Fucci was not looking for other employment; the Henderson city manager contacted her outside of work to gauge her interest in the position. “We had some follow-up emails and a meeting,” she said, “which resulted in my decision to accept the position.”
Her decision to take the position was both personal and professional; Henderson City Hall is only three miles from Fucci’s home, “which means I can now ride my bike to work,” she said.
On a professional level, Henderson offers an opportunity to more effectively impact citizens with the use of technology. “I expect it to be a more agile government entity due to its size compared to Clark County,” Fucci said. “I am hopeful I will be able to make a positive difference in my hometown.”
Fucci left her position as CTO of MGM Mirage, which she held for 11 years, in December 2006 to become Clark County’s CIO. When she arrived, the previous CIO and half of the IT management team had been gone several months, and 40 of 120 IT positions in her centralized IT organization were empty. She spent her first year “building bridges and burning down walls,” she told Government Technology in 2008. She started a technology-collaboration forum between distributed and centralized IT to work on issues and standards, used the Information Technology Infrastructure Library framework to prioritize the top 10 actions the county could take to improve customer service, and re-established the defunct project management office.
Though Fucci can point to many accomplishments during the past six years, she says she is most proud of the IT staff and their focus on customer service. “It is the solid teamwork, both within the department and with our customer departments and county management, which make any accomplishment possible,” she said. “I will most miss the people of Clark County government.”
