Russell Castagnaro

Technology executive who turns skeptics into champions

Atlanta, GA (Dunwoody) · r@castagnaro.com · LinkedIn · GitHub (cryptowampum) · GitHub (myunicornaccount) · GitHub (RussellEth) · Presentations (slides.com) · Presentations (SlideShare)

I've spent my career building and leading with technology where mandates don't work and trust has to be earned: state governments, nonprofits, payments platforms, Web3 communities, and AI-first startups. The through-line is scaling, taking something that works for one team and making it work for a thousand, then finding the next place to do it again.

In Hawaii I spent 13 years turning a bottom-25% digital government into the best in the nation, eventually running the whole self-funded organization and its $10M P&L. That meant re-engineering the stack from the ground up (Perl to Java), migrating 450+ agency websites to AWS without an outage, and building a payments platform that grew to $2B a year, PCI-DSS and NACHA compliant, accepting cryptocurrency years before it was fashionable. We delivered 120+ services across 30+ agencies, and partners noticed: 42 national and international awards, and an Attorney General's office that had been our biggest skeptic hosting a celebration afterward.

In Colorado, as Director of Digital Transformation, I built the first DMV-issued digital driver license in the US (myColorado, now 2M+ users), scaled it from 25K to 750K users in a single COVID summer, and earned seven more national awards along the way. When Web3 needed the same transformation playbook, I brought it: ColoradoJam, a DAO-funded incubator I helped create pairing startups with state government; ETHDenver's first profitable year as SporkDAO's Chief of Staff; portfolio advisory for 50+ companies at Bufficorn Ventures; and Wampei, a crypto payments platform for businesses traditional banking wouldn't serve.

The pattern that works: find the people with the most urgent problems, prove value there first, and let early wins build momentum. I still build, daily, with generative AI, TypeScript, and Solidity, because strategy without hands on the keyboard drifts. Currently founder and CEO of Wampei, Inc. and co-founder and CTO at Unicorns, Inc., living in the Atlanta area.

Skills

Leadership & Transformation. Digital Transformation · Change Management & User Adoption · Cross-Functional & Matrixed Leadership · Stakeholder Engagement · P&L Management · Team Building (5 to 54 staff) · Succession Planning & Internal Promotion · Vendor & MSP Management · Executive Communication & Board Engagement

AI & Emerging Tech. AI Strategy & Roadmap · AI Adoption at Scale · Generative AI (Claude, OpenAI) · Responsible AI Governance · Capability Building & AI Literacy Programs · Use Case Prioritization & ROI · Workflow Automation

Cloud, Platforms & Engineering. AWS (Lambda, RDS, SES, SNS, Amplify, Bedrock) · Amazon Connect · Google Cloud Platform · Ping Identity · Cloudflare & Vercel · Docker · CI/CD & DevOps · Java & Spring Boot · JavaScript / TypeScript (React, Next.js, Vue) · Python · PHP & WordPress · REST APIs & GraphQL

Payments & Compliance. Payments Infrastructure ($2B+/yr) · Payment rails: credit cards, ACH, SWIFT, crypto · Operating under NACHA rules · PCI-DSS · SOC 2 · HIPAA · CJIS · SOX · DPPA & FERPA

GovTech & Digital Identity. eGovernment Platforms (Hawaii, Colorado) · Digital Identity & Mobile Driver Licenses (MDL) · Verifiable Credentials · Public-Private Partnerships · Government Procurement & RFPs · Enterprise Content & Records Management · Self-funded eGovernment Operations

Web3 & Blockchain. Solidity Smart Contracts (ERC-721, ERC-1155) · Crypto Payments · Wallet Abstraction & Token-Gated Access · Tokenomics · DAO Governance · Education

Product & Delivery. Product Vision & Roadmap · Portfolio Management (120+ services) · Agile & Scrum (CSM) · Go-to-Market Strategy · KPI Frameworks & Data-Informed Decisions · Build / Buy / Partner Decisions

Professional Experience

Mar 2026 – Present

Wampei, Inc. — Founder & CEO

Remote

Relaunched Wampei as a stablecoin payment rail after former customers sought a way to accept and move stablecoins directly. Founded and built a non-custodial stablecoin payments platform connecting consumer wallets, merchant acceptance, and stablecoin settlement, owning product, technical architecture, compliance, and go-to-market end-to-end. Two products live today: merchant acceptance (Wampei Register, in alpha) and a consumer wallet (app.wampei.com), sharing smart-account infrastructure with Unicorns, Inc.

