Just days after Government Technology learned that Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Chris Rein’s last day would be this past Friday — and that Vernon Spencer, the state’s chief operating officer, would serve as interim CTO — Gov. Mikie Sherrill has announced her choice to succeed him, naming Kevin Dehmer Monday as New Jersey’s permanent chief technology officer.
Rein’s departure closed out a tenure that began in 2018, when he was appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy as the state’s second standalone CTO — after leaders separated the role from the chief information officer position. During his tenure, Rein headed up the New Jersey Office of Information Technology, which supports the technology infrastructure for over 50 state departments and agencies.
Dehmer will now step into that role after most recently serving as New Jersey’s commissioner of the Department of Education, where he led a redesign of the state’s educational data systems to improve data quality, research capabilities and program evaluation. Before becoming an education commissioner, Dehmer was executive director and senior researcher at the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from St. John’s University in Minnesota and a master’s degree in public policy from Rutgers University.
In the announcement, Sherrill framed Dehmer’s appointment as part of a broader effort to advance modernization across the state’s digital infrastructure — work that touches everything from internal government systems to how residents interact with online services. Dehmer, she said, is an “experienced public servant” whose background in strengthening public-sector systems will be an asset in adapting New Jersey’s technology for future needs.
