Speakers

2021 UW TechConnect conference speakers

The speakers lined up for the virtual UW TechConnect will help our IT community explore tough challenges and encourage us to work together to identify creative solutions.

Featured Speakers

Aaron Powell is the Vice President for UW Information Technology and CIO, responsible for strategic oversight, planning and direction of the University’s information technology infrastructure, resources and services. In this role, Aaron works with the President, Provost, and appropriate University governance committees to determine information technology strategies, policies, priorities and resource allocations throughout the institution.

Aaron is presenting at the Technology Leadership session.

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Christy Long is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Information Technology at UW Bothell and heads the Information Technology Division. Christy provides leadership for the overall direction of central technology for Bothell UW.

Christy is presenting at the Technology Leadership session.

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Dr. Sheryl Burgstahler founded and directs Accessible Technology Services—which includes the DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) and the IT Accessibility Technology (ITAT) Teams—at the University of Washington. These dynamic groups promote (1) the development of self determination skills, use of mainstream and assistive technology, and other interventions to support the success of students with disabilities in postsecondary education and careers and (2) the universal design (UD) of learning opportunities; facilities; websites, media, documents and other IT; and services to ensure that they are accessible to, usable by, and inclusive of individuals with disabilities. Dr. Burgstahler has delivered hundreds of presentations and has more than 100 publications that include the books Creating Inclusive Learning Opportunities in Higher Education: A Universal Design Toolkit (2020) and Universal Design in Higher Education: From Principles to Practice (2015), both published by Harvard Education Press.

Sheryl is presenting at the Decoding Bias in IT session.

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Taha Kagadawala joined the University of Washington in 2019. He is a Business and Data Analyst for the Enterprise Data Platform within UW-IT Information Management. Taha’s analysis work supports the Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) and Enterprise Web Services (EWS), which provide customers with integrated data across multiple university systems, such as SDB and Workday.

Taha is also a Governance Board member of the UW-IT Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Community of Practice (DEI CoP). The DEI CoP is committed to dismantling systemic social and racial injustices for individuals working in technology by pursuing diverse perspectives, enhancing cultural understanding, and establishing spaces for connection through life-long learning and conversation.

Taha is presenting at the Decoding Bias in IT session.

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Henry Lyle manages an analytics program and team at UW-IT’s Academic Experience Design & Delivery (AXDD) unit. At AXDD, Henry leads cross-disciplinary teams of engineers, designers, and data scientists who develop apps that aim to improve student retention and academic planning. Recently, he has worked with UW’s Privacy Office to develop principles for the ethical use of academic data. He received a PhD in Anthropology from UW in 2013.

Henry is presenting at the Decoding Bias in IT session.

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Rebekah Skiver Thompson is an Associate Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the University of Washington. Becky has over 20 years of experience working in information technology at the UW. For the last eight years, she has put her Master’s degree in Psychology to use in the Office of the CISO by applying what she knows about human behavior to the work her team does with cyber intelligence. By building profiles of threat actors, her team strives to learn more about the motivation behind an attack in order to improve their detection and response capabilities.

Rebekah is presenting at the Decoding Bias in IT session.

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Dr. Helen B. Garett became the first University Registrar and Chief Officer of Enrollment Information Services in 2016 with an extensive background in Enrollment Management from Lane Community College, UO, Whittier College, USC, and Michigan State. As the liaison to UW-IT she led teams to implement preferred names, the Enrollment Confirmation System, and the new Current and Former Quarter Drop processes.

Helen has held leadership positions in state, regional, and national professional organizations. Helen is a national FERPA trainer and presents at conferences on professional development and block chain. She holds a BA in Bus Admin and MA in College and University Administration from Michigan State, and an Ed.D. from Oregon State University’s Community College Leadership Program.

Helen is presenting at The Nexus Between IT and Mindfulness session.

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Tiffany Quatmann, Assistant Director of Finance Readiness Program, supporting the Operational and Technical readiness of the Finance Transformation for UW Finance, has more than 17 years of Information Technology Experience ranging from architecting large scale Tier 1 ISP infrastructure to building Research Data Centers. From Arizona State University, Tiffany has been serving the University of Washington for four years focused on Shared Service environments and Financial Transformation, her passion lies in bridging the technology space with the business aspect to improve services and infrastructure.

Tiffany is presenting at The Nexus Between IT and Mindfulness session.

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General Speakers

Ani is a Software Engineering Manager at UW Information Technology’s Academic Services Student Program. He has over 20 years of experience building large scale software solutions and services. He has previously worked at Microsoft, where he led operating system innovations in networking and virtualization, as well as developed Azure storage capabilities and Hybrid cloud appliances. He was one of the founding members of the Microsoft AI School, and helped infuse some the latest breakthroughs in Machine Learning research into products. He holds degrees in Physics, Computer Science, and Organizational Development.

