Tech Executive Leadership Initiative (TELI)
Tech Executive Leadership Initiative
Preparing senior technologists to lead in government from day one
The moment
The 2026 TELI cohort prepared 37 technology leaders to step into Medicaid service delivery and state government roles. The next cohort will focus on the challenges that matter most in the moment it launches. Right now, that means Medicaid modernization and the 36 state gubernatorial transitions happening in 2026/27. The technical leaders government needs are out there. TELI makes sure they are ready when the moment arrives.
The problem made visible
Senior technologists who have spent careers in the private sector can be well-prepared for the technical challenges of government. They are rarely prepared for the political landscape, the procurement constraints, the pace of policy, or the organizational dynamics of a public agency.
For public service oriented technologists, the gap isn’t ambition or expertise. It is context. A technologist who arrives in a government role without that context spends their first year learning it, often at the expense of the work they were hired to do.
TELI was built for that gap, whether a technologist is preparing to make the move or has already arrived and needs the context to succeed.
What you achieve
By the end of TELI, fellows have the tools to navigate government systems, translate technical expertise into policy language, and start to connect their skills to the specific delivery challenges agencies are trying to solve. They arrive in government roles ready to contribute from the first week, not the first year.
Nearly a quarter of TELI graduates have transitioned to government service and leadership roles since the program launched.
What We Provide
TELI is a five-week fellowship for senior technology executives and leaders, virtual and part-time, at no cost to participants. Each cohort is selected through a competitive application process. Cohorts are focused on the specific government challenges that matter most in a given cycle. The 2026 cohort concentrated on Medicaid service delivery, drawing participants from across the product, engineering, and design disciplines most needed in that program.
The program focuses on policy fluency, government delivery, and the specific challenges of working inside public agencies. Fellows work in small groups on real-world challenge projects and present their findings to government stakeholders at the close of the program. And they receive support as they look for their next public service role.
TELI is a partnership between Tech Talent Project and the Aspen Policy Academy, part of the Aspen Institute. The National Conference on Citizenship is recognized as a founding partner.
Track record
TELI has trained more than 150 senior executives across six cohorts since launching in 2021. Graduates have gone on to serve in critical government roles at the federal, state, and local level. Among them:
- Marcela Escobar-Alava served as Special Assistant to the President at the White House.
- Christine Sakuda became Chief Information Officer of the State of Hawaii.
- Ivy Teng Lei serves as Chief Digital Strategy Officer for the State of California.
Three TELI alumni are now leading MDII directly:
- Greg Novick, a TELI 2.0 graduate, serves as MDII Director.
- Steve Leibman, a TELI 1.0 graduate, leads engineering for the program.
- Marni Wilhite, a TELI 4.0 graduate, delivers talent strategy for the program.
That connection between the fellowship and active program delivery is not incidental. It is the model working as intended.