So when a chance to work for Vermont came her way in 2023, Reilly-Hughes decided to practice what she preached, and she left the private sector to work for Vermont’s Agency of Digital Services. She has since accomplished great things there.
Reilly-Hughes is the agency’s secretary as well as state CIO, leading Vermont’s tech and innovation efforts. In her time at the helm, Vermont has made progress in everything from modernizing legacy systems to creating a culture that values human-centered design.
“When you humanize the technology, you truly can see the impact that it has,” Reilly-Hughes said. “If we remove that, it’s all just networks and ports and connectors.”
She and her team — whom she praised at length — apply a human-centered approach to everything they do, from cybersecurity to AI.
“Having that lens with a human-centered mindset allows us to get the tech right,” she said, “and we’ve been able to see that happen over and over again.”
Reilly-Hughes and her team have also created an effective system for prioritizing modernization projects. They look at three risk areas: business, security and tech. If a system has two or even three of those risks, it gets prioritized.
Back in the private sector, Reilly-Hughes used to tell customers, “Your problems are my problems.” With the state, she now thinks of Vermonters’ problems as her problems — the same way she views the problems of businesses, internal agencies and other government organizations. And helping solve those problems feels meaningful.
“Vermont is my home state,” Reilly-Hughes said. “I’m working right in my own backyard, where good work impacts my family members, my community, my children’s schools — it’s a level of reward I never thought possible.”
