Speakers :
Don Houde
CIO
Arizona Department of Education
The last four years, while serving in multiple leadership roles for the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), Donald has been focused on the restructuring and repurposing of Arizona’s educational information technology (IT) division. Currently, under Donald’s direction, as ADE’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Deputy Associate Superintendent, the once compartmentalized IT division has advanced to a fully accountable IT service management organization.
A critical success factor of this transition has been Donald and his team’s focus on the creation and implementation of ADE’s IT and data governance structures. In accomplishing those goals, the enterprise focused IT division has evolved to include a statewide education information security and privacy office, an enterprise data management group, an agency project management and business analyst section, a quality assurance subdivision, an agency operations and support center group, and a network infrastructure and systems division that includes statewide disaster recovery and continuity of operations responsibilities.
In support of Arizona’s rigorous educational goals, Donald divides his professional time by providing support for many national educational improvement initiatives. Serving as chairman of a national educational statewide student information system advisory committee and in conjunction with various public speaking opportunities, Donald has taken the opportunity to underscore the role of quality information management and quality leadership in achieving measurable improvement in Arizona’s public education systems. Additionally, in support of a national dialogue directed toward measured continuous improvement of our publically funded educational entities, Donald acts as a permanent advisor and contributor to several leading national educationally focused organizations.
Finally, Donald has leveraged his years of private and public sector leadership to secure millions of incremental federal dollars for Arizona public education. These funds are targeted to assist Arizona in its quest to continue the maturation of its educational information management capabilities. Capabilities like these are increasingly being recognized as key components to achieving a higher level of transparency into the complex world of public education information and process management, with the ultimate goal of elevating the quality of every Arizona learner’s educational experience.