UC Women Rock IT – Part 2

Photo graphic for the University of California, celebrating Women's History Month.

Read about some of the remarkable women in IT at UC. Compiled by members of the UC Women in Technology Committee, this list – installment two of three – is just a sampling of the range of accomplishments that UC women in tech contribute – every day, every year.  

Patty Furukawa, assistant dean, Information Technology Services and chief information and operating officer, School of Law, UCI. Serves as a leader in various campuswide committees with a focus on enterprise tools, security/privacy, streamlining systems and procedures, and enabling efficiencies.

Judy Thai, senior manager, Information Technology Services, UCOP. Leads the team that develops and maintains systemwide websites and applications and that completed an overhaul of the UC online undergraduate applicationapplyUC – to be user friendly and accessible to people with disabilities.

Malerie Samadi, service operations supervisor for Enterprise Networking, Information Technology Services (ITS), UCSD. Amped up the 24/7 network monitoring and response capabilities of the network monitoring team.

Lisa Kemp Jones, director, Customer Engagement, IT Services, UCLA. Launched a 24/7 help desk and oversees several campuswide IT support platforms, including the UCLA IT Portal and a forthcoming system status page.

Marla Reyes, application developer, Information Technology Solutions, UCR. Key developer in many financial applications that enable smooth processing of electronic funds transfers, checks, travel, and vendor-related activities using the payment audit reporting tool for daily review.

Diana Antova, director, Data Services & Business Systems Support, Student Information Systems & Technology, UCSB. Transformed how data is being leveraged to advance the mission of the campus through business intelligence and analytics, including through a student-developed mobile app, GOGAUCHO, and the campus Learning Management System, which leverages several campus APIs.

Christine Kirkpatrick, division director, Research Data Services Division, San Diego Supercomputer Center, UCSD. Helped found the West Big Data Innovation Hub (cohosted by SDSC, UC Berkeley, and the University of Washington) to foster big-data technology collaborations between academia, industry, non-profits, and government, and to address important societal issues in the 13 western US states.

Kim Hwe, local IT specialist, ITS-User Experience, UCSC. Chairs the Diversity Inclusion Group for IT (DIG IT).

Michelle Tabula, web analyst, Enterprise Solutions, Information Technology Solutions, UCR. Trained and delivered Acquia/Drupal workshops to more than 500 participants to help onboard departments, colleges, and organizations on the new content management system.

Meera Subash, clinical informatics fellow in Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, UCSF. Advancing understanding of the optimal utilization of video visits in rheumatology, and led a national work group to improve the usability of the electronic health record at the VA hospital.

Leslie Geary, project manager, Products & Services Group, UCSC. Conceived and managed a divisionwide products and services inventory and analysis effort that has provided critical information needed for the Information Technology Services reorganization.

Sumita Roy-Chowdhury, campus web developer, Enterprise Solutions, Information Technology Solutions, UCR. Serves as lead developer and trainer for the EFile Plus application, which will be critical in supporting the merits and promotion process for 800 plus faculty members.

Melissa Rad, benefits program strategy analyst, Systemwide Human Resources, UCOP. Part of a team responsible for administration of the UC Retirement System (UCRP) to ensure accurate and prompt delivery of benefits and related services (i.e., disability benefits, survivor income, etc.) to UCRP members and their beneficiaries.

Brenda Gross, network engineer, Information Technology Services, UCSD. Worked on a long range financial planning and forecasting tool for the Housing, Dining, and Hospitality Department (HDH). A huge improvement, the tool allows for flexibility and what-if scenario exploration for various technology choices.

Lucy Greco, web accessibility evangelist, UCB; Christine Kirkpatrick, division director, San Diego Supercomputer, UCSD; Yvonne Tevis, chief of staff, Information Technology Services, UCOP; and Susan Willats, retired assistant director, Transportation and Parking Services, UCSC. Co-founded a systemwide electronic accessibility group over 15 years ago that developed a systemwide resources website; proposed the UC IT Accessibility Policy; and recently implemented a systemwide website accessibility monitoring service.

Lea Scarpelli, media systems engineer, Infrastructure and Operations, UCSC. Designs, installs, and troubleshoots classroom audio-visual (AV) switching and control systems, and trains and supervises the student workers who perform AV system maintenance work.

Anet Avanessian, director of Application Services, IT Services, UCLA. Has grown the application support team into one of the biggest and most utilized on campus, growing from 30 to 85 developers, business analysts, managers and directors.

Sireesha Goli, application developer, Information Technology Solutions, UCR. Created a “Custom Job Description” module for the HR Management System (HRMS), which facilitates creation of job descriptions from the approved UC job standards and allows for customization, saving time and eliminating rework.

Meagan Torres, senior strategic sourcing manager, Procurement Services, UCM. Partnered with the project management office to improve technology procurement at UCM and to help establish processes that ensure the IT department gets involed before customers buy technology. This has led to a dramatic decrease in the campus community making technology purchases without input from OIT.

Vanessa Gasper, ResNet technician, and Naomi Gunther, ResNet manager, Infrastructure and Operations, UCSC. Vanessa and Naomi train and mentor student technicians, focusing not only on current job responsibilities, but also on career development, interview skills, and resume writing.

Graphic by Chasiri Sherron, UC Berkeley undergraduate student and IT marketing and communications intern, Information Technology Services, UC Office of the President.

For the full list of amazing women, see UC Women Rock IT Part 1 and Part 3.

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