Submitted by Thurston County Board of County Commissioners
After an extensive national recruitment process, the Thurston County Board of Commissioners have appointed Mr. Dennis Osorio as the new IT Department Director.
The Commissioners held an executive session on January 25, 2019 and voted during an open public meeting on Thursday, February 14, 2019 to appoint Mr. Osorio to this position. He accepted the position and will begin in his role as the director on Monday, March 11, 2019. The IT Department Director is a direct report to the County Manager.
Mr. Osorio is coming to the County from the Division of Child Support at the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. He currently serves as the Deputy IT Chief, who oversees and directs a team of approximately 40 staff to ensure their IT systems are supported and available for operations. Prior to that he was an IT manager at the Emerald Queen Casino where he facilitated significant software upgrades and relocations during a period of growth for the casino.
Dennis holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (Technology and Innovation Management), is a certified Project Management Professional, and holds other certifications related to his field of information technology (e.g. ProSCI Change Management, ITIL Certification, and SCRUM Master).
“Mr. Osorio’s broad technical background, business education, and significant project management and leadership experience will be an invaluable asset for Thurston County,” said County Manager, Ramiro Chavez. “We are confident he will provide a significant contribution to the Thurston County organization as our technology needs continue to evolve.”
During the 2019/2020 biennial budget development process, the Commissioners responded to a business need to separate the IT activities from the Central Service Department and created a separate Information Technology Department. This decision recognized the increased complexity and reliance on stable information technology systems and staff.
Featured photo credit: Kim Merriman
