EPA’s new CIO starts post
EPA’s new chief information officer started her new post Monday, according to a Tweet she posted.
“First day as #CIO of the #EPA today. It took a long time, but glad to be onboard! Next stop Senate confirmation!” Ann Dunkin tweeted.
Dunkin was nominated by the president to serve as an assistant administrator for environmental information, and therefore CIO, last year, and the White House resubmitted the nomination to the new Congress earlier this month. If confirmed by the Senate, she’d take the place of Malcolm Jackson, who left EPA in 2013 for the private sector. Renee Wynn had served as the acting CIO and acting assistant administrator for the Office of Environmental Information.
Dunkin’s LinkedIn profile says she is EPA’s chief information officer and nominee for assistant administrator for environmental information. An EPA spokeswoman confirmed Dunkin’s new CIO position and said the job that does not require Senate confirmation. However, according to a document from the Congressional Research Service, she must receive confirmation to be an assistant administrator.
“We look forward to Ann continuing to work closely with Renee Wynn and others in the Office of Environmental Information as we move forward in enhancing our information technology, which is so vital to accomplishing our mission on a daily basis,” the spokeswoman said.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Dunkin had served as a senior adviser to the agency since August. She was also the chief technology officer and director of technology for the Palo Alto Unified School District in California. Previously, she’s held senior research-and-development-related management positions at Hewlett-Packard Co.
Dunkin holds bachelor’s and master’s engineering degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology.
“I’m very excited to be a part of the administration,” Dunkin said in an interview with a student journalist at a Palo Alto school. “I have tremendous respect for the president, and I’m hugely honored to be nominated.”
The federal CIO Council tweeted the news, and encouraged Dunkin to update her bio.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include the EPA’s response.
