UMGC Alumnus Named Chief Information Officer, Health and Human Services (HHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Don Cox ’01 and '09 will serve as the Chief Information Officer, Health and Human Services (HHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. He started his appointment January 2017.
At the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Cox will oversee IT strategy, operations, human resources, and financial management of the HHS Operational Division’s IT program, consisting of enterprise IT systems, data center, cloud computing, and software development contracts. Additionally, he will directly coordinate his office of the CIO with HHS’ Operational Divisions, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration program offices to advance the behavioral health of the nation through health IT while reducing total cost of ownership.
Cox has 20 years of technology and cyber security related experience. He has served as the Chief Information Officer and other executive roles architecting, managing and securing geographically dispersed technology systems for the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of State, Department of Labor, Homeland Security, and the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry. In the role of President for Innava Data Solutions, he led the construction of a large multi-tenant commercial data center.
“My UMGC instructors and experience are the foundation that helped me achieve a personal goal of becoming a Chief Information Officer. I use what I learned in the Masters of IT Management, MBA, and General Service Administration CIO classes extensively during my ascension to this role,” said Cox. “I highly recommend UMUC to anyone trying to reach their educational and career goals.”
Additionally, Cox currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board for the fourth fastest growing Managed Security Services Provider, Netswitch.
Cox holds a master’s degree with a focus on the Management of Information Technology, a master’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration on Information Technology, and Chief Information Officer and Project Management certifications. He has been recognized and received numerous accolades for his ability to identify and implement bleeding edge technology.
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