NCTCOG, the metropolitan planning organization for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, promoted Howell after seven years as its senior IT manager. Howell has nearly 20 years of experience working in IT for Texas cities, including Katy, Georgetown, South Padre Island and Hutto.Howell will lead NCTCOG’s new Research and Information (RIS) Innovation Team, which will focus on researching emerging technologies that have the potential to benefit the council.
Under Howell’s leadership, NCTCOG received the Government Technology* Special Districts Technology Innovation Award for an RIS project tracking system in 2022.
“For the remainder of 2025, the team will focus on building out capacity, establishing relationships, fostering innovation within organizational business units and evaluating current and future technological trends that could present opportunities for innovation,” Howell told Industry Insider via email. “As we navigate the transition to formally establishing this new team, we will balance identifying quick wins alongside long-term initiatives that will set up the organization for more large-scale transformations.”
In addition to his work experience, Howell previously served on the State of Texas Information Technology Strategic Advisory Committee and as president of the Texas Association of Governmental Information Technology Managers.
Howell holds a Bachelor of Science in IT project management from Bellevue University. He is also the author of Innovation PACT: The No-Nonsense Guide to Sustainable Innovation, published in 2015.
*Government Technology is a sister publication to Industry Insider — Texas.
