Advisory Board

David Behen brings a distinctive mix of public service and entrepreneurial spirit to his role as Michigan's chief information officer. As CIO, Behen is an executive-level leader of the Department of Technology, Management & Budget, which provides the full range of information, technology, business and administrative services to Michigan’s citizens and businesses as well as 17 state agencies with 47,000 state employees.

As former CIO and deputy administrator of Washtenaw County, he directed the operations of 14 departments with 1,300 employees. He championed an e-government initiative to provide citizens with around-the-clock access to government services, including Web-based services, e-commerce and e-democracy. Under Behen's leadership, the county twice received CIO Magazine's CIO 100 Award as one of the top 100 public/private IT programs and was named six times among the nation’s top 10 digital counties.

Behen earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science in Public Administration degree from Eastern Michigan University.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson appointed Phil Bertolini as Deputy County Executive/CIO for Oakland County in January 2005. Prior to that, Bertolini served as Oakland County’s Director of Information Technology. He began his career with Oakland County in 1988 with the Equalization Division.

Bertolini is a vocal advocate for cloud and enterprise solutions in government, cross-boundary resource sharing, and inter-jurisdictional cooperation. He has overseen the development of unique government technology programs such as the G2G Cloud Solutions Initiative, the G2G Marketplace and the Cyber Security Assessment for Everyone (CySAFE) initiative. He has also created successful models that can be implemented by other governments interested in improving operations while containing costs. Bertolini has traveled extensively to speak about eGovernment best practices and has authored a growing collection of resources to help other organizations modernize IT within today’s rapidly changing technology landscape. He has promoted his philosophy of “Build it once, pay for it once, and everybody benefits” to many other government agencies, including those within the U.S. and others as far off as Australia and Dubai.

Bertolini received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Telecommunications from Michigan State University. He resides in Oakland County with his wife and two children.

You can find more information about Oakland County’s initiatives at www.oakgov.com, www.g2gcloud.com and www.g2gmarket.com.

Stacey Caster is Director of Telecommunications at Quicken Loans and the family of companies. Telecommunications is a key avenue for Quicken Loans to connect with their clients as it continues to be the leader in online lending and multi-year award winning best place to work in IT. Prior to joining Quicken Loans, Stacey was Director of Infrastructure Operations at DTE Energy. This included responsibility for all back-end infrastructure for over 10,000 employees who serve 3.1 million customers in southeastern Michigan. Elevating others and helping them achieve their potential has always been a passion of Stacey’s. Besides teaching earlier in her career at Schoolcraft College, she recognized mentoring values. As a prior mentee of the We Build Character (WBC) program, Stacey has also been an active volunteer, mentor, and sponsor of the program. Stacey received her Bachelors in Computer Information Systems and her Masters in Organizational Management. She is a long time resident of southeast Michigan. She enjoys running, golf, and outdoor activities with her husband and four children.

As an award-winning, high-performance technology management executive with more than 22 years of experience across multiple industries and on a global scale, Ms. Chamarthi knows what it takes to create sustainable business outcomes through technology. At the foundation of her success is an extraordinary ability to unify and build collaborations across a broad range of stakeholders and all lines of business. Her focus is on innovation, transformation, productivity, and the customer experience with a goal of creating strong financial returns, competitive advantages, and employee and customer engagement. As a transformation leader, she is no stranger to turning underperforming organizations and teams into star achievers.

Ms. Chamarthi offers strong credentials with two M.B.A. degrees, a Master’s in Computer Science, and a Master’s Certificate in Project Management.

In addition to many corporate awards, Ms. Chamarthi has been recognized as a “Top 25 Finalist for Breakthrough Leaders” from CIO Magazine and a “Premier 100 IT Leader” from Computer World, and serves as an active leader on several Boards of technology-related nonprofit organizations.

She is currently the Vice-President and CIO of TRW Automotive, headquartered in Livonia, Michigan.

Timothy Cox is a retired information technology executive and professional engineer. His career included stints as Chief Information Officer, as well as IT leadership roles in product development and software development organizations, and numerous IT consulting and mechanical engineering activities.

Over 15 years with General Motors, Mr. Cox served as the Process Information Officer for Global Product Development. Mr. Cox was the CIO for GM OnStar, GM’s telematics subsidiary, and also held the position of Director for Global Systems Integration where he led the global software development factory for GM’s Product Development organization, as well as several other IT software development and standards organizations.

Prior to GM, Mr. Cox served for 15 years in various IT consulting, management, and systems engineering roles with the IBM Corporation, working with multiple automotive OEMs, automotive suppliers, and a wide variety of other industries.

Mr. Cox has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. In 2008, he was recognized by Computerworld Magazine as a Top 100 IT Leader.

Danielle DeLonge is an IT Consulting Manager with Plante Moran in Southfield, where she helps companies leverage their technology spend. She is a certified project manager and Salesforce Administrator, and knows firsthand the benefits of mentoring.

Prior to joining Plante Moran, Danielle was a Salesforce Consultant at Xede Consulting. Earlier in her career, she also managed the Lansing campus of Davenport University, where she created partnerships with the local community college and corporate groups to further student development. She has also sold corporate training, worked in the financial services industry and managed a statewide network of technology professionals. Danielle is the co-creator of We Build Character’s mentoring program.

Ronia Kruse is the founder and President/CEO of OpTech, LLC, an award-winning information technology and engineering staffing and solutions firm based in Michigan. Since founding OpTech, Kruse has received numerous awards for her leadership, community involvement and public policy initiatives. Prior to starting OpTech, Kruse served as an international tax consultant for Deloitte & Touche, LLC and as an auditor for Fortune 500 firms at Coopers & Lybrand. Kruse, a Certified Public Accountant, holds both a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Science in Taxation from Wayne State University in Detroit. In her spare time, Kruse enjoys golfing, physical fitness and running.  She currently resides with her husband and three daughters in southeast Michigan.

Sue McGuire is an experienced IT executive and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience across numerous industries.  As the Founder and Managing Partner of a business consulting firm, Barking Dog IT, LLC, Ms. McGuire assists organizations improve their technology strategies and business processes.   Serving since 2014 on the Managing Board of We Build Character, she has helped to develop the next generation of executive leaders. 

Ms. McGuire has held senior leadership positions with a variety of organization, disciplines and technologies, including Michigan Conference of Teamsters Welfare Fund, Thetford Corporation, American Community Mutual Insurance Company and Carhartt, Inc..   In these roles, she was responsible for the organization’s business systems development, support, technical architecture and strategy. 

In addition to her role as Vice President for We Build Character, Ms. McGuire has served as CIO mentor in their executive mentorship programs since its inception.    

Ms. McGuire holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Information Systems and Accounting from Ferris State University.