Town Of Arlington: Sheppard Appointed Town's Chief Information Officer

Press release from Town of Arlington:

09/13/2021

Arlington Town Manager, Adam Chapdelaine, has appointed Patricia Sheppard as Chief Information Officer for the Town of Arlington. Ms. Sheppard began her appointment on August 18, 2021. The Chief Information Officer provides leadership and vision to Town and School operations in the area of Information Technology (IT).

“I am pleased Ms. Sheppard has accepted the appointment,” said Mr. Chapdelaine. “She brings a wealth of technical and organizational expertise from higher education environments to the Town of Arlington, which will be a great benefit to the Town.”

Ms. Sheppard brings over 20 years of experience in senior management and technical positions. Prior to coming to Arlington, she served as the Vice President for Information Technology at the Museum of Science in Boston and Director for Information Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has also served as Chief Financial Officer for a state agency and had oversight over both information technology and finance.

In each of her roles, she has successfully designed, launched and managed large scale organizational development, change management, process improvement, and educational initiatives. One of her greatest passions is developing and maintaining relationships across organizations and boundaries, facilitating consensus among diverse parties, and demonstrating strong active listening, problem solving, and decision-making abilities.

“It’s great to be working with the team here in Arlington,” said Ms. Sheppard. “I look forward to building upon the existing technology foundation to continue to provide, and evolve, a wide range of technology and services for the Town and District.”

Born and raised in Boston, Ms. Sheppard holds a B.A., from Wellesley College, a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, and an Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. In her free time, Patricia is an avid yoga and fitness enthusiast.

The CIO is appointed by and works under the direction of the Town Manager and Deputy Town Manager/Finance Director and works under the direction of the Superintendent of Schools on school related IT projects.

This press release was produced by Town of Arlington. The views expressed here are the author’s own.