4.22.2022 Ruth Lutero Appointed City of Gaithersburg Information Technology Director

Gaithersburg, Maryland (April 22, 2022) Gaithersburg City Manager Tanisha Briley announced the appointment of Maria Ruszala Lutero Venus (Ruth Lutero) as Director of Gaithersburg's Department of Information Technology. The position has been vacant since the retirement of Pete Cottrell in October of 2021. Business Systems Division Manager Brian Helms has been serving as Acting Director in the interim. 

"We are delighted that Ruth will be returning to the east coast and sharing her considerable experience with the City of Gaithersburg," said Tanisha Briley. "While the current job market has extended this search process beyond what we anticipated, we are thrilled that a strong candidate with such a broad background will be joining our team. We look forward to unique contributions that will continue Gaithersburg's reputation for excellent service to our residents."

"Being an IT Director in the city I love is a dream come true. Gaithersburg is vibrant and beautiful with a heart of a very diverse population," said Ruth Lutero. "Also, as an IT professional, I am proud that we have NIST in our neighborhood."

Ruth has more than 15 years of local government experience and more than six years working in the private sector for a global technology consulting firm. She is currently the Enterprise Systems Senior Manager for the County of Ventura, California, where she led teams to modernize the County's Enterprise GIS as a digital platform.

Previous local government experience saw her serving as the IT Program Manager for Orange County, California, the Software Applications Department Manager for Frederick County, Maryland, and Principal Architect, Project Manager and Finance IT Specialist for Montgomery County, Maryland. In the private sector, Ruth served as the Information Technology Manager, Global Delivery Lead for Accenture, with experiences that include the design of flexible data architecture and integration patterns, enterprise data warehouse, global responsive web, and mobile applications operations and security.

Ruth holds a Master of Science in Information Systems from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a Postgraduate Studies in Healthcare Information Technology from George Washington University. She received a Montgomery County Best Employee Service Award (2003-2005) and the National Association of Counties Award for Government Process Innovation Projects (2003-2006).

Gaithersburg's Director of Information Technology is appointed by the City Manager and oversees a department of 15 full time equivalent positions with an approved FY22 operating budget of $2.36 million. Primary functions include Project Management, Server/Network Operations, Systems Integration and Development, Technical Administration, Technical Research Planning, Telecommunications, Helpdesk, Geographic Information Systems, and Technical and Information Security. Ruth is relocating from California and is expected to begin on June 27, 2022.

For more information, please contact the Gaithersburg City Manager's office at 301-258-6310 or visit the City's website at www.gaithersburgmd.gov.