Taylor Hollenbeck named IBJ's 20 in their Twenties honoree
IOT Local Government Program Director Taylor Hollenbeck has been named one of Indianapolis Business Journal's 20 in their Twenties honorees!
Taylor began her career with IOT as the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs where she oversaw the administration of HEA 1169 - a law that requires Indiana political subdivisions to report cybersecurity incidents. She collected contact information for all local government cybersecurity incident reporters, and found ways to build better relationships with our local government partners, including starting a 92-county listening tour in 2021.
Today, she has a new role and is finishing up her 2023 regional meetings across the state, talking to local units of government and finding how the state and locals can work together to better protect against growing cybersecurity threats and attacks.
"My true passion is truly serving all Hoosiers in a public capacity," Taylor said.
Find all of the honorees here: https://www.ibj.com/20-in-their-twenties-2023 and here's what it looks like in print: https://issues.ibj.com/ibj/supplements/20-in-their-twenties/2023/
Best of Indiana Awards are now open
The Indiana Office of Technology (IOT) is bringing back the 'Best of Indiana' technology awards in 2023! The IOT established the 'Best of Indiana' awards program to recognize the best use of technology by Indiana state and local government and education organizations.
The award nominations will remain open until MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2023, by 9:30 am ET. Please share with any of your contacts in local government that you think would be interested in submitting.
Submit a Nomination at https://awards.erepublic.com/nominate/best_of_indiana/#/dashboard
Who is eligible to submit nominations?
All government and education officials, executives and staff in Indiana are invited to submit nominations.
What are the Award categories?
- Best Application Serving an Agency's Business Needs – State
- Best Application Serving an Organization's Business Needs – Local
- Best Application Serving the Public - State
- Best Application Serving the Public – Local
What are the Award eligibility requirements?
All projects nominated must be in production and fully operational by the submission deadline or significant changes have been implemented since September 1, 2022.
When will the winners be announced?
IOT will announce award winners at the annual Indiana Digital Government Summit. The summit will return to an in-person event on October 19, 2023, at Indianapolis Marriott North. Don't forget to register to attend the Indiana Digital Government Summit! Attendance is FREE for all State and Local government employees, and as an early registrant, you will receive advance access to the virtual event hub and resources.
IOT employees attend Aim Ideas Summit
IOT employees recently attended the Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (Aim) Ideas Summit, where they operated a booth and hosted a session about cybersecurity and digital government. At the booth, dozens of municipal members of government stopped by to thank IOT for its work, find out about new services or learn what IOT offers.
By the Numbers:
- IN.gov domain names: 1,099
- IOT-negotiated Google Workspaces accounts – that come with IN.gov domain email addresses: 1,453
- Hosted websites: 72
- Payment processing instances: 77
- KnowBe4 accounts: 150
- Estimated total value of the KnowBe4 contract: $519,677.48
AIM works closely with legislators on key initiatives to attract and retain the best businesses and brightest talent in Indiana's communities.
AIM is focused on quality of place initiatives and taking a longer-term strategic approach in tackling some of the big issues facing Indiana, such as sustaining infrastructure, adequate municipal funding, and policies that promote healthy communities.
Find more information about Aim Indiana here: https://aimindiana.org/
IOT is also participating in the following local government conferences:
- Indiana Township Association – Sept. 17-20
- Association of Indiana Counties – Sept. 25-28
All former IOT Seals graduate into IOT employees
There have been 51 total hires into the IOT State Earn and Learn (SEAL) IT Program since March 2019, and 41 of those have graduated into IOT employees, with another serving as a contractor for the Indiana Department of Health.
The overall program retention rate (graduates and active) is 83.7%, with a retention rate post graduation of 97.6%.
The most recent 13 graduates all completed their certifications, and as of August 21, are all state employees in their respective departments at IOT. There are now only two people left in the program: one associate is with the Department of Revenue (DOR), and the other is with the Indiana Housing & Community Development (IHCDA).
The program provides its associates with practical skills and certifications that will support public-sector IT while putting Hoosiers to work in a highly needed, highly meaningful area of growing economic value.
Agencies wanting to know how to have their own SEALs should contact Jon Rogers (jrogers1@iot.in.gov). IOT provides complete oversight and manages the appropriate coursework while the SEAL is embedded at your agency. For more information about the SEAL program, visit the website at https://www.in.gov/iot/seal/ or our Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/iot_seal_it/
Behind the Tech: Manisha Ramchandani
Manisha Ramchandani works in IOT's GMIS department as a functional analyst, primarily taking care of the project costing module.
Her average day consists of not only resolving tickets pertaining to her module, but also collaborating with users across different agencies, resolving their project costing issues.
Manisha's favorite thing about her job is the people she works with.
"My team is absolutely wonderful and everyone here is truly like my family. They make my job fun to do, and it doesn’t feel like work."
What's the hardest ticket Manisha has had?
"I have worked with several complex tickets, and I find collaboration with my users to be of key importance to gain knowledge of the history of the problem's origin and everything that was done to it since then. I take a step-by-step approach and take guidance from the senior members of my group to see how best to handle the situation."
What does she hope to take away from her work at IOT?
"The single most important thing I would want to take away from this job is the friendships I have created here."
Upcoming events:
Oct. 19 – Indiana Digital Government Summit
- Free Registration & Lunch: https://events.govtech.com/indiana-digital-government-summit.html
Nov. 15 – GIS Day
- Free Registration & Lunch: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/ade5741441034e53871ee68e2d75119b?portalUrl=https://gisdata.in.gov/portal
Dec. 5 – Indiana Public Sector Cybersecurity Summit
- Free Registration & Lunch: https://events.govtech.com/Indiana-Public-Sector-Cybersecurity-Summit-2023.html