Heather Maiirhe Caruso
Associate Dean
UCLA Anderson School of Management
UCLA
Heather Maiirhe Caruso is a faculty member and associate dean at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, as well as faculty co-director of the Inclusive Ethics Initiative. She spent her early career as an engineer and executive in a multinational Silicon Valley startup, and has since become a Stanford- and Harvard-trained academic focused on the contributions of inclusive excellence to individual, organizational, and societal well-being. A Southern California native, Heather came to UCLA Anderson after over a decade co-directing (with 2017 Nobel Laureate in Economics Richard Thaler) a renowned judgment and decision making center at Chicago Booth, and now supplements her academic activities with consulting for private- and public-sector organizations on the practice of inclusive excellence in leadership, communication, and collaboration.
Caruso’s conference session aims directly at supporting our theme: One UC, Many Voices: Building Resilience Together! Attendees will learn about how inclusive excellence at work is a process of joint innovation—it is continual exploration of the infinitely diverse ways we may contribute to our shared mission, channeled through efficient collaboration to advance positive change. Come learn how each of us can support full participation in the work of our institution!
Caín Díaz
Associate Vice President, Budget
UCOP
Caín Díaz joined UCOP in 2016 and has over 19 years of higher education experience with the University of California. As Associate Vice President for Budget Analysis & Planning (BAP), Caín oversees the development and implementation of the University of California’s $55 billion budget for current operations and coordinates long-range financial planning for the UC system. His team manages budget proposals and reports provided to state agencies on behalf of the UC system.
Caín is closely engaged in high-level decision-making related to the allocation of over $4.9 billion of ongoing state resources to the ten campuses. In addition, Caín oversees the management of policies and approvals related to student tuition and fees.
Prior to joining UCOP, Caín worked at the Berkeley campus for ten years, with most of that time spent managing a team of Finance Analysts, each providing financial and administrative support to a portfolio of Organized Research Units under the Vice Chancellor for Research.
Caín is originally from Inglewood, CA, the proud son of Mexican immigrants, and a first-generation college graduate. Caín holds an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley in Political Science and a Master of Public Administration (Public Management) from CSU Dominguez Hills.
Dianna E. Henderson
Vice President of Systemwide Human Resources
Dianna Henderson is the Vice President, Systemwide Human Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for the University of California’s 10-campus system, including multiple academic medical centers. In this role, she is responsible for Systemwide Human Resources and programs. This includes Strategic Planning, Employee/Labor Relations, Talent Management, Health & Welfare benefit policies and programs, Senior Management Recruitment, Compensation, Performance Management and ensuring compliance with the University’s Staff Human Resources policies. She has oversight for the University of California Retirement Plan (UCRP). In addition, she oversees multiple programs that impact work and life for 265,000 people in diverse roles across the UC system.
A seasoned HR executive with deep expertise, a reputation for stakeholder engagement, collaboration and steady leadership, and more than 15 years of UC experience, Ms. Henderson is well known throughout the UC HR community as a thoughtful leader and a collaborative partner committed to supporting the UC mission and our valued employees. In 2025, she led the effort to streamline processes and expand UC’s Catastrophic Leave Donation Program to allow employees across the system to donate leave to colleagues affected by the Eaton or Palisades Fires.
Prior to her current role, Ms. Henderson served as the Deputy Chief HR Officer and Chief of Staff to the Vice President of HR and as Interim Chief HR Officer for UC Office of the President. Earlier in her UC HR career, she worked on the systemwide labor negotiation team, working on the first collective bargaining agreement with the UAW unit representing postdoctoral scholars. She later led systemwide HR policy development and managed the Finance and Administrative team embedded in systemwide HR, and she previously served as the Acting VP of HR when the Vice President was unavailable, providing consistent executive leadership. Before joining the University of California, she worked for over 12 years in HR at a UC-affiliated clinical research center, supporting principal investigators and postdoctoral scholars in Emeryville, California.
Ms. Henderson holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Xavier University and her MBA from Holy Names University. She is a proud longtime resident of Oakland, California.
Cassie Holmes
Cassie Holmes is the Bud Knapp chaired professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, an award-winning teacher and researcher on time and happiness, and the bestselling author of Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most.
Happier Hour was selected as an Amazon Best Book of the Year, and Holmes’s academic research has been widely published in lead academic journals. The course that she developed and now teaches, Applying the Science of Happiness to Life Design, is among UCLA’s most popular for MBAs and Executive MBAs alike.
Prior to joining UCLA, Cassie was a tenured faculty member at Wharton, and she has a Ph.D. from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and a B.A. from Columbia.
