Edinger arrived in November 2023 after serving as CIO for the city and county of Denver. His people-focused approach to technology has helped the state make strides toward a better digital government experience.
An improved experience and greater efficiency are the driving goals behind OIT’s strategic realignment, which includes reducing the OIT workforce by 173 employees, a new operating model, and the CIO leadership transition.
The new operating model will pair technology teams with state agencies to work directly on government services, ensuring they are simple, reliable and user-friendly. The idea is to address bureaucratic complexities, to enable a greater focus on the technical work that state agencies and Colorado residents rely on.
“I reached the difficult but necessary conclusion that the way OIT has been operating will not get us to where we need to be,” said Edinger in a statement.
Tuneberg will step in as CIO on June 1; Edinger will stay on through June 11 to support the transition.
“As the modernization strategy took shape, I recognized that executing it successfully requires a leader with deep, firsthand experience in modern delivery — someone who has already worked this way and can bring that experience to OIT's teams and agency partners,” Edinger said.
Tuneberg, he noted, has experience solving complex operational challenges. She was tapped to lead the Colorado Digital Service in July 2024, where she led implementation of the state’s Digital Government Strategic Plan.
When Colorado ended its chief data officer role in mid-April, Edinger said the state was reshaping its data strategy.
“This structural decision will help ensure that this work is prioritized and woven into the fabric of all state technology,” he said, noting Tuneberg was leading the integration of that work.
The restructuring aims to prevent the limitations of a “shared service model that isn’t delivering what the agencies need in terms of strategic partnership,” Edinger told Government Technology at the National Association of State Chief Information Officers Midyear Conference in April. Officials are looking to replicate a more modern way of delivering technology as seen in the private sector.
“We’re rebuilding how OIT works from the ground up, around delivery, around outcomes, in service to Coloradans,” Tuneberg said in a statement.
OIT is offering support to employees affected by the workforce reduction through severance and administrative leave, annual leave payouts, continued health benefits through the end of their termination month, and resume coaching.
