Governor Sherrill Appoints Kevin Dehmer to Serve as New Jersey’s Chief Technology Officer
February 2, 2026, 3:57 pm | in
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2, 2026
Governor Sherrill Appoints Kevin Dehmer to Serve as New Jersey’s Chief Technology Officer
TRENTON – Governor Mikie Sherrill today announced Kevin Dehmer as her pick to be the state’s next Chief Technology Officer, overseeing the New Jersey Office of Information Technology. As Chief Technology Officer, Dehmer will advance the modernization of New Jersey's digital infrastructure, improve the efficiency and transparency of the state permitting process, adopt technologies to clear licensure backlogs and reduce wait times, and strengthen our cybersecurity capabilities against AI-driven challenges to position New Jersey for long-term success.
“I am pleased to announce Kevin Dehmer as my choice to lead the New Jersey Office of Information Technology. Kevin is a trusted and experienced public servant who has dedicated his career to strengthening our state’s nation-leading public education system. In doing so, he has implemented impressive reforms to modernize New Jersey’s education data systems,” said Governor Sherrill. “I look forward to working with Kevin to institute similar modernization efforts across our state’s digital infrastructure. Improving how our state government uses technology is fundamental to eliminating bureaucracy and saving our residents time and money.”
“As a lifelong public servant, I am honored for the opportunity to continue serving New Jersey as the state’s Chief Technology Officer. I look forward to supportingGovernor Sherrill’s efforts to bolster our state’s digital infrastructure, ensuring state agencies can serve New Jersey residents more effectively and efficiently while also maintaining a strong emphasis on cybersecurity,” said Kevin Dehmer.
Since 2024, Dehmer has served as Commissioner of the Department of Education, where he implemented statewide education policy for more than 600 public school districts and administered more than a third of the state’s overall budget to support public schools. During his time as Commissioner, Dehmer led a comprehensive redesign of the state’s educational data systems to advance research, program evaluation, and improve data quality.
Previously, Dehmer served as the Executive Director and Senior Researcher at the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, where he led a nationally recognized research center, managed a multidisciplinary team, and expanded the technical capacity of the New Jersey Statewide Data System. Earlier in his career, he spent more than 15 years at the Department of Education in a variety of leadership roles, including Assistant Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer of the New Jersey Department of Education, and also served as Interim Commissioner twice.
Dehmer earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from St. John’s University and a master's degree in public policy from Rutgers University, where he was also a Graduate Fellow at the Eagleton Institute.
