FEMA gets CIO; DHS loses chief of staff

Tony Cira, who served as vice president of programs and operations for AT&T in Washington, D.C., from 2000 to 2004, has been named chief information officer of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to an announcement from the Homeland Security Department.Cira joined FEMA in 2005 after serving as executive director of infrastructure operations at the DHS’ Office of the Chief Information Officer, where he was responsible for the daily operations of a large wide-area network for both classified and unclassified data. He also oversaw a global e-mail system, a data center and a LAN environment supporting the DHS executive staff, according to a DHS statement.Cira was assistant vice president of defense programs at AT&T from 1998-2000, and district manager of the resource plans and analysis division from1995-1998. Earlier in his career, Cira worked at the Defense Information Systems Agency.DHS also announced the resignation of Chief of Staff John Wood. He resigned Nov. 22 for unspecified reasons.According to a statement from Secretary Michael Chertoff, Wood joined the Bush administration in 2001 as deputy associate attorney general and counsel to the associate attorney general. He helped manage the Justice Department’s five civil litigating divisions. He also served as deputy general counsel for the Office of Management and Budget, where he worked on the administration’s major legislative, regulatory, management and appropriations initiatives, according to a DHS statement.He joined DHS in February 2005 to help integrate the department’s components and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the department, Chertoff said. “I will miss John personally and professionally and wish him well in his future endeavors," Chertoff said. "I look forward to continuing our friendship. John has ably served at my side since my earliest days at the department. He is a trusted friend and colleague, on whom I have counted on for wise counsel on the most critical issues that we face and for his leadership in managing the day-to-day business of the department.”