At this year’s CIO Academy, seven CDCR and CCHCS technology leaders received leadership awards.
The annual awards recognize outstanding state and local government technology leadership. This year’s awards demonstrate the diverse needs of CDCR and CCHSC and the excellent leadership of the recognized individuals.
CIO Academy leadership awards
Earl Lew, IT Manager I
Earl Lew led his Endpoint Management and Monitoring (EMM) team during CDCR’s migration from one proxy vendor that was on premises to one that is cloud-based for the staff network. This network comprises almost 40,000 staff users across 180 locations. Lew and his team stepped up as a primary point of contact for diagnostics of issues identified by field IT and users alike during the migration even though his unit was not the point unit for the proxy migration. This joint effort allowed CDCR to meet the migration deadline successfully while addressing user concerns promptly during a major transition of service.
Emily Bither, IT Supervisor II
Emily Bither has been instrumental in leading and managing the CDCR implementation of SuccessFactors. She has provided outstanding leadership and technical direction in the design and development of the solution that will streamline and integrate multiple HR processes for over 60,000 positions. The relationships Bither built in HR and IT, the respect she has earned across the department, and her initiative and limitless drive make her an outstanding leader for CDCR.
Erin Case, IT Manager I
Erin Case exemplifies leadership qualities for her teams in Offender Communications and Application Support, as well as all of CDCR. She brought together multi-faceted teams built on trust and integrity to achieve success that is transforming the lives of our incarcerated population through innovative solutions like Communication Tablets and Kiosks and ARCAID. Case is dedicated to effective results in addition to developing every staff member to be the best version of themselves.
Janene DelMundo, IT Manager II
Janene DelMundo is the Project Director for the Integrated Substance Use Disorder Treatment program for CDCR and CCHCS. This comprehensive program coordinates timely, evidence-based treatment and transition services to treat incarcerated individuals with substance use disorder. Janene led the implementation of the ISUDT Scheduling Initiative, which greatly reduced health care appointment conflicts, improving attendance at appointments and classes, and reducing the workload rescheduling appointments. This Initiative improves the lives of patients and enables massive administrative efficiencies.
Jasmin Williams, IT Manager I
CDCR’s IT Project Portfolio Management achievement is due to Williams’ pursuit to serve the organization through innovative solutions. Executives appreciate her leadership to implement service improvements for easy access to IT project data, real-time reporting, and increased portfolio transparency. Her team’s work products are used for project governance, prioritization, and overall improved decision-making. She led her team to creatively approach and deploy new processes for technology standards evaluations and the identification/management of IT risk.
Jeremiah Sheckler, Security Architect
Sheckler was the lead security architect for two key projects within CDCR. He was instrumental in developing and designing the architecture for 30,000 laptops to be used by the incarcerated for college. Developing the security around the devices and the network, he was the lead working with network engineering, server and endpoint management and monitoring teams. He was also the lead security architect during CDCR’s migration to a cloud-based network for 40,000 staff users across 180 locations. Sheckler was integral in the development and design of the architecture to ensure security components of this network for a successful implementation. He also was the lead during the implementation to resolve issues related to the migration in a timely manner to ensure staff were able to get the necessary access to resources.
MaryAnn Silva, IT Manager I
CDCR’s IT Procurement & Contract success is due to Silva’s ability to manage a large purchasing portfolio by applying innovative solutions to serve the organization. Addressing procurement timeline issues, she centralized oversight of procurement/contract management which improved service delivery, accuracy, and confirmed continued accredited purchasing power. She streamlined the onboarding of IT contractors and creatively applied contract negotiation strategies to accommodate budget deficiencies. Overall, she continues to oversee thousands of purchase orders released annually.
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