Architected merchant settlement for high-risk merchants (cannabis dispensaries, supplement/nutra DTC brands) that pays them direct to a wallet they own, removing dependence on the banking relationships that had gotten them dropped by card processors
Planned (not yet built): Stripe- and PayPal-compatible checkout adapters to give merchants already running on those platforms a drop-in migration path to stablecoin settlement
Own the technical architecture across multi-chain USDC and stablecoin support, gasless smart-account transactions, and non-custodial fund ownership (user-owned wallets; Wampei cannot unilaterally move, freeze, or reverse funds)
Deployed the NestJS API on AWS ECS Fargate behind an Application Load Balancer, with GitHub Actions deploying through OIDC role federation (no long-lived AWS keys)
Designed the compliance posture (tech-provider/merchant-of-record structure, planned OFAC/sanctions screening) required to operate stablecoin settlement for regulated and reputationally sensitive merchant categories
Designed a two-sided adoption model linking merchant acquisition with consumer wallet growth, aligning participant incentives to create compounding network effects

Feb 2022 – Present

WorldChain, LLC — Principal Consultant

Denver, CO

Executive technology advisory and fractional CIO/CTO practice focused on platform strategy, AI adoption, operating-model design, and technology transformation.

Sep 2025 – Present

LWYL Studio, LLC — Technical Consultant

Digital Identity, Verifiable Credentials, Learning and Employment Record (LER), and Mobile Driver License (mDL) implementation.

Support proposal generation and technology vetting for digital identity, verifiable credentials, LER, and mDL implementations
Advise on consulting partnership strategy and delivery approach

Oct 2024 – Present

Unicorns, Inc. — Co-Founder & CTO

Lead product, engineering, platform operations, and partner delivery for a B2B SaaS identity and engagement platform serving 170+ organizations and 30K+ users.

Built and led a distributed engineering team across five countries, coordinating internal engineers, contractors, technology vendors, and integration partners
Own the platform roadmap, architecture priorities, release planning, operational reliability, customer integrations, and resource allocation
Established AI-assisted development workflows and customer-facing generative-AI capabilities using Claude and OpenAI, with governance for security, quality, and responsible use
Designed the ecosystem strategy connecting business customers to shared blockchain infrastructure, prioritizing the partner integrations and product investments that unlocked adoption
Own platform architecture and product roadmap, translating partner and market requirements into engineering priorities, having built delivery processes and governance frameworks a distributed team across 5 countries could run independently
Built a network of partners, use cases, and market participants including ENS, Polygon, Arbitrum, Snapshot, POAP, Giveth, Hedgey, Merkl, EFP, Lemonade, and Liquid Agent, supporting adoption across 170+ organizations and 30K+ users
Directly oversaw the Unicorns engineering team, including developers, QA, and product and project management

Mar 2023 – Sep 2024

SporkDAO / ETHDenver — Chief of Staff

Led ecosystem operations for the world's largest Web3 event (20,000+ participants, 115 countries, $6M budget), building the partnership frameworks and financial systems that turned relationships into sustained value.

Directed cross-functional delivery and technology integrations for the world's largest open-source technology event, serving 20,000+ participants from 115 countries on a $6M budget
Turned seven years of losses into a $1.3M surplus through financial controls, KPI tracking, operating discipline, and governance while preserving a community culture reflected in an NPS of 59.6
Managed ecosystem partnerships across sponsors, protocol teams, venture funds, and government partners, structuring sponsorship and collaboration agreements around what each participant needed from the ecosystem
Positioned ETHDenver as a real-time signal engine for emerging trends across the Web3 capital and builder ecosystem
Built Airtable integrations: prepopulated forms, crypto payments added to Airtable forms, and Airtable data imported into the CRM
Directed delivery of the engineering work behind staking, tokenomics, token creation, and payments, among other things

