Workforce & People
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Daniel Rister, a 26-year veteran of Cumberland County government, has been named its permanent chief innovation and technology services director after serving on an interim basis for about four months. -
Pamela McKnight will serve as the city’s inaugural chief AI officer. Officials first announced plans to hire a CAIO and build out an AI team earlier this year, powered by a $2 million budget expansion.
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State leadership has been working on key IT initiatives in 2025, from a digital ID project to a customer experience initiative to bolstering their cybersecurity approach. That work is expected to advance in 2026.
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Digital Equity Program Manager Lauren Thompson on building a people-centered program, maximizing federal funding and making sure residents have the tools they need to get online in Connecticut.
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Just a few years ago, only a handful of cities had chief data officers. Now that the position is more prevalent, experts take stock of what it takes to build an effective, data-driven local government.
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The state announced the release earlier this month of a course on using generative artificial intelligence, for public-sector staffers in New Jersey and elsewhere. More coursework is coming later this summer.
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The city’s former Director of IT Alyssa Rodriguez has been appointed chief infrastructure officer/assistant city manager. Russell Nelson, now acting director of IT, had been Henderson’s deputy CIO for more than a decade.
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The Tennessee city has affirmed Jerele Neeld as chief information officer, roughly four months after he became its interim CIO. Neeld joined Chattanooga in January after a career in the private sector.
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Technology businesses were expanding at roughly a $35 billion a year pace during California's five-year economic surge that ended last September, constituting nearly a third of statewide growth.
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The state's new CIO has worked with the North Dakota Information Technology department for nearly 20 years. Now, the relationships he has built will support and inform the implementation of his vision for IT.
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Interim CIO Michael Makstman, in place since Jan. 1, has been made permanent and will lead the city-county’s Department of Technology. Makstman has been with San Francisco more than six years and was previously its CISO.
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Deputy state CIO Greg Hoffman was elevated to North Dakota interim CIO after the former CIO’s departure in May. On Thursday, the veteran executive was selected to lead state IT.
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The state has been an early adopter of artificial intelligence, and is now equipping staff with the skills and knowledge they need to leverage AI securely. Training is free and voluntary.
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Most recently the executive director of the nonprofit Transform Hawaii Government, she will replace Doug Murdock as CIO and lead the state Office of Enterprise Technology Services starting Aug. 5.
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The autonomous driving unit has hired Marc Whitten, a former Amazon executive and founding engineer at Xbox, as its next CEO as it tries to get back on track after halting services amid scrutiny over safety practices.
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The nine-year state CIO and leader of the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services, who stepped down in 2020, will return in both roles starting Monday.
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Jeffrey Wann, the former CIO of Missouri, has returned to the public sector as leader of the IT department for the city of Des Moines, Iowa. Wann has more than 30 years of IT experience in the public and private sectors.
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Howard's past experience includes years of working in public-sector technology for several local governments throughout Arizona, including stints in Goodyear, Mesa and Gilbert.
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Roberto Lopez has been with the city more than 20 years, much of that as a computer operations manager. He replaces Rosa Akhtarkhavari, who stepped down earlier this month after more than a decade as CIO.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom has named Jason Lally, deputy director of Data Services and Engineering at the state Office of Data and Innovation, to the role. Joy Bonaguro, the previous state CDO, stepped down in June 2023.
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The state, working with Google, has launched a course providing foundational AI skills training to residents. The offering, open to 10,000 people at a time, is designed to create an agile workforce.
