faqS

As the Technology Director for a local government, I was responsible for the strategic planning and development of all aspects of technology systems and infrastructure, serving approximately 500 employees in 30 departments across nearly 90+ facilities, including emergency services like law enforcement, dispatch, and fire-rescue. I must identify, design, develop, and oversee implementation of all new technology solutions whilst maintaining helpdesk services to all our services. The scope of services we administer and support span a myriad of technology functions including, but not limited:

1. Network design, security, redundancy, monitoring, and connectivity (physical, wireless, and VPN)
2. Cybersecurity defenses (i.e. firewall administration, intrusion detection, DNS filtering, endpoint monitoring, awareness campaigns, and training)
3. Physical server and storage infrastructure
4. Backup and disaster planning and recovery
5. Software, database, application, and file hosting
6. Application, database and website design and integration
7. End user systems (i.e. computers, laptops, and peripherals)
8. Communications systems such as VoIP, cellular, fax, instant messaging and e-mail
9. Surveillance and alarm systems
10. Audio\video solutions, including live broadcasting

My role required I monitor the needs of the organization and proactively identify upcoming requirements, determine how to on-board new solutions, and work with administration to plan and budget new technology. I serve as project manager for all technology projects, developing relationships with vendors and outside organizations, while leading in-house implementation of new technologies. Most importantly I cultivate, train and lead a small yet highly competent team of technicians that assist in the installation, configuration and maintenance of our technology services. Always on a constrained budget, we rarely outsource any work, with the exception of cyber security consultation. 

Today, as Technology Division Director for the Boulder County Clerk & Recorder, I lead technology, cybersecurity, and continuity-of-operations strategy across the Elections, Recording, Motor Vehicle, and Administrative divisions. The work centers on the same core responsibilities at a larger, higher-stakes scale: securing critical election infrastructure and sensitive voter, recording, and motor-vehicle data; aligning technology investment with statutory compliance and long-range planning; and partnering across departments and with executive leadership to modernize public-facing digital services. Beyond day-to-day operations, I have built governance and accountability frameworks that connect every technology project to organizational values and measurable goals — ensuring our work stays transparent, resilient, and focused on the residents we serve. 

I am deeply familiar with delivering technology services across all tiers — from frontline help-desk support to enterprise architecture — for a wide range of users, including public-sector agencies, internal staff, and citizens. Over my career I have provided technology services at every level of local government, supporting court systems, law enforcement, emergency services, elections, land records, motor-vehicle operations, and general administrative functions.

This work carries significant compliance and data-protection obligations, and I understand the policies and safeguards required by federal and state agencies for sensitive data — including criminal and court records, voter and election data, recorded land records, and motor-vehicle records. I have worked within frameworks such as CJIS (Criminal Justice Information Services) and the requirements of state law-enforcement, motor-vehicle, social-services, and elections authorities, and participating in regular audits and maintaining compliance has been a routine part of my responsibilities. In my current role with a county Clerk & Recorder, safeguarding critical election infrastructure and sensitive voter, recording, and motor-vehicle data is central to the work.

I am equally experienced bridging the gap between internal public-sector systems and the citizens who rely on them. I have administered public-facing websites and developed and integrated online services and forms that improve citizen engagement — including service requests, online applications, online payments, and public records-search platforms. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was tasked with rapidly implementing a live-broadcasting solution for public viewing of County Council and Board meetings, which I delivered successfully. Across both past and current roles, my focus has stayed the same: secure, compliant, accessible technology that serves both the organization and the public.

Since I started as a Database Administrator in April 2011, I have had a hand in managing IT systems — over 15 years. The scope was relatively narrow for my first 3.5 years; but once I became Technology Director in November 2014, I had direct responsibility for managing all IT systems across the organization. Today, as Technology Division Director for a county Clerk & Recorder, I lead the management of enterprise IT systems across the Elections, Recording, Motor Vehicle, and Administrative divisions — including critical election infrastructure and sensitive public-records environments — extending that systems-management experience to a larger and higher-stakes setting.

