New York and Idaho are among the latest states to set their sights on strengthening their technology leadership hierarchy after appointing a new chief cyber officer and permanent chief information officer (CIO), respectively.
Meghan Cook will fill the role of New York’s chief cyber officer, assuming the mantle from acting chief cyber officer Michaela Lee. Lee has been operating in this capacity since March following Collin Ahern’s promotion to the inaugural director of security and intelligence for New York.
Cook brings nearly three decades of experience in tech or tech-adjacent roles. She most recently served as director of the Cyber Incident Response Team at the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES). She has also served as assistant director of the DHSES Office of Counter Terrorism.
Before moving to state-level government roles, the bulk of Cook’s career was spent at the University of Albany’s Center for Technology in Government. Starting as a program manager in 1997, she was promoted to program director in 2013 where she remained until transferring to DHSES in 2023.
In Idaho, Jake Reynolds was named as state CIO and permanent director of the Office of Information Technology Services (OITS). Reynolds has been operating in an interim capacity with the office since July following Alberto Gonzalez’s appointment to director of the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD).
Reynolds brings more than two decades of public and private experience to the role, starting as a recruiter and account manager in the private sector in 2005. Prior to his latest appointment, he served in several capacities with the Idaho Department of Commerce.
Throughout his nearly 14-year tenure with the department, Reynolds operated as a senior international trade specialist, business retention and expansion manager and most recently as business development and operations administrator.
