Veterans Affairs Department Appoints New CTO

Elena Malykhina | InformationWeek | July 30, 2013

New CTO Marina Martin broke fresh ground as an entrepreneur in government, a Presidential Innovation Fellow and as senior adviser to federal CTO Todd Park.

The Veterans Affairs Department has appointed Marina Martin, a senior advisor to federal Chief Technology Office Todd Park and a former Presidential Innovation Fellow, to take the reins as the VA's new CTO. Martin also was made senior advisor to VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki.

Jonah Czerwinski, director of VA Center for Innovation, confirmed the news on Twitter: "We have a new CTO at @DeptVetAffairs! Welcome to @MarinaMartin!"

Martin, a Web developer and business efficiency expert, hails from consulting firm The Type-A Way, where she served as CEO. In August 2012, she was selected from an applicant pool of 700 people to become a Presidential Innovation Fellow. The 18 fellows spent six months in Washington D.C. participating in five high-impact projects aimed at improving how the federal government serves the public. The fellows paired with top innovators in government with a goal of delivering significant results in six months.