Ralph Johnson steps down as State Chief Information Security Officer of Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech)

Ralph Johnson, who had served as Washington State CISO since 2022, retired earlier in September 2026, as noted in the September 18 article announcing his successor. His departure is described as a retirement.

The announcement, published September 18, 2026 by GovTech, reports that Gwen Gann has been named the next state chief information security officer at Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech). It says she will take the place of Ralph Johnson, who had served as state CISO since 2022 before retiring earlier in September. The article describes his departure as a retirement and gives no other detail about it.

According to the announcement, Gann's first day in the role was Wednesday. Cory O'Born, a PR specialist for the Washington Administrative Services Division, said she will oversee the Office of Cybersecurity, set strategic direction in partnership with WaTech and state agencies, and continue to build collaboration with local government and federal security partners.

The announcement says Gann was most recently technology director at HealthFirst, a hospital products company, according to LinkedIn. Before that, it says, she was CIO for Public Partnerships, a financial management services company, for more than six years.