Working in public sector IT today isn’t for the faint of heart.
Systems are aging. Cybersecurity threats are on the rise. Billion-dollar tech companies are gobbling up talent and city budgets are shrinking.
For Ryon Saenz, deputy chief information officer for the city of Alexandria, Virginia, the challenges are part of the fun.
“Challenges are always opportunities that have yet to present themselves,” he said.
But if opportunities didn’t present themselves, it’s likely Saenz, a recipient of the 2024 Exemplary Public Servant award, would go out and find them anyway.
“He is a meticulous, passionate, and caring leader who pushes all around him to excel and deliver exceptional results,” Alexandria CIO Vanetta Pledger wrote in nominating Saenz for the recognition last year.
Starting at the service desk and working his way to deputy CIO for the city, Saenz has been a key force in strengthening the city’s cybersecurity, standardizing processes like single sign-on for all the city’s applications, adding banners for external emails to curb phishing attacks and doubling down on security awareness training for city staff.
“We had the tools, we just had to give our folks the space and time to really focus on leveraging these tools and how we work,” he said.
Saenz said he worked to achieve buy-in from stakeholders by “getting them excited” to learn new skills.
“This is stuff they can apply in their everyday lives, for family and friends as well, right?,” he said.
Saenz is a master of his craft, holding multiple technical certifications. But at the end of the day, he views technology as simply a tool. He believes that intentionality and prioritization when using that tool are essential.
“Cybersecurity doesn't need to just be technology,” he said. “It can be people and process, like how our process is working.”
That human-centric view also comes into play when recruiting. Alexandria was already competing with nearby federal agencies for technical talent when Amazon’s HQ2 opened in Arlington, Virginia, in 2023.
“We can't compete with compensation,” he said, “but we can certainly compete with purpose.”
Inspired by “The Ideal Team Player,” a book by business consultant Patrick Lencioni, Saenz seeks out candidates who are “humble, hungry and smart.”
“Technical can be taught, but it's these traits of being humble, right?” he said. “Humble is not being meek in meetings, but being willing to listen to others.”
Saenz’s own passion for the work has also been pivotal in driving recruitment efforts, according to Pledger.
“Staff feel validated, appreciated, and know how their work is making a difference for people in the community we serve,” Pledger wrote.
Part of Saenz’s love for working in local government is the daily variety.
“You get a lot of exposure to the things that you may not necessarily get in other organizations,” he said. “And with that comes a lot of responsibilities. But I think that's really thrilling, and I feed off of that kind of challenge.”
It’s perhaps no surprise that Saenz’s other favorite part of his role is the people.
“I'm not going to remember all these projects we have done,” he said. “I'm going to remember the people and, hopefully, doing as best as possible to make sure that they have grown as people first, and professionals second.”
“You know, technology is just technology,” he adds. “It's the people behind it that bring the value.”
