John Quinn, one of Gov. Phil Scott’s longest-serving cabinet members, is stepping down later this month for a post in the private sector.
The outgoing secretary is going to work for Government Sourcing Solutions, a Washington, D.C.-based public procurement firm, advising the company’s private-sector clients about how to sell their technology solutions to state and local governments.
“Long and short, there’s a lot of companies out there that really don’t know how government works,” Quinn, 42, said in an interview. “They don’t know that legislative or public policy piece. They don’t know how the financial year-end works. They don’t know, really, how the procurements works in state government. So I’ll be there to advise them.”
Quinn said he did not have any knowledge of the firm ever working with the state of Vermont.
A former information technology manager for the state Department of Innovation and Information, Quinn was appointed Vermont’s chief innovation officer when Scott first took office in January 2017. He became secretary of the Agency of Digital Services, a newly created entity meant to consolidate IT functions across state government, in April of that year.
“Secretary Quinn has done a great job leading this new Agency, working to better coordinate efforts across state government, break down silos, make government more efficient and deliver better customer service,” Scott said in a statement. “I wish John the best in his next chapter and thank him for his commitment and service to Vermont.”
Quinn’s last day is Sept. 16. Deputy Secretary Shawn Nailor will lead the agency until a permanent secretary is named, according to Scott’s office.
The governor’s office said the agency had saved Vermont $30 million since 2018 by streamlining applications and leveraging the state’s buying power through master IT contracts.
Quinn said he was proud of building an agency “from the ground up” and “shining on all the dark corners” of the state’s IT infrastructure by creating a centralized inventory of the government’s computer systems — and desperately needed upgrades. He also touted the behind-the-scenes role the agency played in Vermont’s pandemic response.
“I think over $350 million dollars in grants were pushed out through applications that we stood up to specifically respond to Covid,” he said.
Quinn said he was also glad the agency had been able to convince lawmakers to create an IT modernization fund to invest in improvements proactively, although he also noted that lawmakers had not also agreed to dedicate recurring revenues to the fund.
Overhauling Vermont’s aging IT infrastructure has not always been smooth sailing. Years of failed attempts to modernize the Department of Labor’s unemployment system came to a head in the spring of 2020, when an unprecedented surge in unemployment claims due to Covid-19 lockdowns repeatedly crashed the system and left thousands waiting for checks.
“We did the best we could given the situation,” Quinn said. “We made changes behind the scenes to make it better, but still from citizen experience, this still wasn’t where we wanted to be.”
Quinn was cited by Montpelier police in July on a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge after a dispute over a state parking space off State Street. Washington County State’s Attorney Rory Thibault said Friday that he had since directed police to refer Quinn’s case to the Montpelier Community Justice Center in lieu of criminal prosecution. Jason Maulucci, Scott’s press secretary, said the incident did not play into Quinn’s decision to leave.
“Being a secretary is a taxing job,” Maulucci said. “I think sticking in the role for as long as he has is pretty rare.”