Monday, April 14, 2025
Ursula Nayeli Rendon, UCSC
Strategies for Making the Most Out of What You Have
In the current landscape of higher education, budget constraints and limited resources are common challenges faced by many institutions. This presentation will explore real-world strategies and practical solutions for designing and implementing high-impact operations despite these limitations. The discussion will focus on proven approaches to maximize existing resources, leverage campus and community partnerships, and utilize technology effectively to continue to provide transformative experiences to socially, culturally, and economically diverse campus population. Attendees will also have the opportunity to engage in an interactive Q&A session to address specific challenges they may face in their own institutions.
Frank Figueroa- UC Riverside
Monica Cardenas – UC Riverside
Fostering partnerships between financial professionals and non-financial leaders
This presentation explores the transformative potential of collaboration between financial professionals and non-financial leaders to revolutionize decision-making and resource management in the University of California system. By fostering partnerships that bridge technical expertise with visionary leadership, UC can innovate financial strategies that align with institutional values, inspire cross-disciplinary initiatives, and create sustainable and impactful solutions.
Through real-world examples, actionable insights, and interactive discussions, the session will demonstrate how inclusive collaboration can drive innovation, enhance transparency, and build trust, ensuring the financial and strategic success of UC in a rapidly evolving educational landscape.
Will Kellogg, UCSF
Well-being360: How Your Personal and Emotional Well-being Supports Your Professional Success
Many conversations surrounding career success start with the importance of evaluating the status of your professional health. But, what if we took a moment to look at it differently. Here, we’ll discuss how your personal and mental well-being builds a foundation that allows your to show up as your best, drives your career forward, and creates a supportive ecosystem that shapes a successful future for you and the teams you lead.
Karen James, UCSF
The Five Pillars of Sustainable Leadership Success
In today’s rapidly evolving professional landscape, successful leadership requires more than just technical expertise or industry knowledge. Drawing from extensive research and real-world experience, this presentation introduces “The Five Pillars of Sustainable Leadership Success,” a comprehensive framework that addresses both the internal and external dimensions of leadership development. This approach uniquely combines personal authenticity with practical strategy, helping leaders build lasting success while maintaining their core values and well-being.
The framework begins with the foundational pillar of understanding personal values, which serves as a compass for decision-making and authentic leadership. This foundation is strengthened by the second pillar: identifying and leveraging individual strengths, enabling leaders to operate from a position of natural capability and confidence. The third pillar, emotional intelligence, bridges the gap between self-awareness and external effectiveness, teaching leaders to navigate complex interpersonal dynamics and build high-performing teams. The fourth pillar addresses the practical aspects of success through strategic planning while embracing adaptability, acknowledging that today’s business environment requires both clear direction and flexibility. The final pillar focuses on relationship equity, emphasizing the critical importance of building and maintaining meaningful professional connections that withstand the test of time and change.
Through interactive discussions, real-world case studies, and practical exercises, participants will leave with a clear understanding of how to implement these five pillars in their own leadership journey. The presentation will provide actionable strategies for each pillar, helping leaders create a personalized roadmap for sustainable success that aligns with their values while driving measurable results. Attendees will learn how to integrate these pillars into their daily practice, creating a leadership style that is both authentic and effective in today’s complex healthcare/business environment.
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Jolie Lam, UC Berkeley
Revolutionizing Managerial Excellence: Harnessing ChatGPT and Retrieval-Augmented Generation with the Berkeley AMP Toolkit to Advance UC Berkeley’s AI Vision.
This presentation explores how generative AI technologies, such as ChatGPT and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), can empower managerial excellence and streamline administrative processes at UC Berkeley. By showcasing the Berkeley Administrative Management Professionals (AMP) Toolkit and its integration with BearGPT, we demonstrate practical strategies for innovation in higher education management. The session also highlights UC Berkeley’s vision for implementing generative AI to foster collaboration, improve decision-making, and enhance operational efficiency.
Jay Melashenko, UCR
“Yes and…”, Utilizing Creativity and an Open Mindset to Manage. Leveraging Bureaucracy to Move Forward Rather Than as a Tool to Block Progress.
The UC system tends to be heavily bureaucratic. As managers it can be easy to use every policy, approval flow, and practice to protect our departments and units. Managers can then often be seen as the gatekeepers, blocking progress. A shift in approach can utilize the policies and practices as tools to innovate and lead in new directions. Brainstorming with “Yes and…” in mind can often lead to solutions that would otherwise have been blocked by bureaucratic hurdles. The risk associated with blocking progress utilizing management styles that focus on maintaining the status quo is often not identified in comparison to the risk of trying something new. Participants are encouraged to bring problems they are encountering that seem to be stuck in the system and test the “Yes and…” model with these problems.
Thomas Nykiel, UCLA
Negotiation Skills For Managers: Using Time, Information, Power
Goals: Apply these skills next week, Build enthusiasm for studying Field of Negotiation (Herbert Cohen), Memory mnemonic T.I.P. , Time, Information, Power, Embrace Power as a neutral tool; Know the types of Power, Improve Salary Negotiating.
Rebecca Sablo, UC Berkeley
Culture Change: Amplifying Staff Engagement Post-COVID
In a hybrid work environment, staff engagement is more important than ever. Leveraging the College of Letters and Science Administrative Advisory Committee, a staff committee of divisional representatives, Berkeley’s largest college launched three new staff recognition and engagement programs, provided active threat trainings to over 300 staff and instructors, and much more – all in less than a year. Learn how this small but mighty committee revived itself and empowered staff throughout the college to engage, lead, and grow.