ITS Leadership and Teams

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Each member ITS' Leadership Team oversees one or more teams that provide services to many County departments.


Executive Group – Mark Buonauro, Chief Information Technology Officer

Mark Buonauro

Mark Buonauro
Chief Information Technology Officer

LinkedIn

Biography

Mark is a highly accomplished, senior technology executive in both public and private sector with international and healthcare experience leading technology and information security teams and transformation. He has significant experience building and leading IT organizations; including hiring/growing talent, establishing appropriate processes and governance, creating multi-year technology investment road maps aligned to enable business strategies, leaning, and optimizing IT operations, IT outsourcing and improving customer satisfaction around IT services. He has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California State University Chico and a Master’s in Information Systems from the University of Phoenix.

About

As the senior technology executive for Kern County, Mark leads a diverse group of professionals across multiple disciplines to support 40 Kern County Departments including Public Health, Human Services, Probation, District Attorney, Board of Supervisors, and many others. In this role, he is responsible for setting the vision and strategy for technology while ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability of Kern County data.


Executive Group – Fidel Chavez, Assistant Chief Information Technology Officer

Fidel Chavez

Fidel Chavez
Assistant Chief Information Technology Officer

Biography

  • 25 years of IT Experience with Kern County
  • Bachelor's in Business Administration with concentration in Management Information Systems
  • CSAC (various), Microsoft (various), Lean Six Sigma, CCSA Certifications
  • County experience consists of all 25 years with ITS in various IT roles from desktop, compute/storage, telephony, server, network support and various IT managerial roles

About

The Assistant Chief Information Technology Officer oversees the Administrative and Fiscal Service as well as the Project Management Office. Assists the Chief Information Technology Officer in managing, coordinating, and directing the activities of the department.

Team Functions

Administrative and Fiscal Service

The Business Office is primarily responsible for various activities related to processing, compliance and reporting on procuring goods and services, accounts payable and invoicing, various vendor services and labor billing, payroll, cost allocations budget development and monitoring (to include position control management), problem resolutions related to all payables and billing, coordinating Board approved requests relating to purchases.

Project Management Office

The Project Management Office oversees and maintains the implementation of Project Management Standards across the department.


Infrastructure Group – Al Bermudez, Deputy Chief Information Technology Officer

Al Bermudez

Al Bermudez
Deputy Chief Information Technology Officer
Infrastructure

Biography

  • 25+ Years of IT Experience with Kern County
  • Microsoft Certified Professional
  • County experience consists of 25 years with Kern County Department of Human Services in various roles from desktop technician and network administrator to Technology Services Manager and the remainder of his County experience with ITS

About the Group

The Infrastructure Group comprises four distinct pillars: network management, storage administration, server operations, and telecommunications. These pillars are tasked with various responsibilities critical to maintaining the seamless functioning of the County's IT ecosystem.

Team Functions

Network Management

  • Network Planning and Design: To meet current and future needs, design, implement, and maintain the organization's network infrastructure
  • Network Monitoring: Continuously monitor network performance, security, and availability to identify and resolve issues promptly
  • Security Management: Implement and manage network security measures such as firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems, and VPNs
  • Bandwidth Management: Ensure optimal network bandwidth utilization and plan for capacity upgrades as necessary
  • Network Documentation: Maintain detailed network documentation, including configurations, diagrams, and inventory

Storage Management

  • Storage Planning: Assess storage requirements, plan for capacity, and select appropriate storage solutions (e.g., SAN, NAS)
  • Data Backup and Recovery: Implement and manage data backup strategies and disaster recovery plans to safeguard critical data
  • Storage Provisioning: Allocate storage resources to servers and applications as needed
  • Storage Performance Optimization: Monitor storage performance and optimize storage systems for efficiency
  • Data Lifecycle Management: Define data retention policies, archiving strategies, and data disposal procedures

Server Administration

  • Server Deployment Provision and deploy physical and virtual servers according to organizational needs
  • Server Monitoring: Monitor server health, performance, and resource utilization to detect and address issues
  • Operating System Maintenance: Ensure servers have up-to-date operating systems and patches and manage server configurations
  • Security Management: Implement server security measures, including access controls, antivirus software, and intrusion detection systems
  • User Account Management: Create, modify, and deactivate user accounts and manage permissions and access control

Telecommunication

  • Telephony Systems: Manage phone systems (PBX, VoIP) and associated hardware and software
  • Video Conferencing: Support video conferencing systems and ensure they are reliable and secure
  • Security Management: Implement and manage network security measures such as firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems, and VPNs
  • Network Connectivity: Ensure reliable and high-quality voice and video communication network connectivity
  • Telecommunication Security: Implement security measures to protect telecommunication systems from threats and unauthorized access

Operations Group – Brandon Hankins, Deputy Chief Information Technology Officer

Brandon Hankins

Brandon Hankins
Deputy Chief Information Technology Officer
Operations

Biography

  • 22 years of IT Experience with Kern County
  • MBA with an emphasis in Leadership and Management
  • County experience consists of 21 years of his County experience being with Kern County Probation Department in various IT roles from help desk and desktop support to IT Manager and the remainder of his County experience with ITS in managerial roles

About the Group

The Operations Group is structured into three tiers to efficiently address the County's technical needs. Tier 1 handles initial queries and common issues like password resets and basic software troubleshooting. Tier 2 takes on more complex tasks such as system optimizations and hardware configurations. Tier 3 focuses on specialized technical challenges requiring advanced expertise. To request assistance from the help desk, please enter a ticket at http://support.dbayscpa.com or call (661) 868-2200.

