The CAIOs Leading Responsible AI Development Across Government

Federal agencies are appointing chief artificial intelligence officers as part of the collective movement to meet directives established in former President Joe Biden’s 2023 AI executive order and solidified by a new AI memo from the Trump administration.

The 2023 executive order tasked agencies with a series of responsibilities connected to the emerging technology. It marked the first time federal agencies are all mandated to appoint a designated CAIO, whose responsibilities include “coordinating their agency’s use of AI, promoting AI innovation, [and] managing risks from the use of AI,” according to OMB guidance on AI governance.

President Donald Trump’s recent memo on accelerating AI innovation continues efforts to establish chief AI officers and tasks the OMB Director with creating a CAIO AI Council within 90 days of the memo’s release. The council will coordinate AI development and use across agencies, ensure compliance with relevant policies, promote shared tools and best practices and will automatically sunset five years after its creation unless extended by the OMB Director.

Here are some of the most prominent leaders at the agency level in charge of AI.

Agriculture Department: Christopher Alvares

Christopher Alvares was selected as the Department of Agriculture’s CAIO in 2023. Alvares also serves as the department’s chief data officer. He helped develop the USDA’s inaugural AI strategy for FY 2025-26.

“Our progress in advanced analytics and data informed decision-making over the past decade demonstrates the importance of this inaugural AI Strategy, which will establish the technological and cultural infrastructure to responsibly use AI, increase employee satisfaction, and expand the impact of our mission delivery,” said Alvares in the strategy’s introduction.

As CDO and CAIO, Alvares is responsible for developing strategies that enable USDA to fully leverage its data as a strategic asset, improving organizational decision-making and outcomes for citizens. Alvares began his career working for private sector biotech companies, before becoming director of a data analytics team that provided genomic analytics services to other biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients.

Commerce Department: Brian Epley

Brian Epley is the current CAIO and CIO at the Department of Commerce, according to the department’s M-24-10 compliance plan that he prepared in Sept. 2024.

Epley was previously at the U.S. Department of Energy, where he served as the principal deputy CIO. He led the department’s OCIO and assisted the CIO in the formation of the office’s strategic direction for the protection and modernization of IT, cybersecurity, data usage and digitization.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency: Vacant

CISA’s Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer position is vacant. According to the CISA officials, no one is currently serving in the CAIO role.

Lisa Einstein, who was named CISA’s first CAIO in Aug. 2024, had been leading AI efforts since 2023 as the agency’s senior advisor for AI as well as the executive director of the Cybersecurity Advisory Committee. While at CISA, Einstein worked to help prioritize security in developing and deploying AI tools.

Einstein resigned as CAIO in February 2025.

Defense Department: Douglas Matty

Appointed in April 2025, Douglas Matty is the chief digital and artificial intelligence officer (CDAO). Previously, Matty served as the director of Research for AI and Autonomy at University of Alabama in Huntsville, as an engineer at the RAND Corportation and Department of the Army’s Senior Executive Service as the director of the Army Artificial Intelligence Capabilities, where he founded the Army Artificial Intelligence Integration Center and directed the Army’s AI Task Force.

Education Department: Vijay Sharma

Vijay Sharma is Education’s CAIO. Sharma has served as the department’s CTO since 2015, according to his LinkedIn profile. Sharma’s federal government tenure began in 2010, when he served in the Enterprise Services Implementation Division at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Energy Department: Helena Fu

Helena Fu, director of the Office of Critical and Emerging Technologies at the Energy Department, serves as the agency’s acting CAIO, an agency spokesperson told GovCIO Media & Research.

Since December 2023, Fu has been responsible for coordinating the DOE’s uses of AI, managing the risks and promoting innovation. She is also exploring the next steps in how the agency will apply AI applications and change its capabilities.

Fu previously served as director for Technology and National Security at the White House National Security Council and as director of International Science and Technology Cooperation and Trusted Research for the Office of Science at DOE.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Sivaram Ghorakavi

The EEOC selected Sivaram Ghorakavi as its deputy CIO and CAIO in June 2024. In his role, Ghorakavi is tasked with leading “agency innovations in technology and implement technology-focused partnerships that will benefit the EEOC’s mission and strategic goals,” according to an agency press release.

