NASCIO Recognizes Exceptional Contributions in State Government
SALT LAKE CITY, Ut., Tuesday, October 13 — The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) presented the State Technology Innovator Award to three deserving public servants during NASCIO’s 2015 Annual Conference in Salt Lake City.
The NASCIO State Technology Innovator Award honors outstanding individuals who have made contributions to advance state technology policy through the promotion of best practices, adoption of new technologies and advancements in service delivery. Nominees must be an employee, elected official, appointed official or other appointee representing state government. Nominations were gathered from NASCIO members as well as non-members. The following are the recipients of the 2015 NASCIO State Technology Innovator Award:
The Honorable Terry Branstad, Governor, State of Iowa
Governor Branstad is Iowa’s and the Nation’s longest serving acting Governor, serving from 1983 to 1999 and beginning again in 2011. During his tenure, Branstad has been a strong proponent of technology advancements, demonstrating leadership in technology innovation and supporting best practices for technology management for two decades. From signing legislation in 1994 that resulted in today’s Iowa Communication Network providing broadband internet capability to all 99 Iowa counties and state agencies to supporting the first in the nation driver license application for smart phones to utilize social media and other digital platforms to increase transparency and engagement, Governor Branstad is a true technology innovator.
Chris Clark, Executive Director, Office of Administrative and Technology Services, Cabinet for Health and Human Services, Commonwealth of Kentucky
Clark has served the Commonwealth of Kentucky for over 25 years through a number of IT leadership positions. Prior to being named the executive director of the Office of Administrative and Technology Services, Clark served as technology program manager for kynect, Kentucky’s Health Benefit Exchange. Clark was instrumental in the success of the exchange, which has been regarded as one of the country’s most successful state-based insurance exchanges. In Clark’s current role, he is leading the expansion of the Cabinet’s Quality Health Information (QHI) initiative, which is radically changing the health profile of the state.
Jeff Kline, Program Director, Electronic and Information Resources (EIR) Accessibility, State of Texas
In his role, Kline has developed and implemented innovative programs in EIR accessibility that are allowing people with disabilities across the nation to access and use EIR – the practice of providing electronic information and services through multiple methods so that communication is not contingent on a single sense or ability. Kline led a multi-state workgroup with leaders in IT and procurement from 10 states and one federal agency to develop a simple, universal set of policy criteria. Procurement organizations and vendors can use these criteria to increase accessibility in IT products and services over the long term.
Visit www.nascio.org/awards/sti to view the profiles of current and past recipients of the NASCIO State Technology Innovator Award.