Apr 2022 – Aug 2025

Bufficorn Ventures — Managing Partner and Investment Steward

Conducted technical and commercial due diligence on 50+ blockchain protocols, smart-contract platforms, fintech infrastructure, and developer tools, evaluating tokenomics, product-market fit, regulatory posture, and commercial viability
Built structured evaluation frameworks that mapped each company's position in its value chain and identified the partnership or product moves most likely to unlock growth
Converted portfolio relationships into ecosystem intelligence: surfacing market gaps, partnership opportunities, and competitive dynamics across the digital-asset and payments landscape
Advised founders and executive teams on go-to-market strategy, commercial structuring, and regulatory navigation through fundraising, pivots, and scaling
Built Airtable integrations: prepopulated forms, crypto payments added to Airtable forms, and Airtable data imported into the CRM

Jul 2019 – May 2022

Colorado Governor's Office of Information Technology — Director of Digital Transformation

Denver, CO

Led statewide digital transformation across 50+ agencies in a large, matrixed organization: digital identity, AI-powered contact centers, cloud-first policy, and adoption won through negotiation rather than mandates.

Launched myColorado, the most successful state digital ID in the U.S. (2M+ users) and the first DMV-issued digital driver license in the country, built on mobile driver license (MDL) and verifiable-credential standards with Ping Identity SSO
Scaled myColorado from 25K to 250K users in one month when COVID hit, reaching 750K by end of summer 2020; collaborated with nearly 250 law enforcement agencies to accept it as valid identification
Released a quick beta MVP of myColorado and reached general release three months later, with monthly releases that moved to every two weeks during COVID as features were added: an integrated digital immunization card with a human-readable companion, and direct integrations with event venues such as the Broncos' stadium and Ball Arena and with healthcare providers. Core team: 4 developers, 3 QA testers, 4 customer service staff, a project manager, and an architect
Migrated 57 call centers from Genesys to Amazon Connect in 4 months, deploying AI omnichannel solutions that cut handling time 40% and enabled 24/7 operations, proving value center-by-center until demand pulled the rollout forward
Turned the Department of Revenue from the platform's largest skeptic into its second-largest adopter through negotiation rather than mandates; they brought Public Safety with them
Deployed COVID vaccination verification integrated with the digital ID for under $500K through partnership with CDPHE: an HL7 FHIR-standard digital immunization credential fed from the state immunization registry, paired with a human-readable companion card (myVaccine Record, 2022 APEX Award for Tech Project of the Year)
Defined the state's cloud-first policy focused on AWS and GCP and facilitated remote-work programs before and during COVID
Led creation of statewide standards for AI use, cloud services, and innovation; implemented enterprise strategies for electronic signatures, digital identity, and cloud VoIP
Owned all of OIT's reporting priorities on the Governor's Dashboard (dashboard.colorado.gov)
Championed AWS cloud and blockchain initiatives statewide, resulting in technology demonstration projects; collaborated to create the privately funded Colorado Jam Incubator for government blockchain partnerships
Managed 7+ concurrent transformation initiatives, earning NASCIO, AAMVA, and GovLoop awards
Built the Transformation Office from junior, high-potential talent rather than competing for scarce senior hires against the state's existing IT staff: 10 hires in year one (3 transfers from other departments who had been underperforming but showed promise, 6 contractor-to-hire conversions), with 7 of the 10 advancing into new roles within the office or elsewhere in state government
Started, stood up, and standardized 3 new teams and services, then deliberately handed each off to Enterprise Services or the appropriate long-term owner
Served as an RFP evaluator for Colorado DMV, Department of Revenue, and OIT procurements
Led three teams: oversaw the myColorado internal team and its vendors, directly oversaw the Transformation Office, and led the Omnichannel team (which grew out of the myColorado support team); also served as portfolio owner for multiple statewide projects

Jan 2017 – Jul 2020

Wampei, Inc. — CEO & Co-Founder

Denver, CO

Co-founded a peer-to-peer digital payments platform expanding electronic payments to businesses and individuals underserved by traditional banking.