Ghorakavi spent the past 15 years working in federal IT. He previously worked with the National Labor and Relations Board as chief architect and chief data strategist and as an information technology portfolio manager at USPTO.

Department of Health and Human Services: Peter Bowman-Davis

Peter Bowman-Davis is now leading HHS AI efforts under the agency’s Secretary Robert Kennedy, according to the agency’s staff directory. The Yale University undergraduate has been serving as the agency’s chief AI officer since May. Bowman-Harris was previously an engineering fellow at Andreessen Horowitz and 8VC, according to his LinkedIn. He has also worked as a machine learning engineer with the cybersecurity company Halborn.

Department of Homeland Security: Antoine McCord

Antoine McCord serves as the Department of Homeland Security’s chief AI officer and CIO. McCord, who was appointed as CAIO in March, is responsible for promoting AI innovation and responsible use within DHS. He also advises the Secretary and Department leadership on AI strategy and risks as well as leads the leads the DHS AI Council.

As CIO, McCord oversees the agency’s enterprise-wide IT strategy, cybersecurity operations and digital modernization efforts. Prior to DHS, he specialized in cyber and intelligence operations while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Department of Housing and Urban Development: Sairah Ijaz

Sairah Ijaz is Housing and Urban Development’s CAIO, according to LinkedIn. Ijaz succeeds Vinay Singh, who left the agency earlier this year. Ijaz serves in a dual hatted role and was appointed as HUD’s CIO in Nov. 2024 after serving in an acting capacity since June 2024.

“As we move forward, I look forward to collaborating on innovative solutions, implementing forward-thinking strategies, and enhancing our Department’s security posture,” Ijaz wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing her official CIO position.

Before becoming CIO, she served as the department’s deputy CIO. Prior to HUD, Ijaz held positions at the Government Accountability Office and the Social Security Administration.

Justice Department: Vacant

The Department of Justice’s CAIO position has been vacant since January 2025. Jonathan Mayer was appointed as the Justice Department’s first chief science and technology advisor and CAIO in February 2024, but left during the presidential transition in early 2025.

At DOJ, the CAIO role includes advising DOJ leadership on issues like cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

Labor Department: Mangala Kuppa

Mangala Kuppa stepped into the role of CAIO for the Labor Department in June of this year, taking over from Louis Charlier. Kuppa previously served as the agency’s deputy CAIO prior to moving into the lead role.

Kuppa first came to the agency in 2020 after spending more than a decade at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Within the labor department, she has served as the director of case management and director of business application services.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration: David Salvagnini

America’s premier space agency tapped David Salvagnini as its first CAIO in May 2024. Salvagnini stepped into the role already serving as NASA’s chief data officer.

Prior to joining NASA, Salvagnini served in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as director of the architecture and integration group and chief architect and within the Air Force for 21 years. Salvagnini is charged with oversight of NASA’s AI tools, which support missions, autonomous spacecraft and aircraft and research projects across the agency.

National Science Foundation: Thu Williams

Thu Williams is the National Science Foundation’s acting chief AI officer. Williams, who took over the role after former CAIO Dorothy Aronson left the agency in May, will be leading the development of AI strategies, reusable data and AI ecosystems as well as mission-aligned innovation that scales.

Before serving as acting CAIO, Williams was NSF’s chief of the AS Branch A/Data and AI engagement and adoption lead. In that position, Williams supported generative AI products and pilots, including MLOps platforms and data governance tools. Williams also partnered with stakeholders to promote AI literacy across the organization as well as advocated for AI’s role in transforming business strategies and operational efficiencies.

Social Security Administration: Brian Peltier

Brian Peltier is Social Security Administration’s CAIO. Peltier also serves as SSA’s deputy CIO and has been at the agency for more than 20 years.

State Department: Amy Ritualo

Amy Ritualo serves as the department’s acting CAIO and chief data officer. She stepped into the roles in Jan. 2025, after Matthew Graviss left the agency.

