Governor Phil Scott Announces Agency of Digital Services Leadership Appointments

Montpelier, Vt. - Governor Phil Scott today announced he has appointed Shawn Nailor as secretary and chief information officer (CIO) of the Agency of Digital Services (ADS), and Denise Reilly-Hughes as the Agency’s deputy secretary.

“Both Shawn and Denise bring a high level of expertise to their new roles at ADS,” said Governor Scott. “Their decades of work in the area of information technology and cybersecurity will help us continue our efforts to modernize how we deliver services to Vermonters.”

Secretary Nailor has spent 34 years in public service. He started his career in engineering with the Agency of Transportation (AOT) and crossed over to information technology with the multi-state development of a construction management system. He then was involved with the growth and adoption of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) where the AOT team was recognized as a national leader, receiving a special achievement in GIS award from the Environmental Systems Research Institute.

Nailor led the team at AOT that developed and maintained the crisis reporting map during the response and recovery from Tropical Storm Irene. This map provided first responders, and the public, with current information on open roads in the state. Nailor was promoted to IT Director at AOT just prior to the creation of ADS by Governor Scott and has been serving as the deputy secretary of the Agency since August 2017. He was named interim secretary in September of 2022. Nailor was also a member of the Governor’s team that was assigned to the Department of Labor during the early days of the pandemic, assisting leadership with responding to the unprecedented requests for unemployment.

“It is a tremendous privilege to continue to serve Vermonters as the secretary of the Agency of Digital Services,” said Nailor. “I have admired the work of this administration from the beginning, and I am honored to be a member of the great Cabinet the Governor has assembled.”

Reilly-Hughes comes to ADS with over 20 years of technology experience in the private sector. Her background includes licensing contracts, technology strategy, customer success, and executive leadership. Reilly-Hughes has a decade of experience working with the New England states. She was a key partner with Vermont as it transitioned its modern workplace environment to the cloud.

“I am honored to have this opportunity to serve Vermonters with the support of the great team at ADS,” said Reilly-Hughes. “I look forward to working together with our partners in state government to deliver simple and intuitive technology solutions that improve the lives of the citizens of Vermont.”

Both appointments are effective immediately. To learn more about the Department, visit digitalservice.vermont.gov