Founded Wampei, initially an electronic payments option for the cannabis industry, out of deep experience in mainstream electronic payments and close exposure to how cannabis businesses actually operate
Owned end-to-end technology strategy, architecture, and delivery as founder-CTO alongside the CEO role
Built core payments infrastructure supporting invoices, credit cards, cryptocurrency, and ACH transactions
Led Java and Python software development on AWS, designing cloud-based systems for secure, scalable payment processing
Implemented security, reliability, and operational controls for regulated financial workflows
Transitioned the customer base to BRD following acquisition, ensuring continuity and data integrity

Nov 2016 – Jan 2017

NIC Inc. (Tyler Technologies) — Director of Digital Services

Olathe, KS

National strike-team role at the leading provider of eGovernment services to U.S. states.

Strike team lead on pre-RFP work, RFP responses, and oral arguments for state digital-services adoption
Subject matter expert on state eGovernment, eCommerce, payments, and licensing initiatives
Advised on enterprise platform strategy and architecture decisions
Evangelized electronic government services across state partnerships
Contributed to winning state portal RFPs in Texas, Mississippi, Colorado, and Indiana, the National Charity Registry, and the federal Recreation.gov contract co-operated with Booz Allen (a pursuit that began while President of Hawaii Information Consortium)

Dec 2007 – Nov 2016

Hawaii Information Consortium, LLC (Tyler Technologies subsidiary) — President

Honolulu, HI

Led the 54-person organization delivering SaaS eGovernment and eCommerce services for all Hawaii state and county agencies, on an enterprise platform processing $2B+ annually.

Led the directors and managers who ran each engineering function (development, operations, infrastructure, and support)
Managed a $10M P&L and oversaw $2B+ in annual payment volume across credit cards, ACH, and SWIFT, operating under NACHA rules
Delivered 120+ active online services across 30+ government agencies, from payments and licensing to permitting and citizen engagement
Took Hawaii's government services rating from 43rd to 1st in the nation, earning 42 national and international awards including Best State Government Website (2014)
Scaled the organization from 18 to 54 staff, building cross-functional teams across engineering, product, operations, and government relations; named Best Place to Work two years (2014, 2015) by Hawaii Business Magazine
Built genuine promote-from-within career ladders across the organization, including Customer Service Rep to Customer Service Manager to Manager of CMS, Developer to Lead Developer to Director of Software Development, Project Manager to Partner Liaison to Director of Operations, and Senior Liaison/Developer to Junior SysAdmin to SysAdmin to Manager of DevOps; when someone wanted a role that did not exist yet, helped them design it or find a better fit elsewhere
On stepping down as President in 2016, promoted internally rather than hiring outside: the sitting Chief Liaison was promoted to Director of Portal Operations, and the sitting Director of Portal Operations was promoted to President
Built a development culture to back the ladders up: every staff member, senior people included, spent 2+ hours a week on direct customer support; a weekly Lunch and Learn had a different staffer present their own work, a new technology, or an idea to pitch; the company funded certifications and college courses plus Improv and Presentation classes for soft-skill development; and mentorship was a core job expectation for every senior staffer, not optional
Migrated 450+ state websites to AWS over 18 months, improving uptime, scalability, performance, and security while maintaining uninterrupted public access
Maintained PCI-DSS, SOC 2, HIPAA, CJIS, SOX, and DPPA compliance with zero breaches, balancing delivery speed with operational stability
Built enterprise data and platform governance standards independently, since Hawaii had no state CIO until 2013; partnered with that office once filled to establish third-party vendor oversight processes
Doubled net revenue from $2M to $4M through platform expansion, operational efficiency, and improved delivery execution
Launched the first personalized and gamified eGovernment experience in the U.S., increasing citizen engagement and service adoption
Partnered directly with the Governor's Office, State CTO, Department of Health, and State Procurement Office
Implemented a Liaison model for every agency partner on taking over as President, with each Liaison serving as relationship manager, internal sales advocate, and partner point of contact across all services, and owning partner reporting and award submissions
Designed and led Hawaii's medical cannabis patient registry when the program moved from the Department of Public Safety to the Department of Health (Act 177), working directly with DOH and other states' programs and reporting results and challenges to DOH, the Access Hawaii Committee, and the legislature
Patient enrollment rose 63% and the medical provider registry about 78% on the new system; patients and caregivers could download and print cards with QR codes so enforcement could tell valid from superseded credentials; patient and caregiver support requests were required within 3 business days, and 80% were handled within 1 day and 95% within 2
Launched the online dispensary application and licensing system for the new dispensary program (Act 241, HRS 329D), which did not exist before, in January 2016
Implemented a Bitcoin payment system using BitPay for dispensary applications; the system was complete, but the rollout was stopped before deployment when the Hawaii Banking Commissioner asked the legislature to require paper checks for dispensary applications
Became Hawaii's first online-licensed Wedding Officiant (2013) and added free wedding services to the employee benefits package
Across the full Hawaii Information Consortium tenure (2003–2016), led winning proposals for four State of Hawaii portal-provider contracts, the Hawaii elevator permitting system, and two Kauai utility payment systems

