CIO Council elects Evans
Karen Evans, Energy chief information officer, replaces Jim Flyzik as vice chair
The federal CIO Council today elected Karen Evans, chief information officer at the Energy Department, as vice chairwoman. She replaces Jim Flyzik, who served as the senior agency official on the council since 1998.
As vice chairwoman, Evans will work with the Office of Management and Budget chairman — currently Mark Forman, OMB's associate director for information technology and e-government — to coordinate the council's cross-agency policies and initiatives. These include leadership of the 24 e-government initiatives and the development of new IT workforce classifications and training.
"It's really an honor to be serving the council in this capacity," Evans told Federal Computer Week. "It's unfortunate that I have small feet as I have some mighty big shoes to fill. Jim has done an outstanding job and will be sorely missed. I will do my best, however, to aspire to the standard he set so high, and to continue the tradition of excellence for which the council leadership is known."
In 2001, Evans served on OMB's E-Government Task Force, which developed the 24 cross-agency e-government initiatives. And she championed a similar approach at Energy, where she is now leading the implementation within the department of 19 cross-functional e-government "ideas."
Evans came to Energy earlier this year after leading the Information Resources Management Division in the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs (OJP). She has been in government for more than 20 years, serving also with the Agriculture Department, the National Park Service and the Office of Personnel Management.
Flyzik is retiring from government on Dec. 17, after 28 years of service. He is currently the lead IT adviser at the office of Homeland Security, and most recently served as CIO at the Treasury Department.