Do You Know Enough to Ask the Right Questions?

Chad Goodhue

Director of Information Technology for the

City of Richland, Washington

“IT Is Public Safety”

Do You Know Enough to Ask the Right Questions?

If you serve on a city council, school board, county commission, or other governing body, you probably don’t know how to defend your organization against a cyberattack.

Nor should you.

That’s the job of professionals.

But suppose those professionals came to you tomorrow and said your systems had been compromised.

Would you know what questions to ask?

Would you understand which public services were at risk?

Would you know how prepared your organization was to keep functioning?

Would you know whether the people responsible for protecting those systems had what they needed?

And here’s the question that stopped me:

Who ultimately owns that risk?

I put these questions to Chad Goodhue, Director of Information Technology for the City of Richland, Washington, who has spent more than 25 years working in public-sector technology.

We talked about ransomware, AI, public meetings, budgets, emergency preparedness, and even why something a council member posts on social media might matter to someone looking for a way into the organization. 

But you don’t need to understand cybersecurity to benefit from this conversation.

You need to understand your responsibility for governing it.

That’s why I think this episode is especially worth hearing if you serve on a council or board.

Listen now to “IT Is Public Safety” with Richland, Washington IT Director Chad Goodhue.

 --------

An Invitation to Share Your Leadership Story

Community Catalysts is built on the belief that some of the most valuable leadership insights are earned quietly, through real service in real communities.

If you serve in a civic leadership role—and you’d be open to sharing hard-won lessons from your own experience—I invite you to consider being a guest on a future episode.

You can learn more and volunteer by completing a brief guest questionnaire at:www.CatalystGuest.us 

Every submission is reviewed personally. Your story may help another leader see their own work more clearly, or feel less alone in the responsibilities they carry.

Thank you for the work you do—and for considering this invitation.