Gary Washington, acting chief information officer of the Agriculture Department over the past five months, has been appointed to the CIO role on a permanent basis, MeriTalk reported Thursday.
In that role, he established a partnership with the White House’ Office of American Innovation to revamp USDA’s information technology program.
Washington previously held CIO posts at USDA’s animal and plant health inspection service and at the natural resources conservation service.
He joined USDA from the Office of Management and Budget, where he served as portfolio manager in the electronic government office.
Washington’s public sector career also includes stints as IT governance director and deputy director of infrastructure at the Food and Drug Administration, as well as a service manager at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Before working at federal civilian agencies, Washington spent five years in industry and served for 10 years as a computer operator and command control specialist in the U.S. Air Force.
