Whitmire started working in state government in 1999 as the bureau chief for IT, performance and quality improvement for the Florida Department of Health.
Since then, she has held various government positions, including serving as bureau chief of Medicaid quality management for the Agency for Health Care Administration, chief of operations and support for the Florida Department of Education and chief of state IT strategy management for the Department of Management Services (DMS).
After working with DMS, Whitmire joined FGCC as the agency’s first CIO in June 2022.
The FGCC regulates all forms of gambling in the state, including parimutuel wagering, cardrooms, slot machine facilities and gaming compacts. The agency was created in 2021 via legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, earning the agency nickname of “the first government startup” in two decades by Whitmire.
Other agency takeaways shared by Whitmire during an Industry Insider member briefing in Tallahassee on June 26, 2024, include the following:
- Staff: As a new agency, the commission has a smaller staff of about 250 members. Whitmire noted, “It has been a fascinating two years establishing an agency with such an important mission.”
- Cloud infrastructure: The FGCC operates entirely in the cloud and did not need to migrate any data, having started fresh as a new department. This posed challenges, as most vendors are experienced in modernizing legacy systems rather than setting up entirely new cloud infrastructures. Whitmire explained, “Managing cloud networking and computing from the ground up has been uniquely challenging, unlike the data migration processes typical for other agencies.”
- Innovation: When discussing AI, Whitmire acknowledged that it dominates conversations about future projects. However, she pointed out the challenges due to a lack of understanding and clear policies. “While the industry is heavily focused on AI, we are still at the foundational stage. Our goal is to educate people on what AI entails, its boundaries and best practices.”
