Agency chief information officer Joe Panora says that green IT is a "key strategic priority" for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). By installing a system that remotely controls the power use of 34,000 PCs at preprogramed times when they are not active, Panora’s department will save $750,000 in annual energy costs. The department’s energy use for these computers has been reduced by 28 percent after hiring Verdiem, an IT energy management firm based out of Seattle, WA.
With more than 32 years of service with the State of California, Panora is a veteran public servant. He recently took some time to answer a few questions for Techwire.
What has been the focus of IT at CDCR over the last several years?
Over the last several years, the Enterprise Information Services (EIS) Division has continued to focus on improving the delivery of reliable IT
CDCR Agency CIO Joe Panora – Photo: Bill Foster, Techwire.net
solutions and services to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). This has been achieved through the implementation of IT standards and enterprise systems, and the centralized management of IT resources. EIS has gained operational efficiencies that have enabled the ability to continue to meet the growing IT demands of the Department, even when resources are restricted. The Department has improved the management of the business and offender operations through access to integrated enterprise data. Program improvements realized through these enterprise efforts all align with the administration’s priorities, support legislative requirements, statewide strategic concepts, and directives mandated by the Governor of California. The EIS has made great strides in the field of IT while transforming CDCR into a 21st century operation. These improvements were implemented in compliance with new state mandates including ensuring green technology, implementing and managing enterprise standardizations in IT, and providing efficiencies in operation through consolidation.
Any recent success stories you would like to talk about?
I would like to mention a couple of our key successes in 2011. They were:
The Consolidated Information Technology Infrastructure Project (CITIP) – Through CITIP, CDCR modernized the information technology infrastructure, upgraded the existing Wide Area Network and expanded the Local Area Network, adding 25,000 additional data drops throughout the adult institutions. CITIP provided the basic power, network, and telecommunications infrastructure required for CDCR to function as an integrated enterprise, enabling statewide electronic communications and data sharing between all sites. This infrastructure set the stage for the implementation of enterprise solutions that combined will transform the way the Department manages its business and operations.
Business Information System (BIS) – Through BIS, CDCR implemented an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution that streamlined business processes, providing fiscal and operational transparency, and reducing costs across the business value chain. The BIS automated, integrated and standardized business operations specific to accounting, budget, procurement, contract, and human resources management throughout CDCR and will enable CDCR to effectively manage resources and cost allocations for related activities by providing the ability to distribute and track cost activities across funds. The final component of the core ERP functionality was implemented in November 2011.
Strategic Offender Management System (SOMS) – The CDCR has implemented the fist core component of the SOMS solution across the enterprise. The SOMS when fully implemented will allow CDCR to replace its current paper based, disparate, and duplicate systems with a single, strategic, statewide solution capable of supporting all of CDCR’s adult offender management needs. The replacement of the paper offender record with an electronic file was implemented at the three women’s institutions in March 2011. This was followed in October 2011, with the implementation of the department-wide release of the SOMS software, including the central offender database and the functionality specific to intake, movements, and counts were. This functionality represents the foundation on which the rest of the modules will be built and enables CDCR to begin managing the offender population with an enterprise perspective.
Who is on your leadership team? What is your approach or philosophy in leading the team?
I serve as the Director/Agency CIO over the Enterprise Information Services (EIS) Division for CDCR. Andrea Rohmann serves as the Chief Information Officer over IT Operations. Our collective management team includes: IT Operations – Sandra Chamberlin, Section Chief over Application Maintenance and Support; Elbert Lawrence, Section Chief over Infrastructure Services; Devin Holmes, Section Chief over IT Customer Service and Field Operations; Andy Osiow and Paul Smith of the BIS program, Leisa Rackelmann, Russ Nichols and Wayne Babby of the SOMS program; AIO Operations – Scott MacDonald, Agency, Information Security Officer and Lee Macklin, Section Chief over Policy/Planning, Project Management and IT Acquisitions.
My philosophy is pretty simple – hire the best, empower them, and let them run their respective lines of business. I am very proud of my leadership team, they are some of the most gifted and talented leaders that I have had the privilege of working with. I would like to recognize my CIO. As my CIO, Andrea Rohmann is my right hand person and she has played such a critical role in the positive transformation of CDCR’s IT operations and more importantly has helped me to ensure that we have strategically aligned innovative and existing technologies to enhance the daily operations of the business through the implementation of enterprise wide solutions.
Can you describe the career path that led to you being the Agency CIO of CDCR?
I graduated from University of Hawaii with a degree in Accounting and was hired by Department of Transportation (CalTrans) in January 1980 to evaluate customer needs and develop business user requirements. This provided me the opportunity to develop a working relationship with IT through the participation on automation projects designed to improve my business areas (Financial Management). Then in 1984, I obtained a MBA with emphasis in Telecommunications. I continued to find myself gravitating towards improving operations through innovative IT solutions and eventually was presented with the opportunity to cross over into the IT series.
Over the last 32 years of service, I have had the privilege and opportunity to work at Caltrans, Franchise Tax Board, Employment Development Department, State Controller’s Office, California Youth Authority (CYA) (now Division of Juvenile Justice), and CDCR. I have served in California’s correctional system since 2000 as Chief Information Officer (CIO), CYA, in August 2006 I was appointed as the CIO for CDCR, and then in January 2008, appointed Agency, CIO for CDCR’s EIS Division. Over the years, I had the good fortune of being exposed to some of the best leaders and mentors that invested their time to help my growth as a professional and to provide guidance to my career choices over the years.
What advice would you give to other CIOs?
Build bridges, don’t burn bridges – it is all about relationships, establishing trust, believing your management and staff, and developing a shared vision to lead your IT organization I heard a quote once that said "He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only talking a walk." As a CIO you need to become a strategic business partner – where you are able to establish strong business partnerships with program areas with emphasis on: providing innovative solutions that are timely and cost effective, increasing program effectiveness through process improvements, improving workforce effectiveness through increased access to information and the use of collaboration tools, and improving the relationship between IT and programs through IT Governance and providing a sustainable Customer Relationship delivery support model. Never lose focus that CIOs need to be able to demonstrate the business value of IT – if you don’t, your operations will be viewed as administrative overhead. This would not be a good position to be in during these tough fiscal times.
What do you do in your off time?
I am blessed with four grandkids – spending time with them is very rewarding. As a young adult, I had the opportunity to see a play at the JFK Theatre and got hooked on the experience – I have been a long time subscriber to the B Street theater in Sacramento and will periodically make special trips to the San Francisco and the Oregon Shakespeare festival. Last summer, my wife and I really got into hiking in the High Sierras and Tahoe. I still like to hit the weights, play a little golf for fun, and when I need to escape, I take the 2002 Harley Davidson Fat Boy out for a ride.
