Charles Worthington announced he will step down from his role as chief technology officer and chief artificial intelligence officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs after several years overseeing digital modernization and AI initiatives at VA.
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In a LinkedIn post published Thursday, Worthington said serving at VA has been the most rewarding chapter of his career so far and expressed enthusiasm about the next phase of his work.
“We are in the early innings of the most important technology shift since the Internet. The deep integration of AI into the systems that power how we live, work, and experience critical services has barely begun, and I plan to be building at this frontier at scale,” he noted in his post.
What Are the VA Technology Team's Accomplishments Under Worthington's Leadership?
In his post, Worthington highlighted several initiatives the VA technology team carried out during his tenure.
The team modernized VA.gov, transforming the department’s web presence into a veteran-focused digital platform that integrates multiple VA systems. The website now serves about 18 million users per month and processes more than 100 million transactions annually, according to Worthington.
VA also launched its flagship mobile application, which has recorded more than 4 million downloads and about 1.8 million monthly active users, with a 4.8-star rating in the Apple App Store.
The CTO said the team expanded access to generative AI tools across the VA workforce, enabling more than 120,000 employees to use AI capabilities. The department also deployed clinical decision support tools to about 110,000 clinicians and introduced ambient AI scribes used by more than 2,500 providers.
The department also used AI-powered document processing to help eliminate a 70,000-case application backlog and introduced engineering practices, such as DORA metric tracking and AI-enabled developer tools for more than 2,000 developers, according to Worthington.
Who Is Charles Worthington?
Worthington is a software developer who joined the federal government in 2013 as a Presidential Innovation Fellow.
During that time, he helped co-found the U.S. Digital Service at the White House, an organization focused on improving federal digital services. He co-authored the Digital Services Playbook and implemented digital service engagements at several agencies.
In 2017, Worthington moved to the VA, where he leads cloud and AI adoption efforts and other digital modernization initiatives.
According to his LinkedIn profile, the Harvard University graduate founded and served as principal of Gray Duck Labs. Earlier in his career, he served as an engagement manager at Altman Solon.
