JW Hodge, left, and Kannaiah Vadlakunta.
Courtesy Photos
The City of Reno on May 3 announced the hire of JW Hodge as Director of the Office of Policy and Strategy. In the role, Hodge will oversee strategic planning and ensure progress on strategic goals, policy development, federal, state and local government affairs, special projects, and additional managerial support to the City Manager.
Hodge comes to the City of Reno from Renown Health, where he worked as Administrative Director and Area Practice Manager of Primary and Urgent Care.
Previously, Hodge spent 13 years with REMSA as the Chief Operating Officer (2017-18), Director of Public and Government Affairs (2016-17), and Manager of Education and Community Engagement (2005-16).
“The opportunity to work on and support the important projects and policy work underway is exciting, and I’m looking forward to helping lead strategy and policy decisions at the City of Reno as part of my new role,” Hodge said in a statement.
Hodge holds a B.S. in Healthcare Administration from Columbia Southern University, graduating Summa Cum Laude, and a Credential of Readiness from Harvard Business School.
“JW brings to the City of Reno a diverse skill set from his many years in the healthcare industry, and he’s a strong addition to our team,” City Manager Doug Thornley said in a statement. “JW is going to help us with agenda management for City Council meetings, coordinating all of our boards and commissions, and ensuring that the whole team knows which levers to pull and buttons to push so that our organization is best positioned to move our strategic goals forward.”
Meanwhile, on May 11, the City of Reno announced the hire of Kannaiah Vadlakunta as the Director of the Department of Information Technology.
In the role, Vadlakunta directs, manages, supervises and oversees activities and operations of the Information Technology department; coordinates assigned activities with other divisions, departments, and outside agencies; and provides administrative support to the City Manager.
Vadlakunta comes to the City of Reno from the Nevada Department of Taxation, where he was Deputy Executive Director of Information Technology since August 2014.
“I’m very excited to join the City of Reno,” Vadlakunta said in a statement. “Technology is crucial to our internal and external communications and how we reach our employees and residents. I’m honored to be leading that effort for the City of Reno.”
Prior to the Nevada Department of Taxation, Vadlakunta was the Enterprise Solution Architect/Supervisor for the Secretary of State in Carson City (2010-14), and he spent seven years (2003-10) as a Senior Net Web Developer/Team Leader for the Nevada Department of Transportation.
“Kannaiah has a wealth of knowledge in information technology and is a welcome addition to our team,” Thornley said in a press release. “His 24-year career in IT spans public and private sector efforts across the globe. Kannaiah will bring a fresh set of eyes to the way we approach technology and will be instrumental in helping us streamline processes and accomplish our technology goals.”
Vadlakunta holds a Master of Information Management from Western Nevada Governors University and a Bachelor of Engineering from Bengaluru University.
