Brian Kelley, Portage County IT Services, Named Crain's CIO of the Year

Brian Kelley has been the brains behind Portage County’s information systems for almost 25 years, but that does not prevent him from keeping the county on top of its computer game. While doing it he’s also earned a state and national reputation as an expert in information technology and making it work in the public sector.

The most recent project at the county is the implementation of a nearly $2 million upgrade to its computer system embracing everything from desktops to servers, including VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).

Janet Esposito, Portage County auditor, knows where Kelley will be at critical points in the process: on the scene. "He’ll work 20 hours a day if it’s needed," she said. "He works hard. He’s committed."

A key attribute for Kelley is people skills that allow him to get things done in a fragmented government. Portage, like most Ohio counties, has three county commissioners, eight other elected administrative offices and, all told, 18 elected officials who may control their own data systems.

"Since he started in 1990, he has failed to recognize these traditional political silos as barriers to implementing IT in county government," Kelley’s nomination said. "He has successfully built business relationships with all elected officials, department managers and end users in our county. His endeavors have been of immeasurable benefit to Portage County."

Kelley’s accomplishments have been acknowledged by awards the county’s IT systems have received as well as his becoming a statewide voice on IT. He was chosen in 2014 to serve as a local government representative on the Ohio Next Generation Telephony Service Steering Committee.

He serves on the state’s Open Data Advisory Group, which will recommend to the governor state standards. A part-time instructor at Kent State University and the University of Akron, Kelley also helps lead trade groups, including as a board member and first vice president — president next year — of GMIS international, an association of government IT leaders.

In 1991, Kelley helped found the Ohio County/City Information Technology Association. Besides the executive level work, Kelley aids the public at a basic level. He presents programs on Internet safety and cyberbullying to as many as 1,000 students, teachers and school administrators annually.

Kelley landed at Portage County in a simple way. When Esposito was a county commissioner, in 1990 she asked nearby Kent State University to recommend a bright student for a position writing job descriptions. She hired Kelley and he soon stepped into the information technology role.