Mary Winkley, who leads the Consulting and Planning Division within the California Department of Technology, is moving to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to become the organization's agency information officer.
Winkley starts at CDFA on Feb. 22. She will be succeeding Robert Schmidt, who last fall was named chief of California's Office of Technology Services.
Winkley joined the then-California Technology Agency in 2012 as assistant secretary of program and portfolio management. In 2013, in the wake of the canceled 21st Century Project, California CIO Carlos Ramos announced Winkley would head up a new state strike team to be deployed to help troubled projects get back on track. The effort led to the creation of the Consulting and Planning Division.
Prior to 2012, Winkley was CIO of the California Secretary of State's Office. The Secretary of State is currently recruiting for a new CIO.
Winkley has more than 25 years' experience of consulting on IT projects, in both public and private sectors, according to her state biography. She also has served as staff member in the Legislature.
The agency information officer position at CDFA has been a launch pad of sorts to top-level jobs in state government. In recent years, Schmidt; Chris Cruz, chief deputy director of operations for the Department of Technology; and former OTech chief Davood Ghods each have served in the post.
