Agenda Item
e. PERSONNEL RECOMMENDATION FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION
Summary: Presented by: Mrs. Tasha Davis Mills, Chief of Human Resources, Division of Human Resources
Request: It is requested that the Board of Education approve the hiring recommendation of Ms. Kenya R. Williams to the position of Executive Director of Applications & Data Services, in the Division of Information & Instructional Technology.
Contact: Mrs. Tasha Davis Mills, Chief of Human Resources, Division of Human Resources
Effective: Upon Board Approval
KENYA R. WILLIAMS, MBA, PMP, CSM, CGCIO, CETL
STRATEGIC LEADER
Dynamic professional with over 23 years of experience in Information Technology. Proven expertise in aligning business objectives
with innovative technical solutions to enhance operational efficiency and optimize resource allocation. Exceptional communicator and
facilitator, skilled in building collaboration across diverse organizational units and effectively engaging stakeholders at all levels. Adept
at leading development teams and managing enterprise projects, with a strong focus on driving organizational success through
strategic planning and execution.
EDUCATION
Master of Project Management (MPM),
Keller Graduate School of Management, Decatur, Georgia 2006
Master of Business Administration (MBA), Information Systems Management Concentration,
Keller Graduate School of Management, Decatur, Georgia 2004
Bachelor of Science (BS), Computer Information Systems,
DeVry University, Decatur, Georgia 2001
CERTIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Forum for Educational Leadership 2024
Certified Educational Technology Leader 2024
Consortium for School Networking
Graduate Certificate in Big Data and Analytics 2022
Keller Graduate School of Management
Graduate Certificate in Information Security 2022
Keller Graduate School of Management
Certified Government Chief Information Officer (CGCIO)
Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia 2017
Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
Scrum Alliance 2017
Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)
Project Management Institute (PMP Number 1652723) 2013
Certificate of Leadership Development
(Executive Commitment to Excellence in Leadership Program)
Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia 2009
Java Programming, Technical Certificate of Credit
Gwinnett Technical College 2007
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
FULTON COUNTY SCHOOLS, Atlanta, Georgia January 2023 – Present
Deputy Chief Information Officer
Accomplishments: Assumed financial stewardship of SPLOST budget to ensure that the budget is not overrun, effective
reporting measures are established, costs were applicable to the referendum and cuts occurred where
possible; working towards continuous improvement in this area. Worked with professional services company
to establish project reporting that allowed visibility across all projects executed from the IT Program
Management Office. Led several strategic security initiatives including the implementation of Linewize
Monitor and working with Microsoft to create a year-long training program on the Microsoft Security platform.
Responsibilities: Implement and continuously improve initiatives to achieve the long-range vision for the district strategic plan
and the strategic plan for the Information Technology Division. Oversee the integration of project
management, strategy, governance, and program evaluation while aligning accountability, data utilization,
and enterprise applications functions with overall strategy.
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, Atlanta, Georgia October 2000 – Present
Deputy Chief Information Officer (2018 – 2023)
Accomplishments: Implemented multiple rewards systems for outstanding Information Technology employees. Implemented
‘Six in six’ which included the advancement of six process improvements in six months. Under the
leadership of the Chief Information Officer, oversaw the development and implementation of five new federal
programs during the pandemic which distributed over $23B in benefits.
Responsibilities: Oversee the strategic management of all aspects of Information Systems and Technology including
evaluation, development, implementation, and administration. Ensures that proper practices are followed in
the utilization of technology, following a well-established strategic plan and direction. Oversee the
development and implementation of IT projects and initiatives. Provide leadership to subordinate managers
and staff. Responsible for Department of 130 IT staff members.
Technical Director, SCUBI Initiative (2012 – 2018)
Manager 3, Information Technology, Employment Services Systems, UI Benefits Systems and Web Development
(2012 – 2018)
Information Systems Manager, Enterprise/Java Applications (2010 – 2012)
Accomplishments Served as the Technical Director on the Employ Georgia initiative to modernize the labor exchanges
services between job seekers and employers for the Georgia Department of Labor. Project was recognized
as one of six finalists in the Southern Legislative Conference STAR Program; Project selected as a finalist
for the TAG Excalibur award in 2016.
