2024 Annual Leadership Conference

REIMAGINING LEADERSHIP TODAY
FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

SAVE THE DATE!

2024 ANNUAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

This leadership conference will provide a full day of keynote speakers and professional development workshops. Both managers and staff will be inspired by fresh ideas and discussion, begin to rethink the status quo, and leave ready to tackle challenges in creative and innovative ways.

Wednesday, April 24, 2024
8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Carnesale Commons
251 Charles E Young Drive West
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Registration details will be forthcoming!

Morning Breakout Sessions

Fostering a Culture of Support in Changing Times
Speakers: Panel from the Center for Academic Advising in the College
The last three years have been extraordinarily challenging. All of our routines, standards, systems, processes, and expectations were abruptly disrupted and upended. In addition, the COVID pandemic led many people to reconsider their values and priorities in life, resulting in what has been called the Great Resignation. But these crises simultaneously gave us the opportunity to rethink the culture of our unit and to reshape it more intentionally into a culture of support to cultivate a team that is highly engaged, mutually caring, inclusively valued, and deeply grateful to be a part of such a community. Together, these efforts have been highly effective in creating a nurturing environment that has been helpful in recruiting and retaining staff even in a challenging labor market. Ultimately, while the advising profession has always been intrinsically meaningful, it may not always be extrinsically compensated, but we have sought to make our work culture a place where people know they are impactful, deeply valued, and supported. We have been very successful in fostering a culture of support that is consonant with peoples’ values and priorities, in which our team trusts the leadership and feels valued and confident that together, we can face any challenge fully supported and with integrity.

Managing in a Hybrid Work Environment and Supporting Employee Well-being
Speaker: Angela DiBlasi, Counselor, Staff and Faculty Counseling Center
Leaders will gain confidence and feel more empowered to support their teams’ wellbeing in a hybrid work environment. Objectives: Understand how employees may be impacted in a hybrid work environment. Identify signs and symptoms that suggest an employee is struggling. Enhance effective communication techniques to have meaningful conversations with employees. Gain skills for coping with change and transition. Enhance Emotional Intelligence Skills. Increase self-compassion and self-care coping strategies.

Navigating the AI Landscape: Evaluating and Choosing the Right Tools for You
Speaker: Joy Guey, Emerging Technologies Advocate, Director of the Bridge Innovation Studio
The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become both a promising opportunity and a source of ethical concerns. This presentation aims to provide a general overview of existing tools and future trends while offering insight on balancing between the benefits of AI and its potential risks to humanity. Attendees are invited to join in on the conversation about this rapidly changing landscape and should walk away with some guidelines on making informed decisions when evaluating which tools will best align with your objectives.

Wellness in the Workplace
Speaker: Bianca Caulfield, Manager of Payment Solutions and Compliance, Certified Yoga Instructor The future of work begins with leaders who prioritize the well-being of themselves and their teams. In this session you will learn how to incorporate wellness practices into your workday as a leader and your workplace for your team. We will practice mindfulness and incorporate meditation into our session, as well as motivate and empower each other to be champions of a holistic approach to work-life balance. Join us for a session of inspiration and actionable insights, discovering how a wellness-driven leadership style can redefine success, enhance team dynamics, and pave the way for a better tomorrow.

Afternoon Breakout Sessions

Fostering a Culture of Support in Changing Times
Speakers: Panel from the Center for Academic Advising in the College
The last three years have been extraordinarily challenging. All of our routines, standards, systems, processes, and expectations were abruptly disrupted and upended. In addition, the COVID pandemic led many people to reconsider their values and priorities in life, resulting in what has been called the Great Resignation. But these crises simultaneously gave us the opportunity to rethink the culture of our unit and to reshape it more intentionally into a culture of support to cultivate a team that is highly engaged, mutually caring, inclusively valued, and deeply grateful to be a part of such a community. Together, these efforts have been highly effective in creating a nurturing environment that has been helpful in recruiting and retaining staff even in a challenging labor market. Ultimately, while the advising profession has always been intrinsically meaningful, it may not always be extrinsically compensated, but we have sought to make our work culture a place where people know they are impactful, deeply valued, and supported. We have been very successful in fostering a culture of support that is consonant with peoples’ values and priorities, in which our team trusts the leadership and feels valued and confident that together, we can face any challenge fully supported and with integrity.

