John Godfrey

John Godfrey is the Chief Information Security Officer of the State of Kansas, appointed by Governor Laura Kelly in February 2024 to lead the Kansas Information Security Office (KISO). In the role, he is responsible for developing and implementing information security and cybersecurity strategies across state government. As of May 2026, legislative committee records continued to list him in the post.

Career path

Before joining state government, Godfrey was CISO-in-residence and founder of LionHeart Cybersecurity Advisors in Kansas City, Kansas, where he worked with clients on IT and cybersecurity strategy, governance, compliance, audit and technology planning.

He spent more than ten years at the University of Kansas Medical Center, including six years as CISO and associate vice chancellor for information security. Earlier, he worked more than five years at Kansas State University as a senior cybersecurity engineer, systems administrator and information security analyst.

In 2021, Godfrey served on the Governor's Cybersecurity Task Force and chaired its Statewide Communication and Collaboration Subcommittee, work tied to a report delivered to the governor's office recommending improvements to cyber protections across state and local agencies.

Godfrey holds a Bachelor of Science in IT from American InterContinental University and a Bachelor of Science in justice studies and information networking and telecommunications from Fort Hays State University, along with a Master of Science in information assurance from Capital Technology University. At the time of his appointment, he was pursuing a Doctor of Science in cybersecurity at Capital Technology University.

Remit and public statements

At KISO, Godfrey has described his focus as implementing statewide cybersecurity strategies, strengthening resilience against threats, and managing AI-related security policies. A GovTech webinar description credited him with leading a transformation of cybersecurity and IT operations across more than 40 state agencies, with his team shifting to automated workflows aligned to enterprise governance frameworks to support incident response, patching and audit readiness.

On taking the role, Godfrey said, "Coordination and collaboration are critical to advancing the cybersecurity posture of Kansas, and the KISO has been active in building a statewide cyber community that includes all 105 counties."