Conference Speakers 2020

2020 Conference Speakers

Mark Cianca

Mark Cianca

Mark Cianca is Associate VicePresident, Operational Services, at the Office of the President. In that role he champions systemwide initiatives promoting business efficiency, shared systems and services, and administrative cost containment. Mark began his UC career at UC Santa Barbara in 1986. He worked in a variety of student affairs and IT roles at UC Santa Cruz beginning in 1990, and took a permanent role at the Office of the President in 2012 in support of business efficiency initiatives. One of his most memorable UC experiences was seeing First Lady Michele Obama deliver the commencement address to the inaugural graduating class at UC Merced.

Cain Diaz

Cain Diaz

Cain Diaz is the Director of the Systemwide Operating Budget in Budget Analysis and Planning (BAP) at the UC Office of the President.  He and his team oversee the University’s annual systemwide budget, develop annual budget requests to the State, support those negotiation efforts, and coordinate with the campuses on several budget-related issues.

Cain is passionate about Higher Education and a believer in the mission of the University of California. As a first-generation Berkeley alumnus (Go Bears!), Cain is thankful for the opportunities provided by UC and understands the importance of ensuring that the University of California remains accessible to all.

Prior to joining UCOP, Cain worked at the Berkeley campus for 10 years, focusing on budget and finance support for the campus’s research enterprise.

Jessica Drew de Paz

Jessica Drew de Paz

Jessica Drew de Paz, Psy.D. is the Director of Mindfulness Services at UC Irvine’s Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, as well as a mindfulness instructor to preschoolers through high-school students.  Jessica completed her undergraduate degree at UC Santa Barbara, her master’s degree and doctorate in clinical psychology at California School of Professional Psychology, an APA internship at UC Santa Cruz Counseling & Psychological Services, and a post-doctoral fellowship at University of San Francisco Counseling Center. With over 20 years of experience at the University of California, she has served as a clinical psychologist, led diversity efforts, overseen health and safety training, and conducted research on mindfulness in the workplace.

Marie-Ann Hairston

Marie-Ann Hairston

Marie-Ann Hairston, M.A., SPHR, started her role as Systemwide Employee Relations Director in October 2014. She has a wealth of experience in Human Resources spanning 25 years and has been with the UC System for 15 years. She began at UC Berkeley as the Director of Human Resources at the University Health Services. She then moved to UC Hastings College of the Law where she served as the Executive Director of Human Resources for 8 years. She has also served as an HR Director or consultant to various non-profits throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Marie’s primary focus is on advancing the Systemwide ER Strategy to further enhance employee engagement and continue to build an overall employee relations program and environment where we are regarded as an excellent employer. She works closely with our various staff organizations including the Council of University Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) and the Staff Advisors to the Regents to develop programming that has a positive impact on work life for our staff.

In conjunction with visiting our campuses and locations, she also spends time in her role administering various aspects of processes and policies designed to ensure professional, fair, and equitable treatment of staff. This includes PPSM 70 Complaint Resolution, Discrimination, and Affirmative Action policies.

Marie has a BS in Business Administration and an MA in Management with an emphasis on Leadership Development and Organizational Change from JFK University as well as Certificates in Proactive Leadership in Higher Education and Collective Bargaining Studies from Cornell University. She is also certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources by HRCI.

Reginald A. Randles

Reginald A. Randles, MOL, SHRM-CP

Reginald “Reg” Randles is the current Senior Manager of the Patient Experience Program at the City of Hope. Prior to joining the City of Hope, Reg was the Senior Organizational Development Consultant with UCLA Health Human Resources, Center for Organizational Readiness and Education (CORE). He is a Keynote Speaker, Myers-Briggs (MBTI®) certified practitioner and a TalentSmart® Emotional Intelligence (EQ) certified practitioner.

Reg endeavors to spread his commitment to tap the intrinsic motivation of organizational talent for their continued success. He intrinsically motivates others to “be the best they can be.”

A personal value of Reg is his belief that people, at their core, want to contribute to bettering their environment through meaningful actions. This has resulted in his passion for designing servant and transformational leadership frameworks, encouraging a guardianship of organizational talent while ensuring progression and succession plans are integral components of organizational development.

Dan Russi

Dan Russi

Dan Russi serves as the executive director of the UCPath Center, which is the University of California’s shared services center in Riverside that manages the payroll, benefits, and other human resources transactions for UC employees. Dan oversees the day-to-day operations of the UCPath Center, where currently more than 370 full time staff work in the areas of business operations, customer service, quality management, technology, training, human resources and communications.

