Florida has named Nancy Sampson to the post of Chief Data Officer (CDO). Sampson will be the first person to serve in this role. Sampson was previously Director of Information Technology Services at the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS), Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation.
The addition of a Chief Digital Officer to Florida’s IT staff roster is a significant development for the state, which is working to modernize its technology operations. Florida created the Agency for State Technology (AST) approximately three years ago to serve as a base of operations for state IT services. Since then, Governor Scott has allocated budget resources to the agency and state legislators have passed legislation to establish the CDO role as well as a GIS office.
According to a description of the new office listed on AST’s website, the CDO will be responsible for working across state agencies and stakeholder groups to drive digital strategy for Florida. Florida is also working through a data inventory process, which will be led by Sampson.
In addition to the CDO, Florida is also expected to hire another person to head up the GIS Office.