My network administration and hands-on IT hardware experience began when I became Technology Director in 2014. My first order of business was a full infrastructure audit, which revealed significant room for improvement and real potential for progressive change. I assumed the role of network administrator and, over the years since, gained deep experience administering virtually every type of network and IT hardware — more than 11 years of direct network and infrastructure responsibility. In my current role, that work has shifted toward the architecture and governance level: directing network design, segmentation, monitoring, and cybersecurity strategy across the enterprise rather than configuring it device by device.

My experience with systems, applications, and utility software predates my IT career. Studying Geographic Information Systems in college first sharpened my aptitude for a wide range of software and applications, and early roles in marketing and real estate broadened my hands-on use of business systems. By the time I became a Database Administrator, I had a strong foundation and confidence with software systems and applications — which only expanded through my work as Technology Director and, now, as a Technology Division Director. For more than 15 years I have worked directly with a broad variety of systems, applications, and software, progressing from hands-on administrator to enterprise technology leader.

Strategic planning is one of my strongest characteristics. I think beyond the obvious, scrutinize opportunities from every angle, and design solutions built to last — because in this field, future-proofing isn't optional. I relish opportunities to generate creative, effective, and cost-conscious solutions, and over more than a decade in local government I have had many chances to put that strategic thinking to work.

At Colleton County, I repeatedly found better ways to accomplish the same goal. Recognizing that decentralized network management forced my team to do manually what could be done remotely, I implemented a centralized software-defined network (SDN) that dramatically simplified administration. When our telecommunications provider would not lower fiber rates, I engineered a wireless point-to-point alternative thorough enough to eliminate our dependence on them — which gave me the leverage to negotiate a 66% rate reduction and roughly $4–5M in long-term savings. In another case, replacing an aging, proprietary phone system with a commercial VoIP platform would have cost over $200,000 or locked us into perpetual hosted fees; instead, I deployed an open-source Asterisk PBX on a Linux server myself, then secured an Emergency Operations Center grant to fund redundant hardware — delivering a superior, self-hosted system for only the cost of handsets. I layered in further long-term efficiencies as well: a cloud-based help-desk ticketing system, remote-access tooling, a SharePoint asset-management system, a user-feedback survey, and proactive network and outage monitoring — most built on free or open-source tools.

In my current role as Technology Division Director for a county Clerk & Recorder, my strategic work has shifted from individual solutions to enterprise systems and governance. I designed and deployed an Elections Operations Plan — a cloud-based lifecycle-management system that centralizes 800+ time-sensitive, legally mandated election activities into a single transparent, auditable platform — directly strengthening statutory compliance in a high-stakes environment. I also developed an accountability and project-management framework now used by 30+ supervisory staff, linking every active initiative to organizational values, multi-year goals, and measurable objectives so that day-to-day work stays visibly connected to strategy. Alongside these, I have led enterprise cybersecurity strategy, multi-divisional records modernization, and the migration of millions of files into governed cloud content-management systems. Across both chapters of my career, the throughline is the same: I pair hands-on technical depth with long-range strategy to build solutions that are resilient, cost-effective, and aligned to the mission.

I have been supervising staff for over a decade, but I'll be candid: it was my greatest weakness when I first became Technology Director in Colleton County. My biggest hurdle was learning to trust my team to perform at the same standard I hold for myself. What I learned was to lead by example. I am not the kind of director who sits behind a desk — I was as willing to crawl under a building or climb a ladder as I expected my staff to be. Balancing other responsibilities is part of the job, but earning a team's respect is what makes them willing to follow you. I made a practice of showing or explaining what I expected before asking anyone to do it, then followed the old adage "inspect what you expect" — reviewing completed work, offering critique, and, where needed, coaching it to the right standard.

I also learned to focus on the objective, not the process. I use this example: if you ask an employee to walk from point A to point B in a straight line, they will stop when you put an obstacle in their path; but if you ask them to get from A to B by the shortest route, they will simply walk around it. When people focus on the objective rather than a prescribed process, they overcome obstacles on their own. Micromanaging the process suppresses creativity and critical thinking, so my job as a leader is to set clear goals and empower my team to solve problems their own way.

