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Chief Data Officers: Which State and Local Governments Have a CDO?

Here's a look at who's filling the role of CDO in states, cities and counties.

The role of data gatekeeper, chief data officer (CDO), has been gaining steam in the public sector over the last few years. Handfuls of states, cities and counties are bringing on their own chiefs to help agencies position themselves to utilize data in service of their constituents. 

When Government Technology first began reporting on the role a few years ago, many who held the title were the first to occupy the post in their jurisdiction. But for many pioneering government organizations, the chief data officer position has matured over time, bringing change and new faces into the CDO office.

In June 2018, longtime Chicago CDO Tom Schenk announced his departure from public service. On the opposite end, San Jose, Calif., recently announced that they wanted to hire their first chief data officer, seeking to strengthen their open data efforts and build partnerships with Silicon Valley companies. With similar goals in mind, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed legislation to create the CDO position at the state level. 

Did we miss a state or local chief data officer? Email ehopkins@govtech.com with the details.

Check out page 2 for the details about each CDO. 
 

STATE

Alabama
Chief Data Officer: Jeremy McQueen
Date Hired: June 2018
Bio: oit.alabama.gov
Fast fact: Before joining the state, McQueen was Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Analysis for the University of Alabama, Birmingham.
Open data portal: open.alabama.gov
GovTech coverage: NA

Arkansas 
Richard Wang 
July 2017
Bio: arkansas.gov
Fast fact: Wang also serves as executive director of the Institute for Chief Data Officers at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. 
Open data portal: NA
GovTech coverage: Arkansas Bolsters IT Agency with Two Key Leadership Roles

Colorado
Jon Gottsegen
April 2016
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Gottsegen was previously the state GIS coordinator in Colorado. 
Open data portal: data.colorado.gov
GovTech coverage: Contemplating Change for Coding Competitions,HackathonsNew Colorado Website Re-Visualizes Ways to Interact with GIS Data

Connecticut  Tyler Kleykamp
February 2014
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Kleykamp’s technology skills are largely self-taught, picked up along the way as he worked on GIS databases.
Open data portal: data.ct.gov
GovTech coverage: What’s New in Civic Tech: Connecticut CDO Works to Create State Data Officers NetworkThe Evolving Nature of State Data WorkChief Data Officers: Shaping One of the Newest Positions in Government

Delaware
Rhonda Lehman
September 2012
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Rhonda has worked with the state for over 10 years.
Open data portal: data.delaware.gov
GovTech coverage: Delaware Governor Broadens Open Data Council and Orders Expansion of Portal; Delaware Makes Progress on Open Data, But Much Remains to be Done
Florida  Burt Walsh 
January 2018
Bio: ast.myflorida.com
Fast fact: Burt has worked with data and IT management for over 20 years, and is the first to hold the post of CDO in Florida.
Open data portal: myflorida-floridadisaster.opendata.arcgis.com
GovTech coverage: Florida Races to Catalog Its Data

Kentucky
Krishna Mohan Mupparaju
August 2018
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast Fact: Mupparaju has worked for the Commonwealth for 20 years.
Open data portal: kygovmaps-kygeonet.opendata.arcgis.com
GovTech Coverage: N/A

Illinois
Kevin Harrison
October 2017
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Harrison was CIO of the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity for over three years before moving into the assistant CDO position.
Open data portal: data.illinois.gov
GovTech coverage: NA

Indiana  Darshan Shah
March 2017
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: In his free time, Darshan volunteers in several non-profits.
Open data portal: http://www.in.gov/mph/GovTech coverage: Making the Most of Data: Internal, External Partners at the Table in IndianaIndiana’s Analytics Strategy: Unlocking Data to Unlock SolutionsLegislation Makes Data-Driven Decision-Making Part of Indiana’s Cultural Governance Fabric

Maine
Youri Assi Antonin
June 2018
Bio: maine.gov
Fast fact: Antonin initially joined Maine State Government as the Director of Business Intelligence.
Open data portal: data.maine.gov
GovTech coverage: N/A

New Jersey  Liz Rowe
March 2015
Bio: NA
Fast fact: The chief data officer position was codified into state law in New Jersey in February.  
Open data portal: data.nj.gov
GovTech coverage: Are Open Data Efforts Working?; Unified Cybersecurity Unit Is Necessary to Protect New Jersey Agencies from Threats; New Jersey Prioritizes Open Data, Codifies Chief Data Officer Position

New York 
John Rager (Acting)
January 2018 
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Rager has over 28 years of data and IT experience in New York State government, serving within the Office of the Chief Data Officer since 2013.
GovTech coverage: NA

North Carolina
John Correllus
April 2016
Bio: it.nc.gov
Fast fact: Correllus also serves as director of North Carolina’s Government Data Analytics Center.
Open data portal: NA
GovTech coverage: Taking a Peek Inside North Carolina's Government Data Analytics Center; The Evolving Nature of State Data Work

North Dakota
Dorman Bazzell
October 2018
Bio: N/A
Fast fact: gishubdata.nd.gov
Open data portal: Bazzell previously spent 30 years in the private sector.
GovTech coverage: N/A
 
Texas
Ed Kelly
September 2015
Bio: dir.texas.gov
Fast fact: Prior to his current role, Kelly served as the Texas Department of Agriculture's Chief Administrative Officer for over three years.
Open data portal: data.texas.gov
GovTech coverage: What’s New in Civic Tech: Virginia Governor Signs Bill to Create CDO Position; Are Open Data Efforts Working?
Utah
Drew Mingl
August 2014
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Drew considers himself the "data ninja" of Utah.
Open data portal: opendata.utah.gov
GovTech coverage: 6 Ideas to Help Government Realize Open Data's Transformative Power