Managing in a Hybrid Work Environment and Supporting Employee Well-being
Speaker: Angela DiBlasi, Counselor, Staff and Faculty Counseling Center
Leaders will gain confidence and feel more empowered to support their teams’ wellbeing in a hybrid work environment. Objectives: Understand how employees may be impacted in a hybrid work environment. Identify signs and symptoms that suggest an employee is struggling. Enhance effective communication techniques to have meaningful conversations with employees. Gain skills for coping with change and transition. Enhance Emotional Intelligence Skills. Increase self-compassion and self-care coping strategies.

Navigating the AI Landscape: Evaluating and Choosing the Right Tools for You
Speaker: Joy Guey, Emerging Technologies Advocate, Director of the Bridge Innovation Studio
The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become both a promising opportunity and a source of ethical concerns. This presentation aims to provide a general overview of existing tools and future trends while offering insight on balancing between the benefits of AI and its potential risks to humanity. Attendees are invited to join in on the conversation about this rapidly changing landscape and should walk away with some guidelines on making informed decisions when evaluating which tools will best align with your objectives.

The Science of Leadership Resilience
Speaker: Darlene Mininni, Consultant, Learning & Organizational Development
During challenging times, our resilience and well-being becomes more important than ever. It’s not easy to feel motivated or effective—in our work and life—when we’re overwhelmed and stressed. Although there are some things in our lives we can’t control, there are small and powerful things that we can. In fact, 40% of our resilience comes from using a set of practical skills that we can learn.

In this workshop, you’ll discover science-based strategies to:
-Rewire your body’s ancient negativity bias
-Manage your nervous system to build calm and focus
-Practice a brain-training exercise shown to boost resilience up to 25%

BIOGRAPHIES

Bianca Caulfield (she/her)
Bianca serves as the Manager of Payment Solutions and Compliance. She has been with UCLA for almost 5 years. In her current role she oversees all incoming payments, ensures departments are in compliance with all cash handling policies and is heavily involved in cashiering changes for the Ascend 2.0 project. She also co-founded a wellness group within Student Finance Solutions. She has completed over 500 hours of yoga teacher training and recently became a certified sound healer. Her first job was working at her family’s deli when she could barely see over the counter. Since those days she has worked numerous jobs with varying titles but she always found a need for more resources for managers and employees to find wellness in the workplace. In her free time, she can be found hiking around the Santa Monica Mountains or at the beach. She is a proud cat Mom of two sweet girls, Phoebe and Bean.

Angela DiBlasi (she/her)
Angela DiBlasi is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She received her Master’s in Social Work in 1990 from the University of Southern California (USC) with an emphasis in working with employees and leaders in the workplace. She started her career journey at UCLA over 30 years ago in the Staff and Faculty Counseling Center (SFCC) where she completed an internship and accrued hours toward her licensure. She then went on to provide Counseling, Coaching and Consultation to Staff, Faculty and Leaders at Caltech, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and at the University of Southern California (USC). At USC, she was a Program Manager and an Executive Coach, helping leaders succeed in their leadership roles. She has come full circle and returned to UCLA SFCC in October 2022 as a Counselor and also provides Coaching and Consultation to Leaders.

Joy Guey (she/her)
Joy Guey is an emerging technologies advocate and has recently designed an innovation studio housed in the Social Sciences Division to help people find efficient solutions to their research questions and embrace the exploration of immersive technologies. She credits her collaborative spirit to the talented staff, faculty, and technologists she has worked with at UCLA for over ten years. Her educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UCLA where she also minored in digital humanities and later obtained a Master of Social Science degree in 2019. Joy currently facilitates a cross-campus working group that discusses applications of XR technologies (VR, AR, MR), serves as a Women in Tech committee member, chairs the API Faculty & Staff Association and participates on the Innovation Advisory Council for Vation Ventures. A foodie at heart, she’s always happy to provide recommendations of local eats and strives to balance that with the occasional weekend hike or worship gathering.