Ani is presenting at the Embracing the Cloud session.

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Dana Fair has provided over 30 years of strategic communications leadership in the public and private sectors with experience in global and domestic matters. He is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America, and has been recognized by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education with a Circle of Excellence bronze medal and the Association of College and University Housing Officers International with an award for communications planning. He holds a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan and a M.A. in higher education administration from Eastern Michigan University.

Dana is presenting at the Improve Your Impact and Engage Your Technology Users With These Tips From the Pros session.

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Dawn is the Product Manager for the Enterprise Data Platform. The Data Platform is a portfolio of UW-IT services including the Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) and Enterprise Web Services (EWS) which provide secure, consistent, and flexible interfaces for customers across UW to access UW data integrated from multiple sources across UW. As Product Manager, it is Dawn’s role to ensure that this portfolio of services deliver value to customers and are managed sustainably.

Dawn is presenting at the Take the Mystery Out of Data with the Enterprise Data Platform session.

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Roland Lai is the IT Director of the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, and the Department of Surgery. He leads TECHdesk, the IT shared service for these two departments. Roland has been part of the UW IT community since 2001. He was a founding member of the TechConnect advisory board, and has been the co-chair of the UW Computing Directors since 2019.

Roland is presenting at the Engaging in the IT Investment and Procurement Customer-Centered Design session.

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Ignacio has worked as a communications manager for UW Information Technology for 7 years following a lengthy career in journalism and other health-related industries. He has powerful storytelling credentials, with vast experience in newspapers and magazines to online magazines, social media and e-publications. He is currently editor and writer for several e-publications at the UW.

Ignacio is presenting at the Improve Your Impact and Engage Your Technology Users With These Tips From the Pros session.

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Adrianna MacArthur is the IT Customer Relationship Manager and the Interim Technology Support Manager at UW Bothell Information Technology (IT). In these capacities, she collaborates to develop communication campaigns that translate complex technology concepts in ways that are accessible to a broad range of community members, especially those outside information technology. She sees building relationships that break down silos as crucial to identifying and responding to “customers’” technology and business process needs.

Adrianna is presenting at the Humanizing It: Developing Communications That Click and Stick session.

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Dorothy Ambrozic McKee solely managed the Foster School of Business (FSB) two instances of their current CRM since 2013. The number of programs needing or utilizing the two instances has quadrupled since that time. In 2019, the CRM team grew by two and FSB decided to adopt Salesforce as their CRM of the future. The goal since then has been to migrate all FSB Programs, Departments and Centers to one CRM and eliminate data silos, increase access and training, and involve all users in every step of the way. The CRM Team feels we are well on our way to achieving this goal.

Dorothy is presenting at the Removing Data Silos – Foster’s Journey to One Data Source of Truth session.

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Penelope Adams Moon, PhD, is Director of Digital Learning and Engagement and part of the senior leadership team at UW Bothell Information Technology. Penelope leads UWB’s digital learning team in creating high-quality, accessible support systems and resources that empower faculty, staff, and students to teach, work, and learn anywhere. In 2020, alongside colleagues from UW Tacoma and UW Seattle, she helped found the UW Tri-Campus Digital Learning Alliance. Penelope has worked in higher education for 25 years as a faculty member, department chair, and director of online programs and holds an affiliate appointment in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.

Penelope is presenting at the Humanizing IT: Developing Communications That Click and Stick session.

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Jesse Moore is the Senior Cybersecurity Advisor for UW Office of CISO and UW Information Technology Bothell. Jesse has over 10 years of experience in the Private Sector IT Operations at Nintendo of America.

One of Jesse’s passions is his involvement with the Pacific Rim Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (PRCCDC). He is a Cyber Offensive Operator and the Cyber Offensive Team captain at the competition.

Jesse is presenting at the Detecting Bad Things On Windows session.

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Linda Ong is an award-winning accredited senior communicator with experience in employee engagement, strategic communications, and organizational development. She joined her alma mater, the University of British Columbia 16 years ago, as a Communications Manager with Human Resources followed by being the University Library’s first Communications and Marketing Director, providing strategic communications for 15 library branches and executive communications to the senior leadership team. In 2017, Linda joined UBC’s Office of the CIO in the newly created role of Communications Director, leading a six-member team to support strategic and tactical communications.

Linda is presenting at the Improve Your Impact and Engage Your Technology Users With These Tips From the Pros session.

