA EOTSS; and Cheri Rolfes, Chief of Staff, Massachusetts EOTSS
Devyn Paros, Chief Digital Officer for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, has transformed digital government by building shared enterprise capabilities that make state services more accessible, secure, consistent and resident-centered. Through the Massachusetts Digital Roadmap, she has advanced digital identity, artificial intelligence, accessibility, human-centered design and cross-agency collaboration. Under her leadership, MyMassGov has grown into a unified digital identity platform serving 3.9 million residents across more than 100 applications, with 1.1 million monthly users and more than 7.5 million authentications each month. She also spearheaded an AI-powered Virtual Assistant that has served more than 480,000 residents through over 570,000 conversations and has expanded to 10 organizations. Beyond individual services, Paros has built lasting statewide capacity through the Massachusetts Design System, a Constituent Experience Center of Excellence and communities of practice that equip hundreds of public servants to deliver more inclusive, effective and trusted digital services.
To view previous recipients, please visit NASCIO’s website.