Aug 2004 – Dec 2007

Hawaii Information Consortium, LLC (Tyler Technologies subsidiary) — Director of Portal Operations

Honolulu, HI

Directed end-to-end SaaS eGovernment and eCommerce operations for all Hawaii state and county agencies.

Established and enforced HIPAA and SOX compliance programs for regulated health and financial data
Scaled the organization from 12 to 18 full-time staff plus 8 consultants while maintaining service continuity

Sep 2003 – Aug 2004

Hawaii Information Consortium, LLC (Tyler Technologies subsidiary) — Director of Software Development

Honolulu, HI

Led full-lifecycle SaaS eGovernment and eCommerce platform development for all Hawaii state and county agencies.

Modernized the legacy technology stack by initiating the migration from Perl to Java, establishing a scalable, maintainable foundation
Designed and delivered the centralized payment processing platform handling invoices, credit cards, and eChecks across government services; it began as a payment gateway, and after Kala, HIC's PayFac system that I created in 2004, HIC became one of the original payment facilitators, core to the business and tied to identity and analytics
Transformed the engineering culture from siloed development to collaborative, delivery-focused teams; established engineering standards and code-review practices
Scaled the engineering organization from 5 to 9 developers, introducing structure, standards, and sustainable practices

Sep 2000 – Apr 2002

4Charity.com — Chief Mentor

Honolulu, HI

Built the first SaaS electronic donation and payment processing platform (ACH and credit card) for 501(c)(3) nonprofits, on Oracle WebLogic (Java). The platform became the core of Network for Good, which acquired the company.

Led hands-on architecture and development of a first-of-its-kind enterprise donation platform on Oracle WebLogic (Java)
Led the technical team of 7 building enterprise donation and payment processing systems, including real-time and stored-payment processing
Designed workflows for donor-advised giving, fund accounting, and nonprofit disbursements
Partnered with the Hawaii Community Foundation on donations processing and fund-management integration
Platform became the core of Network for Good following acquisition

Aug 1999 – Sep 2005

Synctank Solutions, Inc. — Principal

Honolulu, HI

Enterprise architecture and engineering consulting for Fortune 500 clients including Bank of Hawaii, Canon, Samsung, and the State of California.

Provided whole-lifecycle enterprise project stewardship, from kickoff and architecture through delivery and post-mortems
Acted as an extension of BEA Systems Professional Services for Pacific Rim clients
Created training curricula and delivered training on new technologies and development methodologies
Spoke at multiple technology conferences and worked to bring high-tech business to Hawaii
Also served a broader regional client roster including Camelot Communications, Get2Hawaii, Hawaii Energy Policy Forum, ITG Inc, Learning Tree International, Legislative Counsel Bureau, and Worldpoint Interactive

Aug 1997 – Aug 1999

Datahouse.com — Chief Technical Architect

Honolulu, HI

Hands-on Java and eCommerce engineering and architecture consulting for enterprise clients across Hawaii and the mainland.

