Katie Kahler has accepted the position of chief of staff in the Office of the CIO. Kahler has served as a senior project manager in Information Technology Services since 2017. She will onboard to her new role this month and officially transition on Jan. 3. Kahler’s hire follows a competitive national search.

As chief of staff, Kahler will provide support and counsel on complex strategic and operational issues for OneIT. She will coordinate projects and activities between senior directors, administrative and collegiate IT directors, administrators, and other stakeholders. She will manage OneIT's planning, roadmap, and prioritization processes and champion key leadership initiatives. The role involves strategic planning, managing organizational change, internal communication, and coordinating cross-functional IT activities.

Kahler’s experience in project management, constituent relations, communication, and change management has prepared her to succeed in this role. As a senior project manager in ITS, Kahler is involved in strategic planning and roadmap development, and has architected prioritization and change-management processes. She has helped bring more than 45 complex projects to fruition, including enterprise border firewall implementation and the SPARK experiential learning program. She led the disaster-recovery initiative and co-chaired the IT Leadership Development Team. In these efforts, she collaborated with leadership, administration, and stakeholders throughout ITS and campus, building strong relationships that will be important for this position.

Prior to joining ITS, Kahler worked at the UI Alumni Association as director of communications, membership, and marketing, and at the UI Foundation as associate director of events for health sciences. She also has experience as a government liaison and certified public information officer, and in lobbying. Kahler has a degree in communication studies from the UI.

"Please join me in congratulating Katie," says Associate Vice President and CIO Steve Fleagle. "I believe she is perfectly suited for the chief of staff role and I am very much looking forward to working with her in this new capacity."