Managed the SIDES E-Response Project which was awarded the Georgia Technology Authority’s 2013
Technology Innovations Showcase Award and was also presented in national competitions. In its first year,
the E-Response system registered a large percentage of employers and decreased administrative costs
associated with the collection of separation information. First application in the Department to use Java
Hibernate/Spring frameworks.
Managed the development efforts on the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Project which leveraged a
system that was built it another state, used technology that was not supported in the Department, and
lacked system documentation and was implemented in less than five months with a large reverse
engineering effort.
Responsibilities: Drive project planning, coordination and development of medium ($100K) to large initiatives($60M) to offer
online services to assist in the collection of unemployment insurance taxes, administration of unemployment
insurance benefits and the re-employment of job seekers in the state of Georgia; Develop standards,
specifications, and methodologies for systems operations; Coordinate operational support to handle legacy
system problems. Oversee the design, development, testing and implementation of complex applications
written in COBOL, CICS, Java, and SharePoint. Manage the update of the web content management
system for the department’s external website and intranet site.
Manage resources and direct administrative activities for IT employees (30 full-time employees and
contractors), Provide management oversight over team leads; Monitor, evaluate and assess the processes
and procedures of information systems operations to improve efficiency and ensure quality; Organize and
facilitate technical training in the latest development technologies; Lead the Department in Information
Technology Innovation using the latest technologies; Have led over 20 development initiatives within the last
year.
Act as assistant to the Chief Information Officer. Provide oversight and direction in the design and
development of department initiatives. Responsible for ensuring that the voice of the customer is addressed
in the implementation of the SDLC. Provide effective management in the time of declining resources. Act as
a mentor to peers and subordinate managers. Responsible for clear communication to the executive team
and information technology staff on objectives and processes. Manage fiscal resources for application
development. Act as a liaison between the Information Technology Department and contracted vendors.
Serve as the Technical Director for Georgia on the SCUBI Initiative to build a common Unemployment
Insurance Benefits system for the Southeast Consortium composed of North Carolina, South Carolina and
Georgia. Direct activities for data conversion, migration, and establishment of data warehouse, internal and
external interfaces, including IVR and connection to the department’s Enterprise Content Management
system, and web services to peripheral systems. Provide oversight over system and architectural design
consideration for Georgia on the project. Communicate technical needs and objectives to the vendor.
Manage state resource needs for the project.
Technical Lead, UI Tax, Wage, Liability (2007 – 2010)
Accomplishments: Selected to the Department’s leadership development program. Influenced peers that traditionally
developed in mainframe legacy development languages to attend classes to begin learning distributed
architectures. Led project team to create first full applications in Java/Struts frameworks to form the
foundation for future development.
Responsibilities: Managed Information Technology projects from inception to closeout; provided advanced technical
expertise to application development staff in computer languages and development tools. Made technical
recommendations to management; Analyzed customers' information needs, business problems and
business opportunities to determine the most efficient and effective systems/programming solutions; was
the lead on a team of six development staff.
Programmer/Programmer/Analyst I,III,III, UI Tax, Wage, Liability (2000 – 2007)
Accomplishments: Selected to participate on feasibility (pilot) team to begin web development in Java. Within the first few
months after employment resolved a reoccurring problem that had existed in code over five years. Received
several letters of commendations from business users and Chief Information Officer for work on high-profile
projects on financial audits and tax rates. Developed a reputation for solving complex problems and
delivering superior customer service. Proven record of success that has led to continual advancement.
Responsibilities: Analyzed customers' information needs, business problems and business opportunities to determine the
most efficient and effective systems/programming solutions. Utilized SDLC methodology; Designed,
maintained and coded programs of increasing complexity using COBOL, SQL/DB2, CICS, Java, HTML, and
JavaScript. ; Evaluated, updated and altered existing applications to meet the customer's current business
requirements or to correct existing or potential problems; Developed systems documentation including
program amendments, definitions, flowcharts, file layouts, data dictionaries, use cases, and test plans; Led
complex projects. Ensured tasks assigned to project team were completed within established time frame
and accomplish desired goals and objectives per work schedule or work plan.