Dawn Zimmer returns to acting Energy CIO after SpaceX engineer’s short tenure
Roughly a month after being replaced as acting CIO of the Department of Energy, Principal Deputy CIO Dawn Zimmer is now back serving in the department’s top IT role, multiple sources familiar with the change confirmed to FedScoop.
Zimmer is filling the CIO position for the second time since Inauguration Day after Ryan Riedel briefly took on the role overseeing the department’s $4.3 billion IT portfolio in early February.
As FedScoop first reported, Zimmer returned to her primary role as principal deputy CIO at Energy when Riedel, previously a network engineer at Elon Musk-owned SpaceX, was appointed to the CIO role. She took over the acting CIO role after Biden administration Energy CIO Ann Dunkin stepped down at the change of administrations.
Riedel’s appointment came amid reports that members of the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency entered the Department of Energy and accessed its IT systems. The DOGE also fired hundreds of members of the DOE-housed National Nuclear Security Administration before backtracking on that decision and reinstating most of the employees.
It’s unclear why Riedel departed the role after just over a month. The Energy Department did not return questions about his short tenure as CIO before publication.
News of Riedel’s departure was first reported by NextGov.
Zimmer was hired as principal deputy CIO of the Energy Department last November, filling a vacancy left by Brian Epley, who took a job as Commerce Department CIO. She previously directed business partnership services and focused on information technology at the Federal Aviation Administration and came to Energy having most previously served as executive director of IT experience and engagement at Virginia Tech.
