Chief Data Officer Christie Burris and the N.C. 911 Board’s Next Generation 911 project have received honors in the peer-voted State Scoop 50 Awards, which recognizes leaders in state government IT and innovative projects that advance government operations and citizen services.
Burris won in the State Leadership of the Year category, which recognizes public-sector principals helping government implement new technologies, strategies and IT programs. The Next Generation 911 project, spearheaded by the N.C. 911 Board, won in the State IT Innovation category, which recognizes cutting-edge state IT approaches to cross-agency or intra-agency technology that embrace innovation.
Members of the state and local IT community cast more than 1.25 million votes from Feb. 19 through March 14 to select this year’s 50 winners from 21 states. The awards will be presented at a reception during the National Association of State Chief Information Officers’ midyear conference in Philadelphia.
Read on to learn more about Burris and Next Generation 911.
Christie Burris
Appointed chief data officer and director of the N.C. Government Data Analytics Center in January 2024, Burris has advanced a strategic vision for data governance, sharing and analytics to improve outcomes for state government and the people it serves.
She has adopted a new strategic mission for NCDIT’s Enterprise Data Office to be a trusted partner for state agencies and leaders to build a data-driven government and execute data-based policy- and decision-making.
Previously, as executive director of the N.C. Health Information Exchange Authority, Burris oversaw the development of the state-designated health information exchange into a mature, modernized system, with a fivefold increase in participants. She strengthened partnerships to exchange health care data with agencies and the private sector and oversaw two technology platform upgrades, a security assessment and the development of population health and analytic services for the health care community.
Next Generation 911
The N.C. 911 Board has modernized the state’s 911 system, so everyone in North Carolina can quickly reach emergency services regardless of location or communication technology. All 124 public safety answering points that receive board funding are part of the Next Generation 911 network. In November 2018, Durham 911 was the first in the nation to join Next Generation 911.
Using a managed IP network called AT&T ESInet™, Next Generation 911 securely routes landline and cell calls and text messages to the appropriate PSAP based on location. Every PSAP on the network can serve as a backup for others. The Network Monitoring and Assistance Center is the nation’s first to continuously monitor the statewide network.
Next Generation 911’s resiliency and redundancy were proven during Hurricane Helene as 19 PSAPS in western NC rerouted calls to 23 PSAPs across the state. There were no reports of 911 calls not being delivered. Over Sept. 26-28, 2024, telecommunicators answered nearly 90,000 calls statewide, 55% more than the year prior.