Williams, Cooke manage HUD technology
Jerry Williams, chief information officer, and Kevin Cooke, deputy CIO, are among the 13th annual 50 Most Important African-Americans in Technology and are featured in the annual 50 Most exhibition The Soul of Public Innovation. They are among an array of historically black college and university alumni in mission critical technology leadership.
As the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Jerry E. Williams provides management of the Department's IT activities.
Williams previously served as the deputy CIO at the Department of Interior; Director of Financial Management for National Intelligence Agency; acting CIO and deputy CIO of the Department of Agriculture; acting CIO for the Small Business Administration; and Chief of Federal Financial Management Systems for Office of Management and Budget. He began his Federal career with the Department of Defense in 1984.
He attended Cheyney University and Troy University majoring in Accounting and Public Administration.
Cooke was appointed the Deputy Chief Information Officer at Housing and Urban Development in October 2010. In this role he is responsible for providing leadership and strategic direction for the day-to-day OCIO Operations and partners with the CIO to provide direction, oversight, and managementfor Information Technology investments that support the diverse portfolio of programs across HUD.
He has over 20 years of experience conceiving, designing and implementing Information Technology (IT) solutions as well as managing IT resources, budgets, contracts, and programs for Federal agencies. Prior to this appointment, Cooke served as Acting Deputy Chief Information Officer at the US Department of Energy. While there he was responsible for coordinating policies and procedures to ensure effective, efficient and economical information management planning in support of Department of Energy missions and objectives.
While working in the Department of Energy’s Chief Information Office, Cooke progressed through the roles of Director of IT Office Systems, Director of Human Capital and Administrative Management, and Associate Chief Information Officer for Information Technology Corporate Management.
In 2009, Cooke was named a "CIO One to Watch" by CIO Magazine's Executive Council. This award is bestowed upon rising stars in IT that bring leadership, innovation, and value to their organization and are primed to become future CIOs. He also served on the board of the Government Information Technology Executive Council and currently on the Kentucky State University Foundation Board.