Architected and deployed cross-application business intelligence solutions integrating PeopleSoft, Oracle Financials, CICS, and DB2
Implemented Enterprise Java solutions and transitioned them to client staff, acting as application design mentor for client teams
Developed and sold a Lotus Notes-hosted, Java-based reporting framework
Clients included BEA WebLogic, Bank of Hawaii, Hawaii Department of Education, Kamehameha Schools, Bishop Estate, and Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound

Apr 1996 – Aug 1997

Claremont Technology Group — Chief Architect

Beaverton, OR

Early-web enterprise consulting, including the first Java-based e-commerce website in production.

Designed and developed the first Java-based e-commerce website, for AT&T Universal Card (1996)
Built software interfacing with CICS, Oracle, Sybase, and MQ Series systems
Created a web-based press kit and Internet publishing distribution system for Sun Microsystems
Worked on early-phase engagements with Intel and Bank of America

Awards & Recognition

2022APEX Award for Tech Project of the Year (Winner)Colorado Technology Association · myVaccine Record feature
2021AAMVA Trailblazer AwardAAMVA · Contactless Colorado Digital ID law enforcement acceptance
2020NASCIO State IT Recognition AwardNASCIO · myColorado
2020State IT Innovation of the YearStateScoop · myColorado
2020Government Experience Award: State Government Experience WinnerCenter for Digital Government · myColorado
2017Trout Tank Pitch Contest (Winner)Denver Metro SBDC · Wampum / Wampei
2016NACM Top 10 Court Technology Solutions Award (Winner)National Association for Court Management · Hawaii State Judiciary
2015Bright Ideas in GovernmentAsh Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School · my.hawaii.gov
2014Best State WebsiteCenter for Digital Government · portal.ehawaii.gov
2010Digital Government Achievement Award, Gov to Gov CategoryCenter for Digital Government · Hawaii Electronic Bench Warrants

More awards

2023NASCIO State IT Recognition Award (Finalist)NASCIO · myColorado chatbot
2021NASCIO State IT Recognition Award (Finalist)NASCIO · Bolstering Law Enforcement Safety with Colorado Digital ID
2021Colorado Technology Association APEX Awards (Finalist)Colorado Technology Association · myColorado / Colorado Digital ID
2018Power Startup RankingsTiE Denver · Wampei
2018Denver Startup Week Pitch Contest (Semifinalist)Denver Startup Week · Wampei
2017Startup Grind Honolulu Pitch Competition (Winner)Startup Grind Honolulu · Wampum / Wampei
2017Blue Startups East Meets West (Finalist)Blue Startups · Wampum / Wampei
2016Digital Government Achievement Award (Winner), State Government CategoryCenter for Digital Government · Driving Digital Government
2016Digital Government Achievement Award (Winner)Center for Digital Government · Vital Records Ordering and Tracking System
2016Interactive Media Awards: Best in ClassInteractive Media Awards · Online Absentee Ballots
2015Best Places to Work, First Place (Small Companies); Most Family Friendly Company, First PlaceHawaii Business Magazine
2015W3 Awards (Gold)W3 Awards · eHawaii.gov
2015Government Standard of ExcellenceWeb Marketing Association · Hawaii.gov
2015Interactive Media AwardsInteractive Media Awards · Hawaii.gov
2015Merit AwardInternational Association of Commercial Administrators · MyBusiness Alerts
2015MobileWebAwards: Outstanding Mobile WebsiteWeb Marketing Association · HIOSH Inspections and Permits
2015MobileWebAwards: Best Government Mobile Application & Best Information ServicesWeb Marketing Association · Hawaii Sex Offender Search
2014Best Places to Work, First Place (Small Employer)Hawaii Business Magazine
2014Davey Awards (Silver)Davey Awards · Hawaii.gov
2014Best Government WebsiteWeb Marketing Association · Hawaii.gov
2014Members' ChoiceNational Association of Government Webmasters · Hawaii.gov
2014Interactive Media Awards: Best in Class GovernmentInteractive Media Awards · eHawaii.gov
2014Communicator Awards (Gold Award of Excellence)Communicator Awards · eHawaii.gov
2014Telly Awards (Bronze)Telly Awards · The New Hawaii.gov Website (video)
2014MobileWebAwards: Best Energy Mobile ApplicationWeb Marketing Association · EV Stations Hawaii
2014MobileWebAwards: Best Information ServicesWeb Marketing Association · Hawaii Sex Offender Search
2013Digital Government Achievement Award, Gov to Citizen CategoryCenter for Digital Government · Hawaii Electronic Marriage and Civil Union System
2013Pinnacle Award, STATE/NGO CategoryNational Association of Government Webmasters
2013Best of the Web (Finalist)Center for Digital Government · eHawaii.gov
2013Davey Awards (Gold)Davey Awards · eHawaii.gov
2013W3 Awards (Silver)W3 Awards · eHawaii.gov
2013Digital Government Achievement Award, Gov to Business CategoryCenter for Digital Government · Commercial Fishing License Services
2013MobileWebAwards: Best Energy Mobile ApplicationWeb Marketing Association · EV Stations Hawaii
2013CSS Award (Nominee)CSS Award · eHawaii.gov
2013CSS Design Award (Nominee)CSS Design Award · eHawaii.gov
2012Digital Government Achievement Award (Honorable Mention)Center for Digital Government · Mobile App for Annual Business Renewal
2012NASCIO Recognition Awards: Digital Government to Business (Finalist)NASCIO · Mobile Applications for Annual Business Filings
2012Merit AwardInternational Association of Commercial Administrators · Mobile Applications for Annual Business Filings
2012Best Mobile Government WebsiteWeb Marketing Association · Mobile Applications for Annual Business Filings
2012Excellence in Technology AwardState of Hawaii · Mobile Applications for Annual Business Filings
2011Best Fit Integrator AwardCenter for Digital Government · Hawaii Teacher Standards Board Online Licensing System
2010Bright Ideas AwardAsh Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School · Hawaii Electronic Bench Warrants
2008Merit Award for Outstanding Technological InnovationIACA · DCCA Online Documents Search
2008NASCIO Award (Finalist), Government to BusinessNASCIO · Hawaii Compliance Express
2007Digital Government Achievement Award, Gov to Gov CategoryCenter for Digital Government · Hawaii Electronic Death Registration System
2007Merit Award (Finalist): Most Navigable Business Registration SiteInternational Association of Commercial Administrators · Hawaii Business Express
2006Cronin Club IT Gold Award (Finalist)National Association of State Procurement Officials · Hawaii Compliance Express
2006Win-Win Award (Finalist)International Association of Commercial Administrators · Hawaii Compliance Express

