Nelson to step down as EPA CIO

Kim Nelson, CIO at the Environmental Protection Agency, is leaving government to become executive director of e-government for Microsoft.

Kim Nelson, CIO at the Environmental Protection Agency, is leaving government to take a senior position at Microsoft Corp., the company announced yesterday.

Nelson, who will become executive director of e-government in Microsoft's U.S. Public Sector business, will join the Redmond, Wash.-based firm in January 2006.

According to the company, Nelson will help develop and execute Microsoft's e-government strategy, working with government CIOs and other leaders to establish long-term strategies and vision for more efficient and cost-effective online services.

She will report to Scott Suhy, Microsoft's U.S. Industry Unit general manager and Worldwide Partner Strategy lead.

Nelson was sworn in as CIO at EPA Nov. 30, 2001, by then EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman.

Before that, she served in various capacities in Pennsylvania, including a 14-year stint at the state's Department of Environmental Protection. She also served at the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission.

Rob Thormeyer is a writer for Washington Technology's sister publication, Government Computer News.