Title
Vice President, IT & CIO
Company
Urban Institute
Bio
Khuloud Odeh is vice president for information technology (IT) and chief information officer (CIO) at the Urban Institute, where she leads the strategic planning and implementation of research, operations, and communications technology. Odeh is not your typical technologist: she brings a unique blend of education, IT organization leadership, change management experience, and understanding of global and local sustainability challenges. Over the course of her career, she has helped various organizations develop and implement strategic IT roadmaps that align with and support business process improvements, innovation, and organizational growth. Before joining Urban, Odeh was IT director for the Grameen Foundation, a global poverty-fighting organization. She served previously as the CIO of CHF International (now Global Communities) and as senior IT advisor to Jhpeigo’s Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program. Odeh has a BS in computer science from the University of Jordan in Amman, Jordan; an MS in computer science from American University; and a PhD in information technology from George Mason University, where her research focused on the social, environmental, and economic sustainability of an IT organization’s practices. She also has a master’s degree in strategic leadership toward sustainability from the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Sweden, where her research focused on the enabling role of IT and broadband connectivity in sustainable urban development.