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Gov. Gregoire announces appointment of new DIS director
OLYMPIA - Gov. Chris Gregoire has named Tony Tortorice, a California Information Technology executive with more than 25 years of IT experience in both the private and public sectors, to head Washington's Department of Information Services.
"Tony brings the unique background and wealth of experience required to be successful in this role," Gregoire said. "Our state, like any other business, has to make technological advances if we're going to be successful. I am confident that Tony's strong technology experience will greatly benefit Washington as we develop strategies to streamline state government - which will better serve our communities while improving our bottom line."
"Information technology has tremendous potential to improve government's services to citizens. I came to work for Governor Gregoire because of her commitment to tap that potential," said Tortorice.
A California resident for the past 30 years, Tortorice, 57, is the chief information officer for the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second largest public K-12 school system. There, he led the recovery of a troubled HR/Payroll implementation. Tortorice was also the senior IT executive for the Los Angeles Community College District, the largest system of community colleges in the nation. Before working with the community college system, he was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Prior to beginning a doctorate program in public administration at the University of Southern California, Tortorice served in the U.S. Navy, where he started his career in IT by installing his command's first word processing system. Tortorice holds a master's degree in systems management from USC, and a bachelor's degree in history from the University of State of New York.
Gregoire commended DIS Interim Director Jim Albert, who has led the agency since January, when former Director Gary Robinson retired from state service.
"I want to thank Jim for his leadership at DIS. I know it will be an easy transition thanks to Jim's commitment and dedication to the agency," Gregoire said.
Tortorice will begin at DIS July 1, where he will earn an annual salary of $147,000.