RALEIGH – Gov. Roy Cooper named Thomas Parrish IV acting secretary of the N.C. Department of Information Technology (NCDIT). Parrish will fill the role held by Tracy Doaks, who departed at the end of July to lead a nonprofit dedicated to broadband expansion in rural areas.
“The state of North Carolina relies on our IT resources now more than ever. Thomas Parrish’s experience as an IT leader and educator prepares him to lead NCDIT as the agency supports our state work force in all 100 counties, both in the office and remote. His work as chief deputy has earned the trust of state government, and he will do work hard to protect our state from cyber threats,” Gov. Cooper said.
Parrish has worked in information technology more than 27 years within state and local government.
He currently serves as deputy chief information officer at NCDIT, leading the Enterprise Infrastructure Services Division, which provides mission-critical infrastructure services. Parrish also serves on the faculty at Edgecombe Community College teaching IT courses, including IT management, application development, network operating systems and aerial remote sensing.
Previously, he served as deputy state chief information officer focusing on several Council of State agencies’ budget and management of IT resources, chief information officer at the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources and leadership roles at several community colleges advancing IT learning.
Parrish earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees from North Carolina Central University.