Darlene Mininni (she/her)
Darlene Mininni is a consultant with UCLA Learning & Organizational Development where she teaches, advises and coaches UCLA leaders and staff on research-based strategies to build wellbeing and success at work. Previously, Darlene was Chief Learning Officer at UCLA Extension and focused on designing interventions to enhance staff wellbeing. She started her career as Director of the Applied Psychology Program at the UCLA Arthur Ashe Health & Wellness Center where she created the popular undergraduate course, CHS 179: LifeSkills. Darlene is author of The Emotional Toolkit: 7 Strategies to Nail Your Bad Feelings (St Martin’s Press), and her work on wellbeing has been featured in media outlets including CNN, PBS, and NPR. She is a founding Wellness Advisory Board member for Everyday Health and former host of the SiriusXM radio show, The Emotional Toolkit. Darlene was named the endowed Frank Roehr Memorial Lecture speaker by the UC San Diego Stein Institute for Research on Aging for her topic “The Science of Resilience: How to Thrive in Your Life.” She holds a PhD in clinical psychology and an MPH in behavioral health.

BIOGRAPHIES – Panel from the Center for Academic Advising in the College

Axel Cortes (he/him)
Axel Cortes, M.S., is an Academic Advisor in the Center for Academic Advising in the College at UCLA. Axel is a former DACA recipient and First Generation Transfer student, and received his Master’s in Counseling and College Student Personnel at Cal Lutheran University.

Marian Gabra (she/her)
Marian H. Gabra, Ph.D. is the director of Advisor Training & Professional Development & the director of University Studies at UCLA. In her role, she works collaboratively across campus to cultivate spaces of learning and growth for staff and students. Marian and the ACE Committee have been awarded the 2018 NACADA Region 9 Advising Innovation award. She is a published author, has been a featured keynote speaker at various programs and conferences, and currently serves on the NACADA Research Committee. Marian also advises students in the Center for Academic Advising in the College. She earned her BA in English from Occidental College in 2002 and her doctorate in Comparative Literature from UCLA in 2010.

Corey Hollis (she/her)
Corey Hollis is Assistant Dean, Undergraduate Academic Support, and Executive Director, Center for Academic Advising in the College, and has been at UCLA since 1995 as a graduate student in the History department. She started working in College Academic Counseling as a College Academic Mentor in 2001 and joined the staff as a professional advisor in 2004. She also served as the Training Coordinator through 2007, when she became the Director of College Academic Counseling, and has served her current role since 2014.

Brian Latham (he/him)
Brian Latham, M.A., is passionate about developing authentic and impactful leadership skills in academic advising with undergraduate student, graduate student, and professional staff within the College. He joined the Center for Academic Advising in the College at UCLA over ten years ago where he has worked as an Academic Advisor, Coordinator of ASK Peer Counseling (now CAC Peer Counseling), and Coordinator of the College Academic Mentor program before serving in his current role. He earned his BA in Communication with a minor in Ethnic Studies at UC San Diego and a MA in Postsecondary Educational Leadership with a Specialization in Student Affairs at San Diego State University. He is excited to begin his PhD in Leadership in Academic Advising through Kansas State University and NACADA this summer.

Shahla Moreno (she/her)
Shahla Moreno is the Director of Advising Staff and Administration for the Center for Academic Advising in the College at UCLA. In her role, she supports the advising team by fostering collaboration, communication, and community. She has also worked intentionally to streamline processes through technology and ingenuity, and to contribute to a healthy work culture. A proud transfer student, Shahla earned her BA in Communication Studies from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and her M.Ed. in Educational Counseling from the USC Rossier School of Education.

Conference Archive

The first UCLA AMG conference was spearheaded by the 2018-19 AMG Board and has been a great success. Due to Covid-19, the conference was cancelled in 2020.

AMG Past Conferences
YearThemeAgendaLocation
2023Developing Tomorrow’s LeadersAgenda & Conference ResourcesUCLA Luskin Conference Center
2022L.E.A.D Learn * Engage * Apply * Demonstrate AgendaVirtual
2021Shaping the Future of UCLA AgendaVirtual
2019Embracing Change
AgendaUCLA Luskin Conference Center
2018Fostering a Culture of LeadersAgendaUCLA Covel Commons