Workforce and People

North Carolina CIO James Weaver has named Cherie Givens as the state’s first chief privacy officer. Givens brings a long resume of federal agency experience to the Department of Information Technology.

After the successful shift to remote work for many government agencies in 2021, the public sector has begun to weigh the benefits of hybrid work environments and reassess hiring practices.

Following the departure of former CISO Nolan Leatherwood in April 2021, Gary Vance has stepped into the top cyber position. He shared the challenges inherent to a jump to the public sector and key initiatives underway.

Jascha Franklin-Hodge, who has been serving as executive director of the Open Mobility Foundation, will become the next chief of streets in Boston. Franklin-Hodge previously served as the city's chief information officer.

Iowa State University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will lead a coalition of industry and government partners to train new and existing professionals to sustain the Midwest's cybersecurity workforce.

Michael Hamel has been hired as the city's chief information officer by City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr., and in that role, Hamel replaces Eileen Cazaropoul, who retired in May after a 34-year career.

As transit agencies face employee shortages, an Israeli firm is selling AI-powered software to better match drivers with preferred shift. The goal is to improve retention and morale and make routes more efficient.

Funded in part by federal COVID-19 relief programs, the school’s 40,000-square-foot facility has 17 technical lab spaces where students will train in multiple disciplines and fields of the energy industry.

With a pair of $1 million state grants, Columbia State Community College in Tennessee will establish a mobile classroom for its emergency medical technician training program in partnership with Hickman County Schools.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced that CIO Amy Tong will become the new director of the Office of Digital Innovation, a forward-looking government technology laboratory and incubator, effective next month.

After working with the North Carolina county for nearly three decades, former CIO and current Area Manager of Innovation Debbie Brannan has accepted a position with digital service and payment facilitator PayIt.

CIO Alan Cunningham stepped down Nov. 26, after his job responsibilities “totally changed,” he says. He tells GovTech the IT department struggled with limited resources, overwork and restrictive policies.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones has appointed Simon Huang as the city’s new chief technology officer. He will bring both public- and private-sector experience when he begins work in this position on Dec. 1.

From state errors that caused overpayments to limitations that have prevented some people from getting benefits, many citizens in Michigan are facing a bureaucratic nightmare with the state unemployment system.

Voters in Utica, N.Y., will decide whether Thomas R. Proctor High School should add a 28,300-square-foot addition for career and technical education programs to accommodate growing enrollment.

Former Boston Innovation and Technology Department chief of staff Alex Lawrence returns to city government — and to the department — as interim CIO on the heels of David Elges’ departure.

New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham has named Matt Schmit the broadband adviser of the state’s recently formed Office of Broadband Access and Expansion to coordinate broadband efforts across the state.

According to the findings of a state audit, an error in Michigan's unemployment insurance system led to $3.9 billion in overpayments to applicants who didn't qualify for the benefits.