Shawn Watson CGFM

Shawn Watson is the Director of IT Modernization and Innovation within the Office of Technology Policy at GSA’s Office of Government-wide Policy. In this role, he assists Federal Chief Information Officers through communities of practice and partnering with industry, academia and government agencies, experimenting with new IT solutions and identifying best practices and use cases across the government. His priorities include accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies on a government-wide scale. Previously, Shawn played a key leadership role in the successful launch of the Data Center Optimization Initiative and the inaugural White House-sponsored Office of American Innovation Centers of Excellence (CoE). He specifically supported the Infrastructure and Cloud Optimization CoEs within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he optimized complex cloud and data center service solutions. A native of Port Angeles, Washington, Mr. Watson has lived in Woodbridge, Virginia, since 2011. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Business Administration from Central Washington University and a Master's in Government Information Leadership from National Defense University. He and his wife, Jody, are the proud parents of six children.