Aneesh Paul Chopra (born July 13, 1972) is an American executive who served as the first

Chief Technology Officer of the United States The United States Chief Technology Officer (US CTO) is an official in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The U.S. CTO helps the President of the United States, president and their team harness the power of technology and data to benefit a ...

. He was appointed in 2009 by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and was at the White House through 2012. Chopra previously served as

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

's Secretary of Technology under Governor Tim Kaine. Chopra was a candidate in 2013 for the Democratic nomination for

Lieutenant Governor of Virginia The lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The lieutenant governor is elected every four years along with the governor and attorney general. The office is currently held ...

. He is the author of ''Innovative State: How New Technologies Can Transform Government'' (2014) and co-founder and president of CareJourney. In 2015 he joined

Albright Stonebridge Group Albright Stonebridge Group, part of DGA Group, is a global business strategy firm based in Washington, D.C., United States. It was created in 2009 through the merger of international consulting firms The Albright Group, founded in 2001 by former ...

as a senior advisor.

Early life and education

Chopra was born in Trenton, New Jersey, the eldest son of Indian immigrants Ram and Neelam Chopra, and graduated from

West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South (known locally as WW-P South or South) is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in the Princeton Junction section of West Windsor in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, ser ...

in 1990. While attending high school, Chopra was selected to participate in American Legion Jersey Boys State, a government, civics, and citizenship program. Chopra received his undergraduate degree in public health from the

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

and a Master of Public Policy from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. After receiving his M.P.P., Chopra worked for The Advisory Board Company where he was a Managing Director.

Career

Virginia Secretary of Technology

In 2006, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine appointed Chopra as the commonwealth's Secretary of Technology. His service continued until his appointment as U.S. Chief Technology Officer in 2009. Chopra spearheaded a number of innovations in state government, including the creation of a Productivity Innovation Fund which provided resources for state agencies to pursue IT projects to improve efficiency. In 2008 Chopra implemented a statewide performance management strategy, that Governing magazine described as "venture governmentalism." Later that year, the Pew Charitable Trust and Governing Magazine announced Virginia was tied as the "best managed state" in the country.

U.S. Chief Technology Officer

Chopra's appointment as the first Chief Technology Officer of the United States was announced by the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

on April 18, 2009. From the official release: " Chief Technology Officer, Chopra will promote technological innovation to help the country meet its goals from job creation, to reducing health care costs, to protecting the homeland." Chopra was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on August 7, 2009. The office of Chief Technology Officer was organized within the

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is a department of the United States government, part of the Executive Office of the President (EOP), established by United States Congress on May 11, 1976, with a broad mandate to advise the pr ...

. The C.T.O. also serves as a cabinet-rank member of the National Economic Council and the

Domestic Policy Council The Domestic Policy Council (DPC) is the principal forum used by the president of the United States for the consideration of domestic policy matters and senior policymaking, and includes Cabinet members and White House officials. The Council is ...

President's Strategy for American Innovation

In 2011, the White House announced the updated ''Strategy for American Innovation'' which was aimed at innovating a number of areas of the federal government. As part of President Obama's goal to "win the future," Chopra implemented a number of new programs focused on education, research, and infrastructure.

Startup America

Startup America, launched in 2011, is a White House program aimed at spurring innovation through entrepreneurship. Chopra helped drive the Startup America effort worked to improve access to startup capital, reduce barriers to entry, connect entrepreneurs with mentors, and create new market opportunities in health care, clean energy and education. Along with the White House initiatives, the Startup America Partnership was created as an independent alliance of private sector leaders.

Open Innovator's Toolkit

In 2012, Chopra announced the release of the Open Innovator's Toolkit, a collection of 20 leading practices that 'open innovators' should consider when approaching policy proposals at all levels of government. As noted in the memorandum to the

National Science and Technology Council The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) is a council in the Executive Branch of the United States. It is designed to coordinate science and technology policy across the branches of federal government. History The National Science and T ...

Committee on Technology, the goal was "rather than pursue traditional "top-down" models to spur breakthroughs ... President Obama emphasizes a "bottom-up" philosophy that taps into the expertise of the American people."

Blue Button and Green Button

Launched by Chopra and the White House in 2010, the "Blue Button" program gave military veterans a tool to download their individual health records from the Veterans' Administration. This tool made it easy for veterans to obtain their medical records and coordinate care with healthcare providers. As of 2015, similar programs were unveiled by the Department of Defense and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In the first five years of the Blue Button, nearly 3 million veterans, military personnel, and Medicare beneficiaries had obtained their medical records online. Likewise, the Green Button program was launched in 2012 and provided Americans with easy and secure access to their electricity usage data and was built on the success of the Blue Button program. The program provides energy consumption data in a standardized format that can easily be displayed on the web or via other applications.

Post-Obama administration career

In July 2012, ''The Washington Post'' reported that Chopra would run for the Democratic nomination for

in the 2013 election. The primary election was held on June 11, 2013, and Chopra was defeated by State Senator

Ralph Northam Ralph Shearer Northam (born September 13, 1959) is an American physician and former politician who served as the 73rd governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022. A pediatric Neurology, neurologist by occupation, he was an officer in the Medical Co ...

by a margin of 54-46%. In 2014, Chopra authored of ''Innovative State: How New Technologies Can Transform Government''. Chopra became the co-founder and president of CareJourney. In 2014, Chopra was named to the inaugural class of Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellows at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He led a program that addressed the role of data as public infrastructure and the challenges and opportunities involved with expanding open access to data. Later in 2014, Chopra was appointed by Governor

Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the List of governors of Virginia, 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat ...

to serve on the Council on Virginia's Future. From the Council's description: "The Council works to help guide Virginia in improving outcomes for citizens. Membership is prescribed by law and includes top leadership from the executive and legislative branches of state government, as well as business and community leaders from across the Commonwealth." Chopra was a keynote speaker at the 2016 Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders. In November 2020, Chopra was named a member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

References

External links

Official book
site for ''Innovative State''
Biography
at the

Office of Science and Technology Policy The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is a department of the United States government, part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, Executive Office of the President (EOP), established by United States Congres ...

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Chopra, Aneesh 1972 births 21st-century Virginia politicians American chief technology officers American politicians of Indian descent Asian-American people in Virginia politics Businesspeople from Trenton, New Jersey Candidates in the 2013 United States elections Harvard Kennedy School alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Living people Obama administration personnel Office of Science and Technology Policy officials People from West Windsor, New Jersey State cabinet secretaries of Virginia Technology evangelists Virginia Democrats West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South alumni