Capitol Beat
Bry Pardoe is Pennsylvania’s acting CIO following IT staff changes
The Office of Administration also confirmed that James Sipe is serving as the state’s acting executive deputy secretary for IT.
Bry Pardoe speaks to the press at an April 2023 press conference. Commonwealth Media Services
Pennsylvania has a new chief information officer leading its IT operations in an apparent leadership change in the state’s Office of Information Technology.
Bry Pardoe, formerly the executive director of the Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience, has been tapped to serve as acting CIO, while James Sipe, the state’s Chief Information Security Officer, has taken over as acting executive deputy secretary for information technology.
The state’s most recent CIO, Amaya Capellán, along with Chief Technology Officer Brian Andrews, are no longer listed on the Office of Administration’s IT staff page. A spokesperson for the Office of Administration told City & State that the department “cannot comment on personnel matters related to any specific employees,” but confirmed the new roles for Pardoe and Sipe.
Pardoe was appointed to lead CODE PA in May 2023, and previously served as the director of web and digital experience at Main Line Health.
Capellán was appointed as the state’s chief information officer in July 2023 after spending more than six years at Comcast. Prior to making the switch to the public sector as the state’s CIO, Capellán was vice president of product management at Comcast, where she led app strategy and experience for the Xfinity App.
In her time as CIO, Capellán oversaw the rollout of the state’s generative AI pilot program with OpenAI, as well as an effort to modernize state websites that resulted in a new PA.gov platform.
The Office of Administration’s website shows that Sara Hall is now the acting executive director at CODE PA, an office created by Gov. Josh Shapiro in April 2023 to improve the state’s digital services.
This is a developing story and will be updated.