Enhancing Federal Digital CX

John W. Boerstler was sworn in on February 16, 2021, as the Chief Veterans Experience Officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). As Chief Veterans Experience Officer, John leads the Veterans Experience Office (VEO), the Secretary’s customer experience (CX) insight engine supporting and enabling the Department in providing the highest quality experiences in the delivery of care, benefits, and memorial services to service members, Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. In this role, he provides executive oversight of VEO’s many innovative projects and programs, working collaboratively within VA’s leadership to help achieve greater access, outcomes, and experiences for all VA’s customers.

Prior to his current position, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of Combined Arms, a Community Information Exchange and collaborative technology company whose purpose was to effectively connect customers to thousands of vetted government and non-profit services to address social determinants of health and health-related social needs.

John has a distinguished career as a leader in the Veteran services field as a recipient of both the Eisenhower and Marshall Memorial Fellowships, having travelled to Bosnia, Denmark, France, Hungary, Israel, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom to write comparative papers on their military transition systems. As the first Marshall Prize recipient, John recently completed a three-year project in Ukraine to assist in the development of their Ministry of Veterans Affairs–the first of its kind in Europe. John was also honored to be selected in the inaugural cohort of Stand-To Scholars at the George W. Bush Institute’s Veteran Leadership Program in 2018.

John is a native Texan who served honorably in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1999-2007 as a non-commissioned officer and infantry unit leader, including one combat tour in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2004-2005 and Operation Natural Fire in the Republic of Kenya in 2006.

Mathias Rechtzigel crafts inclusive digital experiences that work for everyone, regardless of their background or abilities. Currently as a Digital Service Expert at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid, he is emphasizing the enhancement of customer experience through human-centered design, user research, and accessibility. His goal is to ensure that every digital service built is centered around lived experiences so that government just works.

Before joining CMS, Mathias spent 10 years spearheading digital transformation efforts across both public and private sector and building workforce development programs to make the industry more accessible for those underrepresented in technology.

Angy Peterson is the Vice President for the Granicus Experience Group, leading Granicus’ agency of experience strategists, data analysts, content creators, and technologists to help our government customers better connect communications and experience for more measurable impact.

Angy is an experience strategist, executive, and change agent who is passionate about transformation journeys of all types and sizes.

Angy has 25 years of experience in content, design, and multichannel delivery. She’s led delivery teams in newsrooms, built digital capabilities for communications agencies, and now designs data-driven CX solutions for government customers at Granicus, including the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Social Security Administration, as well as such state and local customers as the Philadelphia Water Department and the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.