Aneesh Chopra
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Aneesh Paul Chopra (born July 13, 1972) is an American executive who served as the first
Chief Technology Officer of the United States The United States Chief Technology Officer (US CTO) is an official in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The U.S. CTO helps the President and their team harness the power of data, innovation and technology on behalf of the American people ...
. He was appointed in 2009 by President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
and was at the White House through 2012. Chopra previously served as
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
's Secretary of Technology under Governor Tim Kaine. Chopra was a candidate in 2013 for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He is the author of ''Innovative State: How New Technologies Can Transform Government'' (2014) and co-founder and president of CareJourney. In 2015 he joined
Albright Stonebridge Group Dentons Global Advisors ASG, formerly Albright Stonebridge Group, is a global business strategy firm based in Washington, D.C., United States. It was created in 2009 through the merger of international consulting firms The Albright Group, found ...
as a senior advisor.


Early life and education

Chopra was born in Trenton, New Jersey, the eldest son of Indian immigrants Ram and Neelam Chopra, and graduated from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South in 1990. Chopra received his undergraduate degree in public health from the
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
and a Master of Public Policy from the
John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
. After receiving his M.P.P., Chopra worked for
The Advisory Board Company The Advisory Board Company was a consulting firm focusing on health care organizations and educational institutions. It began in 1979 in Washington, DC. Its educational business was spun off and the remaining company was acquired by Optum in 2017. ...
where he was a Managing Director.


Career


Virginia Secretary of Technology

In 2006, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine appointed Chopra as the commonwealth's Secretary of Technology. His service continued until his appointment as U.S. Chief Technology Officer in 2009. Chopra spearheaded a number of innovations in state government, including the creation of a Productivity Innovation Fund which provided resources for state agencies to pursue IT projects to improve efficiency. In 2008 Chopra implemented a statewide performance management strategy, that Governing magazine described as "venture governmentalism." Later that year, the Pew Charitable Trust and Governing Magazine announced Virginia was tied as the "best managed state" in the country.


U.S. Chief Technology Officer

Chopra's appointment as the first Chief Technology Officer of the United States was announced by the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
on April 18, 2009. From the official release: " Chief Technology Officer, Chopra will promote technological innovation to help the country meet its goals from job creation, to reducing health care costs, to protecting the homeland." Chopra was confirmed by the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
on August 7, 2009. The office of Chief Technology Officer was organized within the
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
. The C.T.O. also serves as a cabinet-rank member of the National Economic Council and the
Domestic Policy Council The Domestic Policy Council (DPC) is the principal forum used by the president of the United States for the consideration of domestic policy matters and senior policymaking, Cabinet, and White House officials. The Council is part of the Office ...
.


President's Strategy for American Innovation

In 2011, the White House announced the updated ''Strategy for American Innovation'' which was aimed at innovating a number of areas of the federal government. As part of President Obama's goal to "win the future," Chopra implemented a number of new programs focused on education, research, and infrastructure.


Startup America

Startup America, launched in 2011, is a White House program aimed at spurring innovation through entrepreneurship. Chopra helped drive the Startup America effort worked to improve access to startup capital, reduce barriers to entry, connect entrepreneurs with mentors, and create new market opportunities in health care, clean energy and education. Along with the White House initiatives, the Startup America Partnership was created as an independent alliance of private sector leaders.


Open Innovator's Toolkit

In 2012, Chopra announced the release of the Open Innovator's Toolkit, a collection of 20 leading practices that 'open innovators' should consider when approaching policy proposals at all levels of government. As noted in the memorandum to the
National Science and Technology Council The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) is a council in the Executive Branch of the United States. It is designed to coordinate science and technology policy across the branches of federal government. History The National Science and ...
Committee on Technology, the goal was "rather than pursue traditional "top-down" models to spur breakthroughs ... President Obama emphasizes a "bottom-up" philosophy that taps into the expertise of the American people."


Blue Button and Green Button

Launched by Chopra and the White House in 2010, the "Blue Button" program gave military veterans a tool to download their individual health records from the Veterans' Administration. This tool made it easy for veterans to obtain their medical records and coordinate care with healthcare providers. As of 2015, similar programs were unveiled by the Department of Defense and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In the first five years of the Blue Button, nearly 3 million veterans, military personnel, and Medicare beneficiaries had obtained their medical records online. Likewise, the Green Button program was launched in 2012 and provided Americans with easy and secure access to their electricity usage data and was built on the success of the Blue Button program. The program provides energy consumption data in a standardized format that can easily be displayed on the web or via other applications.


Post-Obama administration career

In July 2012, ''The Washington Post'' reported that Chopra would run for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in the 2013 election. The primary election was held on June 11, 2013 and Chopra was defeated by State Senator
Ralph Northam Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...
by a margin of 54-46%. In 2014, Chopra authored of ''Innovative State: How New Technologies Can Transform Government''. Chopra became the co-founder and president of CareJourney. In 2014, Chopra was named to the inaugural class of Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellows at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He led a program that addressed the role of data as public infrastructure and the challenges and opportunities involved with expanding open access to data. Later in 2014, Chopra was appointed by Governor
Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 ...
to serve on the Council on Virginia's Future. From the Council's description: "The Council works to help guide Virginia in improving outcomes for citizens. Membership is prescribed by law and includes top leadership from the executive and legislative branches of state government, as well as business and community leaders from across the Commonwealth. Chopra was a keynote speaker at the 2016 Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders. In November 2020, Chopra was named a member of the
Joe Biden presidential transition The presidential transition of Joe Biden began on November 7, 2020 and ended on January 20, 2021. Unlike previous presidential transitions, which normally take place during the roughly 10-week period between the election in the first week o ...
Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
.


See also

*
Todd Park Todd Park is a Korean American entrepreneur and government executive. He served as Chief Technology Officer of the United States and technology advisor for U.S. President Barack Obama. Early life and education Park was born in 1973 in Salt La ...
*
Vivek Kundra Vivek Kundra (born October 9, 1974) is a former American administrator who served as the first chief information officer of the United States from March, 2009 to August, 2011 under President Barack Obama. He is currently the chief operating offic ...


References


External links


Official book
site for ''Innovative State''
Biography
at the Office of Science and Technology Policy * * IEEE Spectrum: An Interview with America's First CTO
--> {{DEFAULTSORT:Chopra, Aneesh 1972 births Living people American politicians of Indian descent Office of Science and Technology Policy officials American chief technology officers Harvard Kennedy School alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Obama administration personnel People from Trenton, New Jersey People from West Windsor, New Jersey State cabinet secretaries of Virginia Technology evangelists Virginia Democrats West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South alumni 21st-century American politicians Candidates in the 2013 United States elections Asian-American people in Virginia politics