Team Functions

Tier 1

  • Function: Tier 1 serves as the initial point of contact and frontline for our desktop support. This tier aims to quickly resolve fundamental and commonly occurring desktop issues to minimize disruptions.
  • Areas of Responsibility (not exhaustive):
    • Password resets
    • Basic software installations and troubleshooting
    • Initial hardware diagnostics

Tier 2

  • Function: Tier 2 offers an elevated level of technical support, focusing on more complex issues that exceed the capacities of Tier 1. This level necessitates an understanding of hardware, software, and foundational networking.
  • Areas of Responsibility (not exhaustive):
    • System optimizations
    • Hardware configurations and upgrades
    • Onsite desktop support

Tier 3

  • Function: Operating as the top of our desktop support hierarchy, Tier 3 is responsible for the most complicated, complex, and specialized desktop issues. Their involvement often requires collaborative efforts with internal teams and external vendors.
  • Areas of Responsibility (not exhaustive):
    • Advanced problem diagnosis and resolution
    • Specialized software deployments
    • Managing desktop administration systems

Application Development Group – Pierson Jiu, Deputy Chief Information Technology Officer

Pierson Jiu

Pierson Jiu
Deputy Chief Information Technology Officer
Application Development

Biography

  • 24 years of IT Experience and 22 of those years with Kern County
  • Tulane University, School of Engineering – Electrical Engineering
  • ITIL, CSAC (various), Microsoft (various), Lean Six Sigma, Dell Storage Area Network Administration certifications
  • County experience consists of 17 years with Auditor-Controller's Office in positions from Information Systems Specialist to Technology Services Manager and the remaining years with ITS in managerial roles

About the Group

The Application Development Group is responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining countywide mission critical enterprise applications and data services, in addition to, mission essential line of business applications for the departments that the Information Technology Services department supports. The group is comprised of teams of skilled IT professionals who work collaboratively to understand the needs of the business, translate them into technical specifications, design the application architecture, develop the code, and deploy the solutions into a production environment. The group provides ongoing support and maintenance to ensure the solutions remain stable, secure, and meet the needs of the enterprise. The goal of the enterprise application development team is to create robust, scalable, and secure software solutions that streamline business processes, improve productivity, and enhance the overall efficiency of Kern County.

Team Functions

Enterprise Server Application Development Team

  • Criminal Justice Information Systems
  • Kern County Integrated Property Tax System
  • Kern County Financial Management Systems
  • Payroll Systems
  • Trust Fund Accounting Systems
  • IBM Enterprise Server Operations and Support

Enterprise Resource Planning Application Development Team

  • Time Entry and Time Accounting Systems
  • General Ledger, Financial Accounting, and Cost Accounting Systems
  • Payroll and Human Capital Management Systems
  • Elections Information Management Systems
  • Property Tax Financial Management Systems
  • Procurement and Purchasing Information Management Systems
  • Public Services mission essential line of business applications

Web and Windows Application Development Team

  • Enterprise Web Content Management System
  • Kern County Assessor-Recorder mission critical line of business applications
  • Human Resources and Health Benefits Systems
  • Budget Preparation System
  • Internal Website and applications for General Services Department
  • Kern County Public Service Accela Permitting System
  • Mission critical line of business applications for Kern Regional Crime Lab and Kern County District Attorney's office
  • Public Services mission essential line of business applications

Enterprise Geographic Information Systems Team

  • Kern County Enterprise GIS Environment
  • Enterprise GIS Mapping Services
  • Enterprise GIS Imagery Services
  • Enterprise Spatial and Non-Spatial Data Analysis and Visualization Services

Information Security Team – Aaron Nance, Deputy Chief Information Technology Officer

Aaron Nance

Aaron Nance
Deputy Chief Information Technology Officer
Security

Biography

  • 25 years of IT Experience and 22 of those years with Kern County
  • BS in Computer Science
  • CISSP, PMP, CSM, ITIL, CAPM, BI Reporting, Microsoft (various), CCNA, Network+, A+ Certifications
  • County experience consists of software development and tech support roles with Public Works before transitioning to managerial roles with ITS

About the Team

The information security team works to improve the County's security posture in order to strengthen the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of County resources and data.

Team Functions

  • Audit and enforce compliance of Chapter 7 – Information Technology of the County Policies and Procedures Manual
  • Privacy and security review and oversight for compliance with HIPAA
  • Performing analysis of security alerts and events for endpoints, servers, perimiter, and other network resources
  • Coordinating incident response and remediation of security-related situations
  • Facilitate security awareness training and anti-phishing campaigns for County staff
  • Identify and pursue the implementation of improvements to the County's information security posture to strengthen confidentiality, integrity, and availability of County resources and to maintain alignment and compliance with applicable regulations