Workforce and People

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly today announced the appointment of Jeff Maxon to the position of chief information technology officer — a role he has been serving in an interim capacity since January.

The group Cyber.org recently expanded its Project REACH program to more schools, as it looks to help create a more diverse cyber career pipeline. Many students are simply unaware of the career potential in the industry.

In a post-COVID environment, maintaining a cohesive culture of teamwork — and cybersecurity — can be a challenge, but there are strategies leaders can use ensure staff stay engaged.

Spengler, also the former CEO of Rock Solid Technologies, will help Great Hill Partners with gov tech investments. The firm praised him for his work with citizen engagement and legislative management platforms.

Inaugural CINO Dan O’Keefe helped design his new position, which will work to build an ecosystem for tech companies and other innovative businesses to grow and thrive in the state.

It started with civic service in New York’s streets, says Lisa Mascolo, the first leader for post-merger GCOM. Now, after jobs at IBM and Accenture, she must fuse corporate cultures while dealing with AI and other trends.

Suma Nallapati, who formerly served as CIO for the state of Colorado and more recently held a role in the private sector, has been tapped to take on the role of CIO for the city and county of Denver.

Guardado, who has held San Luis Obispo, Calif.’s top IT spot since April 2019, will join the city of Manhattan Beach as its director of IT. He starts in the new role next week.

Early intervention software is getting more sophisticated, with wellness dashboards and other features. In this era of heightened police-community tension, can these tools make the job both more accountable and attractive?

A public community college in New York will use money from the Economic Development Administration to build a new Applied Technology Education Center and develop classes in automotive technology.

The University of Maine at Augusta is working with the Maine Department of Labor on a cybersecurity and IT registered apprenticeship program to recruit, train or upskill employees for those fields.

With the acquisition of SAI Interactive Inc. and its digital offerings in STEM and career preparation, a Texas-based online curriculum provider will help train students for fields such as IT, manufacturing and logistics.

Dru Rai comes with substantial private-sector experience, most recently at Quaker Houghton. Acting CIO Jennifer Lorenz will now become the executive deputy CIO, according to state officials.

The latest publication from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers looks at strides government has made serving citizens in the digital age. The report compares current status to a 2001 call to action.

Human-centered design can go a long way toward fixing some of society’s biggest problems, including missteps in trying to make things better by applying technology alone.

Soelect, a startup that makes components for EV batteries, is working with area community colleges to host courses in quality control, battery testing and battery manufacturing at its facility in Greensboro.

The Robotics Factory is the latest addition to a new emerging economic sector in Pittsburgh, and it is slated to launch this week with speakers and a reception at its Lawrenceville center.

The Department of Defense awarded funding to support the creation of a proposed Northeast Microelectronics Coalition Hub. The hub is expected to bring new investments, jobs and training opportunities.