At NASCIO’s 2025 Mid-Year Conference, the energy in Philadelphia was focused on the future but grounded in pragmatism. In the post-conference State Tech Vision roundtable hosted by MeriTalk, Amanda Crawford, executive director and state CIO of Texas; Heather Abbott, West Virginia’s CIO; and Tom Nieto, president and COO of PayIt, unpacked how states are translating NASCIO’s top priorities into citizen-centered outcomes.

Heather Abbott, who was named West Virginia’s CIO and head of its Office of Technology (OT) last summer, knows a thing or two about staying power.