Workforce and People

Longtime Arlington County, VA., CIO Jack Belcher will be transitioning to the role of chief technology innovation officer. Deputy CIO Norron Lee will take over for Belcher as the county’s IT director.

Chow brings over 15 years of experience to the role, most recently serving as the director of information technology for the city of St. Cloud, Fla. He is one of three recent appointments to the city's leadership team.

The former chief data officer for Philadelphia aims to help public agencies deal better with data, tech platforms and service delivery. He talks about the challenges he faces and the lessons he brings to the company.

Recent federal legislation gives the National Science Foundation $10 billion to create roughly 20 regional technology hubs, which could mean STEM funding and scholarships for institutions like Columbus State University.

At the end of the month, longtime Georgia Chief Technology Officer Steve Nichols will step down to take on a new job with Gartner Consulting. His parting advice to fellow CTOs: “Make the most of it while you can.”

Connecticut high school students were building drones last week in a summer workshop for the Career Pathways program, designed to give them experience, including internships or apprenticeships, before graduation.

Following the recent retirement of Heath Douglas who served as the city of Round Rock’s CIO for over two decades, Ramsey Saad has been tapped to lead the city’s Information Technology Department.

The STEPs4GROWTH program at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, funded by the American Rescue Plan, will train workers in 16 counties across the state to qualify for clean energy sector jobs.

Mayor Justin Bibb has selected Elizabeth Crowe as the new director of quality control and performance management – the city’s data analysis arm that Bibb intends to revamp in hopes of improving city operations.

As part of the Verizon Skill Forward initiative, a nonprofit will offer free online training in both technical and soft skills at Kingsborough, LaGuardia and the Borough of Manhattan community colleges.

The first class of the new BlueSky Tennessee Institute are pursuing bachelor's degrees in computer science from East Tennessee State University, but their classes and training will all be in Chattanooga.

Nichols, who has served as the deputy state CIO and CDT’s chief deputy director since March 2021, will be stepping down from his role in state government later this year, a department spokesperson confirmed.

An early college program that allows high schoolers to earn associate’s degrees concurrently with their diplomas has seen success in Colorado, fast-tracking students for careers in IT, cybersecurity and other fields.

Institutions such as Clark State College, Wittenberg University and Global Impact STEAM Academy have worked with nonprofits and businesses to design programs to address regional workforce needs.

With $280 billion for high-tech research and semiconductor manufacturing, among other things, the CHIPS and Science Act could boost university programs in microelectronics, smart manufacturing and industrial engineering.

Several institutions in Western New York are partnering with other colleges and universities to expand access to online and in-person degree programs in fields such as cybersecurity, digital media and digital forensics.

Snyder, who was Michigan’s governor for eight years, brought on his former state CIO to start a cybersecurity company focused on small and medium-sized organizations. Its offerings include a “personalized concierge.”

Before the pandemic, remote work — spurred by the demands of young, tech-savvy professionals who didn't see the point of being tied to a particular location — was gaining traction in the private sector.