Ritualo has been with State since 2022 and held the deputy CDO role since 2024. Before State, she worked at United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, USDA and Labor. The CAIO position, according to an archived State Department description, is“responsible for making data accessible, interoperable and actionable across the Department of State.”

Treasury Department: Todd Conklin

Todd Conklin assumed the CAIO and deputy assistant secretary of cyber positions at the agency in Jan. 2024. He has served at the agency in various roles over the past 16 years, most recently as deputy assistant secretary for the agency’s Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection.

The agency has prioritized addressing AI security risks in the financial sector and has outlined a plan that includes leveraging AI’s risk management framework, supply chain mapping and recruiting an AI-capable workforce.

General Services Administration: Zach Whitman

Zach Whitman, who joined GSA in July 2023 as the agency’s chief data scientist, assumed the CAIO role in Nov. 2023. Whitman was previously CDO at the Census Bureau for seven years and worked in the private sector before his time at Census.

Department of Veterans Affairs: Charles Worthington

Charles Worthington serves a dual hat role as CAIO and CTO at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Worthington was first reported as the CAIO in Feb. 2024, and has been CTO since joining the agency in 2017. He briefed the House of Representatives on the department’s plans to integrate AI into its operations in early 2024.

Additionally, Gil Alterovitz serves as CAIO of the Veterans Health Administration and the inaugural director of the National Artificial Intelligence Institute (NAII). He was one of the major players behind the White House’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights that preceded the AI executive order.

Alterovitz has been at the agency for nearly five years. In that time, he has worked with more than 20 VA offices to create the agency’s first AI strategy.

His work with NAII centers around building AI research and development to improve veteran care and services. Alterovitz was also one of the key authors of the White House Office of Science Technology and Policy’s National AI R&D Strategic Plan in 2019.

Federal Trade Commission: Mark Gray

Mark Gray serves as the Federal Trade Commission’s chief AI officer and CIO. Gray has held the CAIO position since 2023 and was previously the agency’s deputy CIO for more than three years. Before joining FTC, Gray served as the U.S. Army’s finance transformation and innovation director. He also held positions with the Defense Department as well as the Defense Health Agency.

Interior Department: Thomas Dabolt

Thomas Dabolt serves as the Department of Interior’s chief data and AI officer, according to Dabolt’s LinkedIn. Dabolt implemented improvements to the agency’s data governance framework through increased data access. Through the use of generative AI applications, Dabolt wrote he has delivered millions in savings and created a data-driven culture.

Transportation Department: Mike Horton

Mike Horton serves as the acting chief AI officer at the Department of Transportation. Horton focuses on building a relationship between the workforce and AI systems, according to LinkedIn, adding that AI systems need to be treated as a new class of employees.

“This means investing in their training, managing their performance and overseeing risks with the same diligence we apply to our human workforce,” he wrote.

Horton also helped author the Federal AI Maturity Model 1.0 (FAIMM) to enable all agencies scale AI capabilities responsibly. In addition to FAIMM, Horton wrote the DOT’s AI strategy.

Environmental Protection Agency: Niki Maslin

Niki Maslin serves as the Environmental Protection Agency’s chief AI officer, according to the agency’s website. Maslin also serves as EPA’s CTO and deputy director of Office of Digital Services and Technical Architecture. Maslin said on LinkedIn that she’s excited about new and innovative technologies and how best to develop and implement them. Before coming to EPA, Maslin served in various roles at FEMA and the U.S. Navy.

National Archives and Records Administration: Gulam Shakir

Gulam Shakir is the acting CIO and chief AI officer, according to the National Archives and Records Administration website. Shakir has led NARA’s AI pilots to improve customer experience efforts through enhance search capabilities, strengthening security efforts of employee data, and used AI to draft a metadata description for the agency’s data.

As the CAIO and CIO, Shakir has led the digital transformation efforts to migrate to the cloud and modernize other legacy applications. Shakir previously served as NARA’s CTO.

Office of Personnel Management: Vacant

The chief AI officer position is currently vacant at the Office of Personnel Management. Taka Ariga, who was the previous CAIO, occupied the role for seven months before leaving in March.

August 28, 2025 — This article has been updated since initial publication to reflect the latest leadership appointments.