Dan joined UC in 2016 as UCOP Chief Information Officer, where he was responsible for UCOP systems and infrastructure.

Before joining UCOP, he held senior executive positions in global customer service support, corporate IT and quality assurance for more than 30 years at such companies as Cummins, Adobe, Saba Software, and Ariba (an SAP company).

Born and raised in Rochester, New York, Dan earned his bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Syracuse University and an master’s degree in business administration from the Simon School at the University of Rochester.

Yasmin Sidi

Yasmin Sidi

Yasmin Sidi is the Faculty Program Manager for the Central Travel Office with a key role in continuously increasing adoption of the program. Yasmin has worked within UC for several years, starting at UCSF, then launching Connexxus at Berkeley before joining UCOP in 2012 to promote travel system wide. She engages regularly with users by establishing working relationships with the campuses, medical centers, and unique campus groups – such as the Administrative Management Professionals (AMP) that would benefit from understanding the travel program as a whole. Yasmin has scaled the communication and training sessions of the program to include a social media presence, robust schedule of webinars and ad hoc sessions on the nuanced aspects of booking and managing travel. Outside her professional role, Yasmin serves as an active board member of the San Francisco chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), as Director of Program Development, where she has led the promotion and execution of skill-enhancing programs, such as “Change Communication Strategies,” and “Crisis Communication Tips.” More recently, she was accepted as a member of IABC’s international board, where she took an active role in the planning of the 2020 world conference that will be taking place in Chicago. Yasmin has a Master’s in Instructional Design and continues her personal development with classes in Public Health, specifically in Humanitarian Crisis, while exploring how effective design is growing the success of online modules.

Matthew StClair

Mattew StClair

Matthew St.Clair is the first Director of Sustainability for the University of California’s Office of the President, leading sustainability efforts across the 10-campus UC system since 2004. 

Mr. St.Clair was a founding member of the Board of Directors for the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Strategic Energy Innovations, a non-profit organization implementing energy conservation and sustainability education programs in California. 

Mr. St.Clair has delivered lectures at numerous universities, been an invited keynote speaker at several regional and national conferences, and has advised the U.S. House of Representatives on the formation of an Office of Sustainability for the U.S. Capitol. 

Mr. St.Clair has a Masters degree in environmental policy from the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley and a Bachelors degree in economics from Swarthmore College. He is a LEED Accredited Professional and a Certified Energy Manager.

Abel Valenzuela Jr.

Abel Valenzuela Jr.

Abel Valenzuela Jr. is Professor of Urban Planning and Chicana/o Studies and Director of UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment. In 2017, he was appointed Special Advisor to the Chancellor on Immigration Policy. In this role, he works with campus experts, including students, to enhance UCLA’s global connections and to engage immigrant students in their UCLA education. Professor Valenzuela is one of the leading national experts on day labor and has published numerous articles and technical reports on the subject. His research interests include precarious labor markets, worker centers, immigrant workers, and Los Angeles. His academic base is urban sociology, planning, and labor studies. In addition to the topic of day labor, he has published numerous articles on immigrant settlement, labor market outcomes, urban poverty and inequality, including co-editing (with Lawrence Bobo, Melvin Oliver, and Jim Johnson) Prismatic Metropolis: Inequality in Los Angeles published by the Russell Sage Foundation in 2000, Immigration and Crime: Race, Ethnicity, and Violence (with Ramiro Martinez Jr.). He has also published in American Behavioral Scientist, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Annual Review of Sociology, New England Journal of Public Policy, Working USA: a Journal of Labor and Society, International Journal of Comparative Sociology, and Regional Studies. Dr. Valenzuela earned his A.B. from the University of California, Berkeley and his M.C.P. and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and currently lives in Venice Beach with his wife and three sons.

Nickle Van Wormer

Nickle Van Wormer

Nickle Van Wormer is a Sr. Training Specialist at UCLA Heal for the Center of Organizational Readiness and Education (CORE). He started his training career in the United States Air Force as a member of a training unit tasked with preparing medical personnel for combat deployment. Outside of the military, Nickle spent eight years as a Trainer and Instructional Designer for Wegmans Food Markets, a company with over 40,000 employees.  While there, he led Manager Development training, and headed up the Workplace Threats and Violence/Active Shooter training. Since moving to Los Angeles four years ago, he has worked for Sky Zone Franchise Group as Manager of Learning and Organizational Development, and for USC as Sr. Organizational Development Specialist. Nickle holds a Master of Science Degree in Human Resource Development from RIT. He is the author multiple training articles and sold over 10,000 copies of his book The Ultimate Air Force Basic Training Guidebook.