Workforce and People

Holly Hartell, who was most recently the assistant CIO for strategic initiatives, is the county’s new permanent CIO. She has served as acting director of the Department of Technology Services since January.

I spoke at the Black Hat Conference in Las Vegas for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s what I learned and a few takeaways to share.

The city of nearly 300,000 is looking to hire a chief information officer. The person chosen will be charged with leading IT strategy, overseeing more than 60 staff, and advancing cloud, AI and data initiatives.

State CIO David Edinger on the benefits of a mostly remote workforce, where he's seeing traction with generative AI, and the challenges of creating a unified identity and access management platform.

Mohammed Al Rawi, CIO for the county’s Office of the Public Defender, guided it through a significant tech refresh in a tenure of more than six years. His next private-sector role reflects his work in local government.

The Maryland Energy Administration will pay for 53 electric buses and 40 charging stations, aiming for cost savings, cleaner air and workforce development for a more sustainable student transportation system.

Nik Blosser, whose resume includes federal and private-sector roles, will take the helm on privacy issues and artificial intelligence planning. He also serves as chair of one of Oregon’s oldest family-owned wineries.

Anyone enrolled in IT and cybersecurity training programs at PC AGE Career Institute this fall is eligible for a monthly $200 stipend, intended to make training for in-demand careers more widely accessible.

Several new facilities and programs across Colorado involve industry partnerships to expand career and technical education in fields such as electronics, semiconductor engineering, cybersecurity, IT and space technology.

Per Scholas, a New York-based nonprofit that focuses on low-income adults, started a tuition-free education program in a borough of Pittsburgh with focuses on fields like cybersecurity, IT and software engineering.

As the newly appointed CSO, Stephanie Hedgepeth will work to connect AI, cloud, and strategy to help steer Mississippi’s modernization efforts. Officials announced the state’s AI Innovation Hub earlier this year.

Methuen Public School District and the city have filed court documents regarding control of and access to the district’s IT department and systems as a disagreement over merging city and school IT departments builds.

Sophomores converged on West Virginia University Institute of Technology college campuses for the 31st annual Health Sciences & Technology Academy camp, designed to prepare them for careers in tech and other fields.

The new federal AI Action Plan aims to secure U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence. Its policies address a range of issues, including worker displacement. Experts have concerns about its impact on state policy.

The brand-new job went to data and AI expert Shreya Amin earlier this year, but she has departed. The job opening, which has received "promising" applicants, is designed to help the state spark more innovation.

A partnership between a recently established economic development organization and various credentialing and education programs in the region will promote cybersecurity, robotics, IT, STEM and other fields.

The state’s most populous county has launched a $30 million, voter-approved investment in child-care workers. Tech plays a central role in the process by enabling equitable cash distribution at scale.

Ken Pfeil is exiting his role as Virginia’s chief data officer after three years in place. During that time, he helped establish the state’s Office of Data Governance and Analytics and launch the Commonwealth Data Trust.