Chief Information Officer Dr. Stephen Easley is the Director of the Information Technology Division and is responsible for aligning information technology goals and strategies with departmental goals and business needs. Dr. Easley has approximately 30 years experience in research and technical management including service with Purdue University, the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio, Texas, and New Mexico State University. Dr. Easley also has experience in the private sector, having founded and run a successful IT services company for eight years before joining Governor Bill Richardson’s administration in January 2003.

In addition to his appointment as CIO at DPS, Dr. Easley has served the Governor in several other capacities since 2003. He was the Deputy State Chief Information Officer and State Chief Information Security Officer in the Governor’s Office of the Chief Information Officer. He served as the State Director of Information Security in the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and as the Chief Information Officer for the Governor’s Office of Workforce Training and Development. Dr. Easley has extensive experience in the development and acquisition of computer-based systems, the integration of enterprise applications, information technology security, policy development, and project management.

In 2005 the Governor appointed Dr. Easley to the New Mexico Telehealth and Health Information Technology Commission, and he continues to serve in that role as well.

Dr. Easley holds both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. He specialized in nonhuman primate behavior and did his dissertation work over 14 months in a remote part of the Amazon jungle in Peru. He also earned a B.A. from Purdue University in Spanish Language and Literature, and attended the University of Madrid, Spain.

Originally from Indianapolis, Dr. Easley has lived in New Mexico since 1992. He is married and has two daughters. Prior to coming to Santa Fe in 2003, Dr. Easley lived in Alamogordo, NM. He served there as an elected city commissioner from 2000-2003.