I pair that philosophy with data. Using a help-desk system, I monitored ticket response and resolution times, generated monthly reports, and reviewed performance trends with the whole team — and we gave users an online form to rate and review our service. When response times slipped or negative feedback came in, we treated it as a team discussion about how to improve, never as an occasion to blame an individual. That data-driven approach produced measurable results, including a 67% reduction in average help-desk response time. I never take credit for my staff's work; I give credit where it's due.

In my current role as Technology Division Director for a county Clerk & Recorder, I lead a larger and more cross-functional team, and my supervisory focus has matured accordingly — from directing the work to building the systems that help people do their best work. I developed an accountability and project-management framework, now used by 30+ supervisory staff, that connects each person's active initiatives to organizational values, multi-year goals, and measurable objectives — making expectations, progress, and ownership transparent across divisions. I work to give division leads the tools and authority to manage their own staff rather than routing everything through me, and I invest in developing the team through training and a deliberate culture of recognition and continuous improvement. My leadership philosophy hasn't changed — lead by example, focus on outcomes, hold people accountable with respect — but I now apply it at the scale of an enterprise rather than a single department.

My approach to operational planning starts with a clear hierarchy of objectives. First and foremost, the priority is to maintain and support existing services — something I emphasize consistently so the whole team understands it. On the support side, someone is always designated to triage incoming requests and route each one to the technician best suited for it, while balancing the load so no individual is assigned more than they can reasonably handle in a day. I deliberately build a team with diverse but overlapping skills: at all times, at least two people should be capable of handling any given task. Because the team also understands each other's strengths and weaknesses, we gain real flexibility in assigning tickets, forming project teams, and absorbing the impact when someone is on leave — the department never has a single point of failure in its people.T

he second objective is to improve and expand services, prioritized by user need, administrative direction, and the cost savings or risk reduction a change will deliver. I've been called a "task master," and I'll own it: for any significant project, I work it end to end first — mapping milestones, the tasks required to reach each one, estimated effort, and target dates — and then assign work across each phase, sometimes pairing complementary strengths and sometimes assigning to individuals. Throughout, I keep myself available as a hands-on resource to both help-desk and project operations.

In my current role as Technology Division Director for a county Clerk & Recorder, operational planning carries a higher stakes and a longer horizon. Continuity of operations is paramount: in an elections environment, systems must be available, secure, and compliant on statutory deadlines that cannot move, so I plan around resilience, redundancy, and tested recovery as non-negotiables. I designed an Elections Operations Plan that centralizes 800+ time-sensitive, legally mandated activities into a single lifecycle-management system — effectively an operational plan for the entire election cycle, with responsibilities, timelines, and compliance status visible in one place. To manage the broader portfolio, I implemented an accountability framework used by 30+ supervisory staff that ties every initiative to organizational goals and target dates, and I align technology planning with the organization's long-range and capital planning so investment decisions are deliberate rather than reactive. The core discipline is the same as it has always been — protect existing services first, then improve methodically against clear priorities and dates — but now applied across divisions and an entire enterprise.

Throughout my career in local government, I have developed and managed both operating and capital technology budgets, always with a focus on getting maximum value from constrained public dollars. As Technology Director for a rural county with a smaller tax base, I made the ongoing case for keeping technology current and successfully grew the department's operating budget roughly 83% over seven years — to approximately $888,000 in my final fiscal year — with part of that growth funding two new positions.

I consistently looked for creative ways to stretch those dollars. I explored and implemented open-source and free software solutions wherever they fit; I partnered with emergency management to secure grants that funded technology benefiting both their operational preparedness and the county as a whole; and I pursued state and federal resources to strengthen our operations, particularly cybersecurity. On the capital side, I had a hand in the technology component of virtually every county capital project, serving as a standing point of contact in new construction and developing the technology equipment requests across projects. Representative examples include a $2.2M office building with roughly $250K in technology equipment; a $215K enterprise storage and backup solution; and a new $7.5M law-enforcement complex for which I led the technology planning and design, alongside approximately $40K in server/storage/backup upgrades and $145K in patrol-fleet computing upgrades. I also led the architecture and planning for a ground-up redesign of the county's core network data-center facility on an ~$800K budget.

