IE11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

New Dallas County CIO Brings Private- and Public-Sector Experience

The county has named Justine Tran to the position, which was vacant for more than a year. Her work includes IT leadership in multiple industries — from telecommunications to automotive — and for the city of Dallas.

The Dallas County courthouse at night.
Shutterstock
Justine Tran LinkedIn headshot. Smiling woman with shoulder length, black hair and glasses.
Justine Tran
After 15 months of undefined leadership, the Dallas County Commissioners have named Justine Tran as CIO with an effective start date of Nov. 19, according to county documents.

Tran, whose resume reflects a span of IT leadership roles in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, is taking on an IT infrastructure reported throughout 2023 to have problems ranging from payroll to ransomware.

She’s been an IT leader in the city of Dallas, as well as the telecommunications, health-care and automotive industries — most recently at Harley-Davidson. Tran was Dallas’ deputy CIO from 2011-2015 and also a senior technology manager there.

Her LinkedIn work statement says she is “leading the charge to transform technology and innovation to serve the residents, businesses and employees of Dallas County.” It lists IT modernization, digital transformation, cybersecurity, efficiency, accessibility and collaboration as action items.

The Dallas County Office of Information Technology has a budget of $53.1 million, but tech and equipment money is listed in additional departments, according to the fiscal year 2025 budget.

The office oversees IT systems for about 6,600 county employees and about 140 full-time IT employees. There are 2.6 million residents, making it the ninth most-populous county in the nation.

Previous county CIO Melissa Kraft was there from 2020-2023 and now leads Frisco’s IT shop. Fortium Partners’ Catherine Maras served as interim CIO during the first half of this year.

Dallas County officials did not return emails or phone calls regarding this story before deadline.
Rae D. DeShong is a Dallas-based staff writer and has written for The Dallas Morning News and worked as a community college administrator.