Utilizing his depth of IT knowledge, an innovative mindset, and the ability to create high-performing teams, Mr. Blanco has delivered key departmental accomplishments since being promoted to the role of HHS Chief Information Officer in August 2019, including delivering remote technology solutions to 40,000+ employees during COVID, and a consolidation of almost 900 servers into the State’s Data Center Services program.
Before Mr. Blanco moved to his current role, he served as HHS Chief Technology Officer, where he provided strategic direction of technology by identifying the role specific technologies play in the agency’s business improvement and future growth, established current and long-range direction of technology aimed at keeping the organization on the forefront of innovation, and provided architectural consultation and guidance in strategic operations and planning
Before transitioning to HHS, Mr. Blanco served at the Texas Department of State Health for 12 years where he held a variety of roles including responsibility for the daily IT operations of eleven state hospitals, ten regional headquarters, 113 field offices, and 588 WIC Field Sites supporting 13,000+ state employees.
Mr. Blanco practices value-based leadership and is known for his ability to support mission-critical activities, infrastructure and IT services, including telecommunications and data operations that impact various areas of the agency.
He is a graduate of the ELITE (Executive Leadership for Information Technology Excellence) program at the University of Texas at Austin Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology cybersecurity professional development program.

Dustin Haisler is the Chief Innovation Officer for e.Republic. As Chief Innovation Officer, he has a strategic role to help shape the company’s products, services, and future direction. Primarily, he leads e.Republic Labs, a market connector created as an ecosystem to educate, accelerate, and ultimately scale technology innovation within the public sector. Dustin began he career at a very young age as the finance director and later CIO for Manor, TX, a small city outside Austin. He quickly built a track record and national reputation as an early innovator in civic tech, for which he was named a Government Technology Top 25 Doer, Dreamer and Driver in 2009. A member of Code for America’s original steering committee, Dustin pioneered government use of commercial technologies not before used in the public sector – including Quick-Response (QR) barcodes, crowdsourcing, and gamification. Dustin went on to the private sector to help broaden the adoption of these and other civic innovations. His work has been featured in Wired, Fast Company, the Wall Street Journal, Inc., and the Today Show on NBC. An in-demand speaker, he has given two TEDx speeches – one on Disrupting Government (TEDxAustin) and the other on Disrupting Education (TEDxLivermore).