MN.IT Services

Biography of Carolyn Parnell

An experienced technology leader, Carolyn Parnell was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton to serve as Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the State of Minnesota. Among her leadership roles as State CIO, she is the commissioner of MN.IT Services.

Prior to joining the Governor’s Cabinet, Parnell was the Chief Operating Officer for Information Technology Services for the Minnesota System of Colleges and Universities (MnSCU), the fifth-largest system of two- and four-year colleges and universities in the nation.

Parnell brings a wealth of IT management experience to the State, having also held leadership positions at Minnesota Public Radio/America Public Media, Fidelity National Information Systems and the University of Minnesota. She earned a B.A. in Sociology and Liberal Arts for the Human Services at the University of Minnesota-Morris and an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

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Biography of Ed Valencia

Ed Valencia, Chief Technology Officer, oversees technology development for the agency and the enterprise. This program area combines development of architecture, technical standards and oversight, and responsibilities for application development and management.

Ed served first as Technology Director and later as CIO for the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). His achievements include the modernization of mission-critical applications such as the Unemployment Insurance system and Minnesota Job Bank, and the integration of all Workforce Investment Board case management systems and implementation of cutting-edge applications such as a customer relationship management (CRM) system. His experience in business planning and leadership, IT management, and procurement enterprise contribute to his success as the CTO for the State of Minnesota.

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Biography of Christopher Buse

Christopher Buse is the Chief Information Security Officer for the State of Minnesota. In this capacity, Chris is responsible for designing and implementing the enterprise security architecture for state government.

Chris served as the Manager of Information Technology Audits for the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor. During his 19 years as an auditor, Chris planned and oversaw information technology audit work done on large government computer systems. He also provided state-of-the-art technology tools and training for audit professionals. Chris is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), and a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Chris is active in many professional organizations and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Multi State Information Sharing and Analysis Center. He also sits on the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) International Professional Influence and Advocacy Committee, and has held numerous Board of Director positions in the Minnesota Chapter. Chris was awarded the 2008 Security Professional of the Year by the Information Systems Security Association's Minnesota Chapter.

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Biography of Cathy de Moll

Cathy de Moll is responsible for internal and external organizational planning, department communications, and the marketing strategy for IT services.

Cathy brings over 30 years of marketing and communications experience in the private sector to MN.IT Services. Her positions have included president and founder of a marketing and special events firm, TBT International, Inc., president of OnlineClass Inc., and director of Public Relations for Minnesota Public Radio. Cathy has worked for the State of Minnesota since 2001, first as Director of Education Initiatives for the Office of Technology, then as Communications Manager for the Drive to Excellence, before joining MN.IT Services.

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Biography of Tom Schaeffer

Thomas Schaeffer is the Assistant Commissioner of Service Delivery and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he oversees IT Service Delivery for MN.IT Central as well as the MN.IT Cloud enterprise operations.

Tom has more than 20 years of experience in the technology industry in both the private and public sectors. He has worked for the Minnesota Department of Corrections, the Department of Employment and Economic Development, Ramsey and Dakota Counties, Network Guidance Company, and First American Corporation. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota in Sociology and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas. He is also a certified PMI project manager.

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Biography of Tarek Tomes

As Assistant Commissioner for Customer and Service Management, Tarek Tomes manages the services strategies, product development and product management for all MN.IT technology services, as well as customer relations. 

Tarek has over 18 years of experience in managing, designing, implementing and supporting complex information technology solutions and services.  Before joining MN.IT Services, Tarek was product manager for Microsoft UCC-Managed Services for BT Americas.  During his 13 years in the BT Managed Services group, Tarek was responsible for numerous services, including email messaging, instant messaging, compliance-based archiving and identity management.  Tarek's responsibilities included developing financial forecasts and budgets for a variety of services and customers.  His background also includes strong technical architecture experience.

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Biography of Tu Tong

As CFO and an Assistant Commissioner, Tu leads MN.IT’s management of financial accounts and obligations, including budgets, billing and asset management, and Administrative Services. 

Tu joined MN.IT after 20 years of leadership in the finance and development areas at Minnesota Public Radio. While there, he drove planning and forecasting efforts for the organization on local and national levels. A champion of the rolling forecast and other revenue models such as cost-allocation modeling, Tu has also worked on special projects, including business development and acquisitions. Prior to joining MPR, Tu worked with the Internal Revenue Service. He is a former member of the Institute of Business Forecasting and served on the board of the Vietnamese Broadcasting Association of Minnesota.

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