Sallie Wright, Fulton County’s chief information officer of nearly three years, left “to pursue other opportunities,” the county’s Department of External Affairs indicated in a news release. Her last day was Aug. 3, county spokesperson Jessica Corbitt-Dominguez confirmed to Government Technology.
Chief Financial Officer Sharon Whitmore will step in to “provide oversight” of the department while a job search for a permanent replacement is conducted, the county said.
Wright, the former deputy CIO at Georgia State University, was hired by Fulton County in September 2015, and was identified by County Manager Dick Anderson in a news release then as being “critical” to helping the county “realize the vision of being first in efficiency, service and impact.”
Among her accomplishments, Wright set up an IT Governance Council that “established clear priorities” across the enterprise; spearheaded the establishment of “key deliverables” in areas including security and internal support; and processes around property tax and the justice system. During Wright’s tenure, the county also joined the White House’s data-driven justice initiative in 2016, and also carefully weighed the pros and cons of making health data public.
“Technology is a critical component, touching everything from internal systems for a complex Justice and Courts operation, to customer-facing systems for water treatment infrastructure and voter registration and elections,” the county manager said.
Also this month, Anderson named C-level staffer Anna Roach as Fulton’s next chief operating officer. Roach, who joined Fulton County in November 2013, had served as its chief strategy officer since July 2015.
“Anna’s leadership and acumen as an administrator made her a natural fit for this role,” Anderson said in a statement, calling her “an innovator whose contributions to Fulton County have already accelerated our progress in areas of behavioral health, justice and performance management.”
