By Jeané Blunt, UC Tech News
In November, UC Womxn in Technology (UC WIT) Chair Charron Andrus, associate chief information security officer at UC Berkeley, sat down for a fireside chat with UC Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rachael Nava. Rachael spoke about her career path, shared advice she learned along the way, and provided guidance on career development and advancement.
Liliana Dimitrova, senior telecommunications analyst at UCOP, and Jeané Blunt, communications specialist at UC Berkeley, cohosted the event.
Event recording
Highlights
Returning to UC
Though Rachael Nava is a third-generation UC alumna, her path to chief operating officer (COO) was not linear. Rachael began her career in community clinics, where she learned to be a leader. During that time, she cultivated relationships within the managed care health plan industry and established a health plan specifically for undocumented children. She later became COO for a Medicaid health plan.
Rachael saw her current role advertised on Linkedin and decided to apply.
“Many people don’t believe that story,” she shared. “I was sitting in my bed scrolling on my phone and it popped up, ‘COO of the University of California.’ I’m an alumna of UC Santa Cruz, and I love this institution. It’s gotten me to where I am today, as a person. I called my dad, which is what you do when you’re thinking about big life decisions. He said, ‘Go for it!’ I put my application in and didn’t think anything of it. The recruiter called the next day. Here I am!”
Rachael’s takeaway from that experience? “Take a risk and put yourself out there, you never know where you might land.”
Navigating being a woman in tech
Rachael was well-qualified for her current role but still hesitated before applying.
“As women leaders, and women in technology careers in general, it’s common for us to look at a job description and not feel as though we can apply unless we can check every single box on the experience and qualifications listed. We often count ourselves out of opportunities because we don’t think we have enough knowledge. In reality, we do. You may not have the content experience, but I bet you have the context and the technical skills to do the work. Don’t hold yourself back — even if you don’t get a position, you learn a lot about yourself along the way,” said Rachael.
As UC COO, the university’s technology function falls under Nava’s program, but she hadn’t considered herself a “woman in tech.”
“I’m disappointed in myself that I hadn’t, because I have worked in IT pretty much all of my career in some form or fashion — whether I was underneath a desk plugging in network cables at a clinic (because nobody else knew how to do it), or leading large teams in an enterprise application reboot. So, I should identify as a woman in tech and I’m proud to,” Rachael said.
Rachael feels that a responsibility lies with today’s women leaders to share their stories to help support the next generation of women in tech.
“There’s so much to glean from other people’s stories, about how they got to where they are. We need to support women leaders. We’re in this together. We need to support each other, and we need to lift each other up,” says Rachael.
Leverage your network
UC is the third largest employer in the state, and with countless conferences, workshops and multi-campus projects, there are endless opportunities for collaboration and relationship-building.
“If you meet people you’re interested in and admire, grab them in the elevator and have a five-minute conversation. Learn and create those relationships, because you can leverage them later. The more people you know, and the more time you invest in those relationships, I think the better outcomes you get,” says Rachael.
Those relationships can also lead to mentorship opportunities. Mentorship can be a great way to build leadership skills or learn from someone with more experience.
“One of my greatest honors is that I get to mentor a lot of women in our organization,” says Rachael. “It’s one of my favorite things I get to do, because it’s really about mirroring back to people what they already know about themselves, but aren’t in a place to be able to see. If I can help other women be successful, and chart their course, then I’m successful. I have been so blessed to have mentors in my life, at all stages in my career — both men and women who have really opened my eyes to maybe why I was stuck, or why I wasn’t advancing or helping me think through challenges.”
“Sometimes in tech, we get so focused on hard skills that we neglect other areas of growth that are equally important, both in preparing us for new opportunities and for being successful in our current careers.”
– Charon Andrus
Prepare for the future
To stay truly competitive in the job market, it’s important to take ownership of your own professional development. That can include taking a class, listening in on a seminar, or talking to someone outside your organization to learn about their experiences. It’s also helpful to pay attention to industry trends to determine how you can prepare yourself to more competitive for future moves.
“Look across the industry, think about where you want to go and make sure that you’re prepared from a technical training perspective to be positioned for opportunities when they present themselves,” says Rachael.
“I think we’re all trying to figure that out with artificial intelligence. I need to spend more time with ChatGPT. The more time we can spend learning new tools, technology and project management modalities, the more we will be able to benefit ourselves and people who are early in their careers.”
“Don’t neglect your leadership skills,” adds Charron. “Sometimes in tech, we get so focused on hard skills that we neglect other areas of growth that are equally important, both in preparing us for new opportunities and for being successful in our current careers. Communication, leadership, people management, finance and budgeting skills are all areas of knowledge we need to run a successful tech organization.”
Lead from where you are
Many employees dream of moving into leadership roles, but the truth is that some are already on the path to leadership and haven’t realized it yet.
“We all have an opportunity in our roles to be leaders, regardless of our position in the organization or our title or status,” Rachael explains. But there’s no one-size-fits-all road to leadership.
“You have to be uniquely you. It’s easy to feel like you have to conform to what societal norms are around what it means to be a woman leader or a leader in technology. I always tell people, ‘Pay attention to traits you admire in others, but you don’t have to become those people. See what fits for you, then amplify what works for you. If you aren’t your authentic self, you’re not going to be your best self.”
About the University of California Womxn in Technology Committee (UC WIT)
UC WIT is a self-chartered, independent entity that promotes a supportive, inclusive environment to advance the professional goals and aspirations of UC women in technology. UC WIT members come from throughout UC’s 10 campuses, six health systems, and three national laboratories. Learn more about Learn more about UC WIT.