As director of information services, Mark Harris is in charge of building and maintaining The Heritage Foundation’s digital infrastructure.

Harris manages the think tank’s help desk and network support staff, keeping everyone from policy experts to donor relations representatives humming along. He also is responsible for providing an overall vision for information technology (IT); researching and procuring technologies that support the Heritage mission; and working closely with various divisions to ensure IT needs are being met.

Since joining Heritage in 2008, Harris has tackled management and deployment of technologies such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), virtual desktops and business continuity solutions.

Harris explains: “Understanding the implications of IT in the organization, how that can make us more effective in doing what we do, and ensuring we honor donor intent by having a valid and effective IT budget are large parts of what I do.”

He previously worked for eight years as a specialist in IT support at Patton, Harris, Rust & Associates, a leading civil engineering firm in Virginia. He did network administration, managed backups, improved security and created “disaster recovery” solutions. Before that, he was a design engineer for a variety of the firm’s engineering and land development projects.

Harris, who has a bachelor’s degree in construction management from Coventry University in England, received a master’s degree in information technology from Virginia Tech in 2006. A certified Microsoft engineer and A+ technician, he also holds certificates in ITIL, the comprehensive guide to best practices for managers of information technology services.

Harris was born and grew up in Wales, UK, and moved to the United States in 1995. He currently resides in Centreville, Va., with his wife, Margo, and two children.