Oakland County’s Chief Information Security Officer Chris Burrows is Michigan’s IT Professional of the Year, County Executive L. Brooks Patterson announced Wednesday. That’s according to Michigan Government Management Information Sciences (MI-GMIS) who bestowed the award on Burrows. The award recognizes outstanding individuals who advance and support the use of technology within government to improve efficiency and customer service.
“Oakland County is consistently ranked among the most digitally-advanced counties in America by the Center for Digital Government,” Patterson said. “Chris is an integral part of the team that has helped Oakland County stay on the leading edge of developments in IT. He truly deserves this award.”
Burrows joined Oakland County in 2013 bringing more than a quarter century of experience from the private sector including in risk management, information security, and IT operations. In a few short years, he has created Oakland County’s first IT risk and security program. Plus, he helped implement CySAFE, a free IT risk assessment tool Oakland County makes available to other governments and businesses in the cloud. CySAFE has been downloaded in all 50 states.
Burrows also has provided leadership and guidance as a security advocate for other Michigan counties seeking to build or enhance their IT security including Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb, Livingston and Monroe. He is working with local universities including Oakland University and Walsh College to help them identify relevant content for their cyber security programs. In addition, he is creating his own course called “Current Issues in Cyber Security” which he will begin teaching at Walsh College.
“Chris is an outstanding addition to our IT Department at Oakland County,” said Deputy County Executive and CIO Phil Bertolini. “His innovative thinking, leadership, and willingness to help all those in the government, university and business communities make him worthy of this award.”
Burrows, 45, lives in Commerce Township with his wife Heather and two children. He holds a MBA from Lawrence Technological University, BSBA from Central Michigan University, along with numerous technical certifications including a CISSP (Certified Information System Security Professional).
For additional information about MI-GMIS and the IT Professional of the Year award, go to MI-GMIS.org.
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://www.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
