North Carolina Appoints Christie Burris as New Chief Data Officer

The North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) has named Christie Burris as the state's new chief data officer and director of the N.C. Government Data Analytics Center (GDAC).

With over seven years of experience within NCDIT’s Data Division, Burris succeeds Carol Burroughs, who retired in December 2023.

Burris steps into the role of steering decisions related to the state's data use, aiming to enhance citizen experiences and provide statistical insights and analytics across the government. Simultaneously, in her role as director of the GDAC, she will be at the helm of North Carolina's integrated data initiatives, supporting areas such as public safety, fraud detection, compliance, health care and finance.

“Christie is an innovative and skilled strategic communications and policy executive with proven experience delivering complex programs in the public and private sectors,” NCDIT Secretary and state CIO Jim Weaver said in a press release.

In her most recent role, Burris served as the executive director of the N.C. Health Information Exchange Authority (NC HIEA). During her tenure, she played a pivotal role in shaping strategy, overseeing development and driving modernization initiatives for NC HealthConnex. She was also responsible for overseeing two technology platform upgrades, a comprehensive security assessment and the development of population health and analytic services to assist health-care providers in meeting state mandates for data connectivity.

“It has been a pleasure to serve as the executive director of the NC HIEA, guiding the development of NC HealthConnex,” said Burris in the press release. “During this time, I have been privileged to see tremendous growth in our efforts to support whole-person care. I look forward to supporting and expanding GDAC’s vision of using data to inform policy and decision-making to improve the management of state resources and the lives of North Carolina residents.”