Vermont
Andrew Laing
October 2017
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Laing has been working for the state of Vermont since 2013, starting off as the Lead Enterprise Business Analyst
Open data portal: data.vermont.gov
GovTech coverage: The Evolving Nature of State Data Work

Virginia
Carlos Rivero
July 2018
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Rivero hold’s a master’s degree in business intelligence and analytics from Saint Joseph’s University.
Open data portal: NA
GovTech coverage: Virginia Governor Appoints State's First-Ever Chief Data Officer

COUNTIES

King County, Wash.
Bill Yock
February 2017
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: prior to joining King County, Yock was executive director of enterprise information services for the University of Washington. 
Open data portal: data.kingcounty.gov
GovTech coverage: NA

Los Angeles County
Mark Greninger
June 2016
Bio: lacounty.gov
Fast fact: Before becoming CDO, Greninger was L.A. County’s geographic information officer for a decade.
Open data portal: data.lacounty.gov
GovTech coverage: The Job of Data: The Chiefs in Charge of Data in the C Suite 

Riverside County, Calif.
Tom Mullen
May 2015
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Mullen started working with the county in 1999 as the chief deputy treasurer tax collector. Open data portal: data.countyofriverside.us
GovTech coverage: RFP Seeks Providers to Build 1 GB Broadband Network to Every Home, Business in Riverside County, Calif. 

San Francisco County, Calif.
Joy Bonaguro 
February 2014 
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Bonaguro was one of Government Technology’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers in 2016 as part of Team San Francisco
Open data portal: data.sfgov.org
GovTech coverage: What’s New in Civic Tech: Bloomberg Cities Highlights 'Data-Driven Women to Watch'; San Francisco Announces Chief Data Officer Joy BonaguroSan Francisco's Chief Data Geek Prepares to Roll Up Her Sleeves

CITIES

Boston
Stephanie Costa Leabo (acting)
June 2016 
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Costa Leabo also serves as the city's director of performance management.
Open data portal: data.cityofboston.gov 
GovTech coverage: Boston Appoints First Chief Data Officer; 'Analyze Boston' to Expand Data Sets, Enhance Data Literacy, Open Data Portal Beta Encourages Visitors to 'Analyze Boston' 

Cincinnati
Brandon Crowley 
July 2015 
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Crowley’s IT career with the city spans more than 17 years, according to LinkedIn. Crowley reports to Chief Performance Officer Leigh Tami. 
Open data portal: data.cincinnati-oh.gov
GovTech coverage: 5 Ways Data Analytics, Performance Agreements Saved Cincinnati $3.3 Million in Fiscal 2017

Kansas City, MO
Eric Roche 
May 2015 
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Roche calls himself an “open data pitmaster” on Twitter
Open data portal: data.kcmo.org 
GovTech coverage: 3 Highlights from the 2016 Gigabit City Summit; How Kansas City, Mo.’s Data Inventory Led to Better Open Data 

Louisville
Michael Schnuerle 
October 2016 
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Before joining the city, Schnuerle launched a Google Maps-based tool to show users crime reports from around Louisville. 
Open data portal: data.louisvilleky.gov
GovTech coverage: Louisville, Ky., Becomes 12th City to Hire Chief Data Officer

Nashville
Robyn Mace 
July 2016 
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: In an article published last year, Mace said she hoped to roll out new data sets including city employee earnings. 
Open data portal: data.nashville.gov
GovTech coverage: NA

Philadelphia
Tim Wisniewski 
April 2014 
Bio: timwis.com
Fast fact: Wisniewski and his team have helped the city’s departments release more than 350 data sets. 
Open data portal: opendataphilly.org 
GovTech coverage: Philadelphia’s Office of Open Data and Digital Transformation Works to Overhaul City Services; Philadelphia Hires New Chief Data Officer; Chief Data Officers: Shaping One of the Newest Positions in Government

Pittsburgh Laura Meixell
January 2014
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Laura once served as a Presidential Management Fellow for Code for America, where she worked on performance management and developed a place-based data drive review process. 
Open data portal: http://www.wprdc.org/
GovTech coverage: Visualization Takes Open Data to the Next Level; Using Data and Analytics to Make Pittsburgh Neighborhoods Great

San Diego   Maksim Pecherskiy 
November 2014 
Bio: sandiego.gov
Fast fact: Pecherskiy ran a one-man data shop until September 2015 when he hired his first employee. 
Open data portal: data.sandiego.gov 
GovTech coverage: Jam-Packed C-Suite: How Can 3-Letter Chiefs with Roles that Touch Tech Work Together?; San Diego Hires its First Chief Data Officer

San Jose  Erica Garaffo (Data Analytics Lead)
May 2015
Bio: LinkedIn
Fast fact: Before Garaffo’s analytic role, she was a performance auditor for the city of San Jose for three years. 
Open data portal: data.sanjoseca.gov
GovTech coverage: First Steps for Cities in Harnessing the Value of Untapped Data 

Syracuse Sam Edelstein 
March 2016 
Bio: InnovateSyracuse
Fast fact: In his previous role with the city, Edelstein built a data model designed to better apply maintenance to streets, according to LinkedIn. 
Open data portal: http://data.syrgov.net/
GovTech coverage: What’s New in Civic Tech: Washington, D.C., Forms New Data Science Team 

Washington, D.C. Barney Krucoff 
June 2016 
Bio: octo.dc.gov 
Fast fact: Krucoff leads a team of employees that worked together previously in an unofficial capacity. 
Open data portal: dc.gov/page/open-data 
GovTech coverage: D.C. Chooses Chief Data Officer to Serve as Interim Chief Technology Officer; Barney Krucoff Named First Chief Data Officer of Washington, D.C.