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Jim Phelps is the Director of Enterprise Architecture & Strategy at University of Washington. As Director, his focus is on linking business and technical strategy, aligning investments to this strategy and growing the practice of architecture across UW. He has over two decades of architecture experience in higher education spanning research computing to the student experience. Jim is also the founder and chair of ITANA (https://itana.org) a professional group for Enterprise, Business and Technical Architects in higher education. Jim has taught leadership competencies, architecture skills and facilitation to architects nationally. He is the winner of the 2018 EDUCAUSE Community Leadership Award.

Jim is presenting at the Solution Architecture Principles for 202X and the Engaging in the IT Investment and Procurement Customer-Centered Design session.

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Joel F. W. Price is the Technology Outreach Team Lead at Swarthmore College, his alma mater. He has worked on the Information Technology Services team since 2012, focusing on empowering users to become more confident in their use of technology, and helping the Information Technology Services team communicate more clearly with the rest of the campus community. He enjoys figuring out small ways that can make a large difference in the work of community members, and helping explain complex topics in plain language. Joel has spoken at conferences in over ten states on responsible social media use, creative information technology outreach ideas, and the role of cognitive bias and anti-racism in academia.

Joel is presenting at the Improve Your Impact and Engage Your Technology Users With These Tips From the Pros session.

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Zach Rickert is a 3x Certified Salesforce Developer and Administrator. His currently works for the Michael G. Foster School of Business as a Salesforce Administrator. As an administrator, Zach develops in Agile fashion to create data infrastructure. This allows Business School employees to see a complete data picture of students, applicants, business contacts and other people associated with The School. His current goal is to integrate The Business School’s legacy data silos into Salesforce.

Zach is presenting at the Removing Data Silos – Foster’s Journey to One Data Source of Truth session.

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Elizabeth Sharpe is director of communications in UW Information Technology where she leads the development and execution of high-profile internal and external communication, and provides communications consultation to UW-IT’s senior leadership, management and staff. She leads a multi-functional creative team, and helps develop communications strategies with service teams who manage a variety of IT tools and services. She has worked as a writer, editor and communications professional at the University of Washington for more than 18 years. She has a master’s degree in English, and taught writing for four years at Cascadia Community College and at the University of Phoenix.

Elizabeth is presenting at the Improve Your Impact and Engage Your Technology Users With These Tips From the Pros session.

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Kevin Swank is a UW Medicine Enterprise Integration Architect implementing interoperability platforms for the health system’s clinical and financial transformation programs. Kevin has over 30 years of IT experience in highly regulated environments – including the last 4 years at UW Medicine in Seattle, WA and the previous 17 years at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Kevin is an active SMART on FHIR and API-led development evangelist. He is currently implementing an API Management platform and assisting with an API-led development program to be used internally and externally across UW Medicine and its collaboration partners. Kevin has a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems, is a certified Enterprise Architect, and is a certified Project Management Professional.

Kevin is presenting at the UW Medicine Interoperability Platform – Integrations and API-led Developments session.

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Glenn Sudduth is a Technical Lead and Architect within the UW-IT Academic Services – Student Program.

A UW-IT employee for over 25 years, Glenn has done a wide variety of technical work, but his focus for the past decade or so has been designing, building, and supporting software systems.

Glenn is presenting at the Embracing the Cloud session.

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Ana Thompson has worked in higher education for the last 20 years in the areas of IT, accessibility training, digital/online learning, strategic planning, instructional design, cybersecurity and as affiliate faculty. As the Learning & Access Designer at UW Bothell IT Digital Learning and Engagement, Thompson supports and collaborates with faculty members, administration and staff to streamline the use of technology tools, pedagogies, promote digital fluency and accessibility. Thompson has a Masters in Information Systems, is an Adobe PDF Accessibility Trainer and IAAP Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies.

Ana is presenting at the Humanizing It: Developing Communications That Click and Stick session.

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Cara VanDyke is a Technical Project Manager at UW Bothell Information Technology. She holds a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Information Systems from the UW Michael G. Foster School of Business which informs her understanding of how technology can support and improve business processes. As a project manager, VanDyke believes that breaking work efforts into small pieces and using repeatable processes makes work sustainable.

Cara is presenting at the Humanizing It: Developing Communications That Click and Stick session.

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As the IT Communications Coordinator for the Office of Information Technology (OIT) at St. Edward’s University, Yasmeen Yahya owns communication strategy and content creation. Yasmeen uses outreach and engagement strategies to advance the mission of OIT at St. Edward’s University, which is to support, educate, innovate and collaborate. Yasmeen champions accessibility and equity in all she does and uses these pillars as her guide in cultivating the symbiotic relationship between the St. Edward’s community and OIT.

Yasmeen is presenting at the Improve Your Impact and Engage Your Technology Users With These Tips From the Pros session.

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