Gary Washington, the longtime chief information officer (CIO) at the Department of Agriculture (USDA), is leaving government service and will join the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) later this month.
The departure comes just months after he was reassigned to a newly created role as the department’s chief innovation officer. Sam Berry, who started at USDA earlier this year as a special advisor from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), took over the CIO role from Washington.
Washington will serve as ACT-IAC’s chief strategy officer, according to a LinkedIn announcement from the nonprofit.
“Gary Washington is an outstanding federal technology leader with keen insights and experience across government and the commercial sector,” Dave Wennergren, CEO of ACT-IAC, said in a statement. “We are absolutely delighted to have Gary join the ACT-IAC leadership team and support our continuing mission to accelerate government mission outcomes through collaboration, leadership and education.”
Washington added, “I am excited to join the ACT-IAC team. I am a very strong supporter of the ACT-IAC mission and programs. I look forward to making positive contributions to its continued success and supporting the technology ambitions of others.”
Washington served as the USDA CIO for more than seven years. He also held a brief stint as acting USDA secretary at the beginning of the second Trump administration.
Last year, Gary Washington took home a FITARA Award from MeriTalk in the “Most Improved” category for the 17th edition of the scorecard.
“This shows that we’re managing IT at a high level. We need to strive to do better in other areas, but this is a very prestigious award. It shows that we’re making a lot of progress at USDA,” Washington told MeriTalk at the award ceremony.