Chief Information Officer, Rosa LaraInformation Technology
Chief Information Officer

Rosa Lara

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Mrs. Rosa Y. Lara joined the State System in April 2019 with over two decades of information technology experience.  She started her career as an IT consultant serving public sector customers across a number of states. She then transitioned to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania where she has served in numerous roles up to and including Deputy CIO for the Commonwealth overseeing an organization of 2000 IT professionals with over $1B in IT spend annually. Over her career, she has led the implementation of numerous complex and high-profile statewide initiatives including implementing an enterprise eGrants system at the commonwealth, establishing the commonwealth’s first IT Expenditure dashboard, implementing PENNWATCH, the governments first transparency website, overseeing the state’s first eGovernment office and leading the state’s IT response for the influx of Recovery and Reinvestment (ARRA) dollars. Her largest project was leading the Commonwealth’s transition to a new shared service delivery model for IT which included changes to how IT was structured across the state, how IT was governed, how IT was funded and how IT performance metrics were measured; the initiative saved $83M as of her departure.

Mrs. Lara earned her BA in Public Administration from The College of NJ and earned her Master of Public Administration and an MS in Information Resources Management from Syracuse University.   

Why did you pursue a career in higher education?

Some of my best memories occurred when I was in college – they were very formative years and I was lucky to have a good network of people supporting me as I was learning and growing. I knew I wanted to return and when the opportunity arose to work in higher ed, I jumped at the chance.  I have truly enjoyed working in the State System – especially in a time of such transformation and opportunity.  

What first sparked your interest in information technology?

I knew from a very young age that I was interested in government having run several successful campaigns for student government but I stumbled upon technology when a faculty member encouraged me to take an Information Sciences class in grad school. I took the course, really not knowing what I was in for but from the first day of class, I was hooked. And when I was able to combine my passion for the public sector with IT, I could see the power of transforming business operations, business processes, improving customer service through the skills needed to be successful in IT. I don’t think you need to come from a traditional computer science background to make an impact in IT and as a result, I always encourage young female professionals to consider a career in STEM.   

Years of work in information technology later, what keeps you motivated?

I’m new to higher education – having been here at the State System for a little over a year-and-a-half but I have worked in the public sector for over 21 years. I am motivated by serving the common good – I believe in the public sector and I think it has an important role to play in the delivery of services, often times to the most vulnerable populations. That also extends to public higher education – since joining the State System, I continue to be inspired by the stories of the students we serve and I’m proud to be able to contribute to that mission in small ways. When I hear about the great work our universities are doing across a multitude of areas, I think back to my own experiences as a first generation college student and all the professionals that played a role in shaping my career.  

What are your top priorities as chief information officer?

My role is to oversee IT strategy, governance and policy across the State System working in close collaboration with the University chief information technology officers. My priorities are to use IT governance practices to work together to make collaborative IT decisions that benefit all universities, while helping reduce cost and risk. These efforts are part of our larger System Redesign, which is focusing on transforming operations across a number of areas. I am proud of the work of the IT professionals in the State System who are so dedicated to meeting the missions of their Universities and although I know there is much work ahead of us, I am proud of what we have accomplished so far.

What are you passionate about outside of work?

My family and I love to travel exploring different places and experiencing new things. We have already visited over half of the states in the U.S. I also enjoy cooking, trying new recipes and hosting dinner parties.