In my current role as Technology Division Director for a county Clerk & Recorder, I am responsible for technology budgeting across the Elections, Recording, Motor Vehicle, and Administrative divisions, where I align operating and capital planning with the organization's multi-year strategic and capital-planning processes. My fiscal discipline has continued to produce results: I have secured competitive grant funding and generated significant savings through strategic procurement and technology lifecycle planning, redirecting those resources toward mission-critical modernization. Across both roles, my budgeting philosophy is the same — fund what keeps services current, secure, and resilient; pursue grants and efficiencies aggressively; and tie every capital request to a clear, long-range plan rather than a reactive purchase. The Clerk's annual budget is $11M+ to which I have strategically leveraged another $500k in competitive grant funding to directly support our technology initiatives.

Building a strong culture starts with relationships and trust. When I first took over a technology department, there was a palpable lack of trust between IT and the rest of the organization, and a real opportunity to serve the broader organization better. I made bridging that gap my objective, anchored in a simple principle: our job is to help everyone else do their jobs better, faster, and easier — at the end of the day, we are problem-solvers. It took sustained effort and communication. Some departments, including public safety, initially didn't engage with IT at all — one even relied on a non-IT staff member as a de facto technician — and others made independent technology purchases and then expected support. Over time, that changed completely: IT became a trusted partner that departments consulted, and often asked to lead, on technology decisions across the organization, because they understood we were there as a resource invested in their success.

Internally, I built transparency and accountability into how the team operated. Early on, the group lacked defined processes and visibility into who did what; introducing a help-desk system naturally created transparency and shared accountability, and leading by example built a team that understood how a little extra effort compounds. I assembled a team with complementary strengths and maintained an open-door policy from day one.

In my current role as Technology Division Director for a county Clerk & Recorder, I lead a larger, cross-functional team and have made culture a deliberate, structured practice rather than something left to chance. I implemented an accountability framework that gives every team member visibility into how their work connects to shared goals, and I work to enable division leads to manage and grow their own staff rather than routing decisions through me. I invest in the team through ongoing training and a consistent culture of recognition — regularly and publicly celebrating individual and team contributions — and I foster psychological safety by inviting feedback, acknowledging where I can improve, and weighing multiple perspectives before making decisions. The throughline across both roles is the same: technology succeeds in government only when it is collaborative, transparent, and built on trust.

The feedback I've received has been consistent across supervisors, peers, and the people who've worked for me, and it has tracked my growth as a leader. Early in my career, working within a narrower scope, I consistently earned praise for delivering solutions and growing services — though at that stage I hadn't yet developed the enterprise-wide perspective I'd later need.

When I became Technology Director, I spent my first years rebuilding a department whose services, infrastructure, and morale all needed significant work. It took long hours and persistence, but we transformed it into a high-performing, well-regarded operation. The feedback since has reflected that: supervisors trusted my judgment and decision-making, peers sought my advice, and department heads across the organization came to value both my team and my leadership. My County Administrator thought highly enough of my work to write a letter of recommendation on my behalf.

That feedback has been independently validated. In a formal 360-degree reference assessment conducted by an executive search firm, I received an overall rating of 6.59 out of 7.00 across 15 references, with 100% reference compliance — including 6.72 for Leadership and 6.64 for Professionalism. References described me as a forward-thinking, hands-on leader who modernizes and secures complex environments, surrounds himself with strong staff, and brings calm, capable leadership under pressure — including through a major cybersecurity incident. In my current role, that pattern continues: I'm regularly recognized by leadership and peers for driving efficiencies, enabling others rather than creating bottlenecks, and strengthening collaboration across teams. Across every level and every organization, the consistent themes are the same — strategic thinking, technical depth, fiscal stewardship, and leadership people trust.