William J. Walders, 2014 Honoree
- Title
- CIO
- Employer
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
- Location
- Bethesda, Md.
- How many times have you had to reinvent yourself in your career?
- I've made three significant moves -- from nuclear submarine electrical engineer to Navy IT specialist to healthcare IT. Each time I had phenomenal mentors, surrounded myself with smart people and read everything possible -- trade journals, white papers, everything.
- Skills you'll hire for this year:
- Within our IT team, we will be looking to hire in the strategy, communications and mobility specialties.
- A career highlight:
- I stood on the ocean floor once, which was interesting considering how deep it was. However, the most rewarding thing I've ever done was offer humanitarian IT support to hospitals in the nine Central and South American countries that the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort visited during the Continuing Promise operation. I was able to coordinate support, teams and vendor donations -- and we were able to make a difference.