David S. Meyer
David S. Meyer is professor of sociology and political science at the University of California, Irvine. He’s written extensively on social movements and social change, and is author or editor of many books, most recently How Social Movements (Sometimes) Matter. The 2017 recipient of the John D. McCarthy Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Scholarship of Social Movements and Collective Behavior, and the 2025 Robin M. Williams Lifetime Award from the American Sociological Association’s section on peace, war, and social conflict. In 2025, he was awarded the Andrew J. Carnegie fellowship to study polarization. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Boston University, and an undergraduate degree in literature from Hampshire College. He is the lead editor of the Cambridge University Press book series on Contentious Politics, and founding co-editor of the Cambridge University Press Elements series on Contentious Politics. He will discuss the current attack on higher education and available strategies for preserving what’s best about the university.
Kate Miffitt
Kate Miffitt is the Chief Digital Experience & Engagement Officer in Digital Innovation & Technology (DigIT), where she leads digital communications strategy, user-centered design, and systemwide engagement efforts such as events and trainings. She has more than 15 years of experience advancing digital transformation and educational technology across higher education.
Before joining the University of California, Kate served as Senior Director of Innovation, Digital Experience & Accessibility at the California State University Chancellor’s Office, where she oversaw programs exploring emerging technologies, accessibility, and user experience. Earlier in her career, she held multiple roles in learning design and teaching with technology at Penn State University.
Judy Thai
Judy Thai is the Director of Application Engineering in Digital Innovation & Technology (DigIT) at the University of California Office of the President. With over 25 years of progressive experience at the UC, she brings deep expertise across the full spectrum of web and application development. She leads multiple teams responsible for enterprise applications that serve the UC’s diverse academic and administrative priorities.
Throughout her career, she has championed digital accessibility to ensure technology is inclusive and usable by all individuals. Her work reflects a strong commitment to operational excellence, user-centered design, and scalable solutions that advance institutional goals and expand access to opportunity. In her free time, Judy either has her nose in a book, her boots on a hiking trail, or her hands on a video game controller.
Breakout Speakers
Taylor Benarieh
Taylor Benarieh is the Chief Administrative Officer for the Department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego. Since 2021, she has led the department’s administrative strategy and operations, supporting faculty, staff, and students across a complex academic environment.
She began her career at UC San Diego as the Undergraduate Advisor in the Department of Communication before serving as Assistant Director of Academic Services at the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering. She returned to UC San Diego to take on her current leadership role.
Taylor holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and a Master’s degree in Education Leadership from San Diego State University.
Alvin Cha
Alvin Cha has been a longtime member of the UC Merced community, having been part of the university since 2007, first as a student and later as staff. He currently serves as Director of Finance and Budget for the School of Engineering. A UC Merced alumnus with a B.S. in Management and an MBA from CSU Stanislaus, Alvin has built a well‑rounded career across Admissions, the Registrar’s Office, and the Division of Academic Affairs. His leadership philosophy centers on clarity, trust, and empowering people by setting clear direction, staying transparent, and helping teams succeed. Deeply connected to campus life, Alvin has dedicated many years of service to the UC Merced Staff Assembly Board and various committees, bringing a collaborative, people‑first approach to everything he does.
Kelsey Duff
Kelsey Duff is a board-certified executive coach, master facilitator, and organizational development professional with over 15 years of experience helping individuals and teams unlock their potential and drive meaningful impact. As a Professional & Career Development Portfolio Manager on the Learning & Organizational Development team in Campus Human Resources, she designs and leads leadership development programs, facilitates cohort-based learning, and provides one-on-one and group coaching for UCLA’s 40,000+ staff members.
A certified Hogan Assessment practitioner and graduate of the Center for Executive Coaching’s ICF Level 2 program, Kelsey specializes in leadership development, change management, strategic planning, and instructional design grounded in adult learning theory. She has created digital learning badges in project management and career development, redesigned major staff development programs to strengthen engagement and outcomes and facilitated retreats that enhance collaboration and organizational clarity across UCLA departments. She currently serves as President Elect of UCLA’s Staff Assembly.
Megan Eigenbrod
Megan Eigenbrod has been a Senior Organizational Development Consultant with UCLA Health since 2021 and has been developing leaders at UCLA since 2015. She helps leaders of all levels build effective, high-performing teams by creating data-driven development plans that strengthen culture, foster trust, and enhance collaboration. Her work drives outcomes leaders value most: improved team alignment, higher engagement, and consistent, reliable performance. Megan also provides 1:1 coaching to help leaders clarify their vision, lead with confidence, and champion meaningful change. She holds a Master’s in Counseling from California State University, Northridge, and an Associate Certified Coach credential from the International Coaching Federation.
Thomas Nykiel
Tom Nykiel has served as the Chief Financial Officer for the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM) at UCLA for ten years. IPAM is supported by the National Science Foundation, Simons Foundation, and other donors. Tom passed the Uniform Certified Public Accounting Examination and earned his MBA and Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has worked as a senior auditor for the international accounting firm of KPMG, was the accounting manager at Cigna Healthplan of Illinois, and served as the CFO at IPC, Inc, which is a trade association for the printed circuit industry.