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State Makes Acting Conservation CIO Official

The state Department of Conservation has elevated Wendy Weaver, its acting CIO of more than two months, to be the agency's new chief information officer, officials confirmed to Techwire.

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The state’s leading conservation agency has formalized a key technology staffing change it made earlier this year.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) has elevated Wendy Weaver from acting CIO to CIO, media relations manager Don Drysdale confirmed to Techwire. Weaver was named acting CIO on Feb. 15 upon the departure of CIO Catherine Kendall, who left DOC after nearly three years as CIO to rejoin KAI Partners Inc. of Sacramento. Weaver’s appointment as chief information officer was “announced via an internal email on May 6,” Drysdale confirmed. Among the takeaways:

• DOC does “highly scientific work that generates vast amounts of data,” Weaver told Techwire via email. Its Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) and Well Statewide Tracking and Reporting System (WellSTAR) are just part of that puzzle, said Weaver, who had most recently served DOC as WellSTAR project director for about 21 months. Her career with the state dates to 2014, when she joined the Department of Health Care Services, and she has more than 20 years of combined project management and IT experience, the state said.

“Working as the project director for WellSTAR not only helped me to gain a more complete understanding of DOGGR and the critical regulatory work that it does, but also provided an avenue for me to begin collaborating with other divisions within DOC to ensure that we were capturing data and aligning practices in a way that can benefit DOC as a whole,” the CIO said.

• Following recent innovation at DOC, Weaver’s priorities are relatively clear. Agency changes have necessitated ensuring that users are on the path to success and that the department adapts to new technologies. The “immediate path forward,” Weaver said, will see officials focus on security, tech adoption and implementing “repeatable processes and standards.”

• The agency’s leader said he’s “excited” to have Weaver ascend to CIO.

“We are fortunate to have someone with her background, skillset, and knowledge of our programs and personnel on staff, and are confident she will do an outstanding job of leading our Enterprise Technology Service Division going forward,” DOC Director David Bunn told Techwire via email.

• Weaver’s old position has not yet been filled, Drysdale said, indicating the agency will post the IT Manager I position in coming weeks.

Theo Douglas is Assistant Managing Editor of Industry Insider — California.