Peace Corps CIO exits after 3 months

The IT office at the Peace Corps is undergoing a leadership shakeup.

Rick Endres, who took over as Peace Corps CIO in October, is no longer in the position, an agency spokesperson confirmed. Deputy CIO Scott Knell, who served as the agency's acting CIO from January through October 2017, is once again acting CIO.

The agency's CIO is charged with managing a global network and infrastructure that includes the D.C. headquarters and overseas posts that support staff and more than 7,400 volunteers worldwide. The Trump administration is requesting $31.2 million for Peace Corps OCIO operations for FY2019, down from $42 million in 2017. The agency's overall budget request is $396 million.

The agency is currently in the midst of a technology refresh designed to retire legacy operations. According to the 2019 budget request, that effort is 79 percent complete. In a FY2018 goal update, the agency noted that "Retaining and hiring quality IT professionals will be key to increasing momentum during FY 2018."

Given the challenge of providing IT services to such a far-flung and diverse network of users and offices, the Peace Corps has historically had trouble when it comes to IT security and tech management challenges. In a fiscal year 2017 audit, the agency's inspector general reported the Peace Corps "lacks an effective information security program," and found IT security problems relating to "people, processes, technology and culture."