Board & Advisory

Bufficorn Ventures — Investment Board (Advisor) 2025–2026
SporkDAO — Board of Stewards 2024–2026

Education

University of North Dakota — Master of Science, Space Studies 1998–2002
Emory University — Bachelor of Arts, Economics 1986–1990

Certifications

Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
ITIL 4 Foundation (in progress)

Signature Stories

Revenue Skeptic to Champion (Colorado)

The Department of Revenue didn't want our AI platform. They had their own vendor and the Governor's office pressuring adoption. We negotiated instead of forcing: we wouldn't compete if they went mobile-friendly. Eighteen months later they were our second-largest partner, and they brought Public Safety with them.

eBench Warrant Transformation (Hawaii)

A 90,000-warrant backlog had defeated two prior initiatives and a blue-ribbon commission. We found early adopters with specific pain points, delivered quick wins, and let success build momentum. The AG's Office, initially the biggest skeptic, hosted a celebration: "I've never seen government agencies work together like this."

43rd to 1st (Hawaii)

Hawaii's government services rating went from 43rd to 1st in the nation during my tenure, earning 42 national and international awards.

7 Years of Losses to $1.3M Surplus (ETHDenver)

First profitable year after seven years of losses, with an NPS of 59.6. We implemented governance and financial controls while preserving the community culture that made the event successful.

myColorado Pandemic Scaling (Colorado)

25K users grew to 250K in one month when COVID hit, reaching 750K by the end of summer. Nearly 250 law enforcement agencies accepted it as valid ID, and COVID vaccination verification was integrated with the digital ID for under $500K through a partnership with CDPHE.

7 to 54 (Hawaii)

Joined in 2003 when the entire company had seven staff and was losing money, and grew it to 54 people while scaling to 120+ services and $2B+ in annual transactions. Named Best Place to Work two years (2014, 2015) by Hawaii Business Magazine.