On behalf of the Fellows of the DFW Chapter of the Society of Information Management I am very pleased to announce that Nellson Burns and Peter Vogel have been selected as the newest members of the Fellows.  Please join me in congratulating them on this wonderful honor.

Nellson joined our chapter in 2008.  Two years after that he volunteered for and was accepted onto the Chapter’s Board.  He has been on the Board since that time providing his leadership to the chapter in the roles of:

  • Member-at-Large
  • Marketing and Public Relations Chair
  • Vice-President
  • President
  • Immediate Past-President
  • …and now as Sponsorship Chair (beginning this year)

Nellson is a stanch supporter of SIM and its programs.  Anyone who has ever worked with, or even been around Nellson, knows that his energy and enthusiasm for SIM and its members are infectious.

Nelson is a 1998 graduate of Texas A&M University.  He worked at Ernst & Young and Capgemini before spending a decade as VP/IT for the HollyFrontier Corporation.  Nelson is now CIO and VP, Information Technology, for Daltile.

Peter has also been a long-time member of SIM, and is the only licensed lawyer in our membership.  However Peter was not always a lawyer in his professional career.  He graduated college with a Masters in Computer Science from American University and was a working IT professional like many in our chapter.  After several years working in the mainframe world Peter returned to school, obtained his JD from St. Mary’s University School of Law, passed his bar exam, and (lucky for us all) began his legal career as a specialist at the intersection of IT and law.

A fact that many may not be aware: Peter was one of the pioneers in the legal profession when it came to writing and publishing a weekly blog.  The first issue of his “Internet, IT, and e-Discovery” blog was posted in August, 2008.  This year will mark 14 years of his weekly postings.

Currently, Peter is Of Counsel with the Foley & Lardner law firm, which he joined in February 1992 and will celebrate 30 years in the legal discipline next month.  Among his many interests and involvements, Peter is most recently a founding member of the Working Group on Blockchain for the State of Texas.

Both Nellson and Peter continue their contributions to SIM, both at the national SIM organization level as well as at our local DFW chapter level.  We certainly would not be the chapter that we are today if not for their dedicated service and valued contributions.  Please join me in congratulating both Nellson and Peter!

Chris Feola, Fellows Chair

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The DFW Chapter of the Society of Information Management formed the Fellows in 2013 to focus the leadership and guidance of the Chapter’s most senior members.  To be considered for a Fellowship, SIM members must be a member in good standing of SIM for a minimum of 12 years, with the last five being in the DFW chapter.  Candidates must have three terms as a SIM board, committee, or program member, and participated in at least one SIM International activity.  Candidates who meet this criteria must first be vetted by the chapter’s Executive Board and their recommendations are then passed to the sitting Fellows for final consideration.  The current SIM DFW Fellows are: Jack Becker, Kevin Campbell, John Cole, Chris Feola, Andrew Jackson, Debbie Jowers, Leon Kappelman, Janis O’Bryan, Ulrike Schultze, Caren Shiozaki, Mark Snyder, and Mark Urbis.  …and now, Nellson Burns and Peter Vogel!

In total, the DFW Chapter Fellows represent over 300 years of SIM membership.

For additional information on the DFW SIM Chapter Fellows please contact Chris Feola, Fellows Chair, at chris@feolayden.com.