Arkansas’ IT agency, the Department of Information Systems (DIS), announced Oct. 15 that Director and Chief Technology Officer Claire Bailey has submitted her resignation, citing health reasons. Officially, Bailey is employed until Oct. 27, but the agency reported that Bailey is already on medical leave.
Under Bailey's leadership, the state implemented its Arkansas Wireless Information Network (AWIN) in 2006 — a 700/800 MHz radio system that eliminated some of the stovepipes between public safety agencies and jurisdictions.
"I've been in technology for a very long time, and where we've had the most success in any effort that we've done is when we've listened to the people who carry the radios," Bailey said of the implementation. "Personally, as a computer-science person, I've never walked into a burning building in a fireman's role and the radio either worked or failed."
Bailey also was named as one of Government Technology's Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers for 2011, not only for her work on AWIN, but also for her involvement as co-chair of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers social media committee, which came to an agreement with Facebook that year that allowed for broader, more appropriate use of the site by state governments nationwide.
“It was a learning curve,” she said in 2011, “because when these tools come out — when you see the social impact and then you see governments start to adopt this way of communicating to a very broad constituent base — we really have to think about what those terms of service are and that impact from a legal perspective.”
As the DIS adjusts to Bailey’s departure, the director position has, in the interim, been given to Herschel Cleveland, former speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives who was Bailey's deputy. Ultimately the agency is committed to making a seamless transition as it retains the trust and confidence of its customers. “DIS expresses its appreciation to Claire for her years of service and wishes her well,” a DIS statement reads. “While her contributions to DIS will be missed, the agency will use this time of transition to strengthen partnerships with its existing customers, to open new doors of opportunity, and to continue the important work of delivering public services to the citizens of Arkansas.” Bailey, who has worked for the state since 1991, was appointed in 2006 to oversee the cabinet level IT agency serving $89 million in services to more than 440 public-sector customers.