Executive Biographies

Amanda Crawford is the Executive Director of DIR and serves as the Chief Information Officer for the State of Texas. In this role, she is responsible for the overall leadership, direction, and daily operations of DIR, an agency with an annual fiscal profile of more than $4 billion per year. DIR's responsibilities include protecting the state's data and critical technology infrastructure, managing a multi-billion dollar cooperative contracts program, and providing strategic technology leadership, solutions, and innovation to all levels of Texas government. Under Mandy’s leadership, DIR led the state’s successful response to the 2019 ransomware attack that affected over 20 local government entities in Texas and secured the transition to the next-generation suite of managed IT services offered through DIR’s Shared Technology Services program.

Prior to leading the team at DIR, Mandy served at the Office of the Attorney General of Texas (OAG) for more than 17 years. She held various positions at the OAG, including ultimately serving for two and a half years as the Deputy Attorney General for Administration and General Counsel. Mandy also served as a faculty member for the National Attorneys General Training Research Institute’s Center for Leadership Development, teaching managerial leadership across the country.

Mandy earned her B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin and her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center. She is a graduate of the Governor’s Center for Executive Development through the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. 

Steve Pier is the Deputy Executive Director at DIR. He has served the State of Texas as a House of Representatives staffer and with three agencies before coming to DIR. Steve has over 20 years of experience working with governments and international organizations at the state and national level in areas such as: governmental relations; communications; management and leadership; and strategic initiatives. He has a bachelor’s degree from Miami University with a double major in Philosophy and Political Science.

Hershel Becker joined DIR in July 2016 and serves as the Chief Procurement Officer. He is responsible for overseeing and directing procurement and contracting functions for DIR’s Enterprise and Cooperative Contracts. Hershel has over 30 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. Prior to assuming his current role, Hershel served as the Deputy Director for Contract Operations at the Texas Office of the Attorney General where he directed all major outsourcing initiatives for the Child Support Division. He was also responsible for operations of the outsourced services.  While there, he represented the Office of the Attorney General on the state’s Contract Advisory Team for eight years. Prior to his state service, Hershel worked for management consulting, technology services and outsourcing companies, where he spent the majority of his career providing technology-related services to the state of Texas. Hershel holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Sam Houston State University. ​ 

John Ellis serves as the Chief Compliance and Risk Officer for DIR. In that role, he helps DIR staff develop and execute policies, standard operating procedures, and business strategies that prioritize excellence in compliance with legal and ethical standards. He is also responsible for analyzing DIR’s risk portfolio, risk tolerance, and risk culture to develop insights that empower DIR to make better business decisions. His state service began with the Office of the Attorney General, where he held several roles at various times as Chief of the General Counsel Division, Special Counsel to the First Assistant Attorney General, and Associate Deputy Attorney General for Policy and Communications. Prior to his state service, he served as legal counsel in the United States Senate. John has an undergraduate degree from the University of North Texas and a J.D. from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.  

John Hoffman serves as the Deputy State Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer for DIR. John joined the DIR team in 2010 and has held various roles within the agency in network and security. He is responsible for providing comprehensive strategic planning for the state's technology efforts as well as the agency. John oversees DIR's reporting such as the State Strategic Plan for Information Resource Managers and the Biennial Performance Review. John and the CTO team also ensure strategic development of contracts and services which DIR offers including enterprise architecture, application management, innovation, and technology implementation. John brings over 30 years of experience in the technology sector. He has held positions in operations, program management, planning, acquisition, integration, real estate and sales. John holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri and a Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.

Lisa Jammer is the Chief People and Culture Officer at DIR. In this role, she leads the vision, strategy, development, and execution of talent and culture management programs to advance the agency’s mission, vision, and core value statements. She has 19 years of human resources experience with 11 of those years in Texas state government. Prior to state service, Lisa served in a variety of human resource, treasury, and accounting roles with Indeed, Waste Management, and Continental Airlines.

Lisa has a Master of Science in Human Resource Development from the University of Houston, Bachelor of Science in Business Management. She is a Certified Diversity Professional and has successfully earned the PHR and SHRM-CP designations.

Nancy Rainosek is the Chief Information Security Officer for the State of Texas. She has over 35 years of IT experience in Texas state government and private sector consulting. Prior to joining DIR, she served as the deputy Chief Information Security Officer and the Enterprise Security Operations Manager for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. She was an IT Audit Manager and Information Resource Manager at the Texas State Auditor's Office. Nancy has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Management Information Systems from Texas State University. 

Dale Richardson serves as the Chief Operations Officer for DIR.  Dale has operational responsibility for the Shared Technology Services (STS), Communications Technology Services (CTS), and Portfolio Project Management programs at DIR.  He joined the state in 2013 as the Director over the Data Center Services (DCS) program. Dale was instrumental in leading the DCS program to new heights in terms of meeting contract service level agreements and customer satisfaction for state agencies participating in the program. Before joining state government, Dale's career spanned over 30 years in the information technology and telecommunications industries. Serving in several leadership positions, primarily in engineering and operations, Dale brings a demonstrated ability to lead organizational teams on planning, engineering, constructing, and operating advanced networks and data center operations. Dale holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Management degree from The University of Texas at Austin. 

Endi Silva is the Director of Program Development. She coordinates and promotes DIR program development activities and establishes DIR customer experience and outreach strategies. She started her state government career as a research specialist with the Texas Senate Research Center before joining the DIR team as a policy analyst in 2013.  She was previously DIR's Director of Technology Planning, Policy, and Governance. Born and raised in El Paso, TX, Endi graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Texas at El Paso with degrees in Theater Arts and History. 

Brady Vaughn serves as the Director of Budget and Public Affairs for DIR. In this role, he oversees budget and legislative affairs for the state’s technology agency.

Brady has more than a decade of work experience in Texas’ state budget process, government, and political campaigns. Prior to joining DIR, he worked in the Office of the Attorney General’s Government Relations Division and spent five sessions in the Texas Legislature, with the majority of that time in the House Appropriations and Senate Finance committees.

Brady graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration - International Business. 

Nick Villalpando is DIR's Chief Financial Officer. Nick, a Certified Public Accountant with over 28 years of experience, joined DIR's finance division in May 2010. In April 2011 Nick accepted the position of DIR Interim Chief Financial Officer and was then promoted to Chief Financial Officer. Nick is responsible for leading DIR's finance, budget, accounting, and human resources functions. His responsibilities include ensuring that DIR fees are set at levels consistent with cost-recovery principles, forecasting customer demand for DIR services, providing support to customer agencies as they develop their budget requests, and ensuring the competitive pricing of DIR services. 

Prior to joining DIR, Nick held management and senior management positions at the State Auditor’s Office and in public accounting.  Nick earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting degree and a Master’s in Professional Accounting degree from The University of Texas at Austin.  He is also a graduate of the Governor’s Center for Executive Development through the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin.