LANSING ? Teri Takai, Michigan?s chief information officer, will be traveling to Washington DC on Wednesday to receive the Public Official of the Year award from ?Governing? magazine for creating a national model for silo busting IT leadership that saved the state?s taxpayers $100 million.
The winners also include the governor of Arkansas, the mayor of Denver, New York City?s health director, a Florida state senator, Louisiana?s commissioner of administration, the executive of Nassau County, New York and the superintendent of Boston public schools.
?All of these people faced enormous challenges when they entered office,? said Alan Ehrenhalt, Governing?s executive editor. ?They confronted fiscal emergencies and public health crises, interest group rivalry and institutional breakdown. In each case, our winners solved their most pressing problems and accomplished what might not have seemed possible a few years earlier. Their bold leadership and innovative policies should serve as models for officials nationwide.?
This year?s group of recipients is the twelfth to be honored in Governing?s annual
awards program, which was launched in 1994.
Takai, Director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology, called the award a proud accomplishment for Michigan and one that reflects the hard work done by everyone in her department.
“We’ve come a long way in three years,? she said. ?The fact that Governing magazine is recognizing that work is a great accomplishment for all of us.”
