NEWS: UC Womxn In Tech Fall Fireside Chat with Rachael Nava – Recap

Watch: UC WIT Fall Fireside Chat with Rachael Nava

In November, Associate Chief Information Security Officer, and UC Womxn in Technology (UC WIT) Chair, Charron Andrus, associate chief information security officer, UC Berkeley, sat down for a Fall fireside chat with University of California Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rachael Nava. Nava spoke about her career path, shared advice she learned along the way, and gave tips on career advancement. Attendees also had the chance to ask questions. Watch the recording. 

Liliana Dimitrova, senior telecommunications analyst at UCOP, and Jeané Blunt, communications specialist at UC Berkeley, facilitated the event.

Returning to UC

Though Rachael Nava is a third-generation University of California (UC) alumna, her path to chief operating officer (COO) was not a linear one. She began her career in community clinics, where she learned to be a leader. During that time Nava 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. 

Nava 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!” Nava’s takeaway from that experience? “Take a risk and put yourself out there, you never know where you might land.”

A Woman In Tech

Nava was well-qualified for her current role but still hesitated before applying.

As women leaders in particular, and women in our career in general, we look at a job description and don’t feel we can apply unless we check every single box off the experience and qualifications needed. We often count ourselves out of opportunities because we don’t think we have enough. 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 – because even if you don’t get the position, you learn a lot about yourself along the way.

Rachael Nava

As COO of the University of California (UC) the technology function for the University falls under Nava’s program, but she never considered herself a “woman in tech.”

I’m disappointed in myself that I hadn’t, because I really have worked in IT pretty much all of my career in some form or fashion – whether it 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 Nava

Nava feels the responsibility lies with women leaders to share their stories to help 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.

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. Nava says,

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.

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. 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. So 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.

Prepare For the Future

To stay truly competitive in the job market, it’s important to take ownership of one’s own professional development. That could mean taking a class, listening in on a seminar, or talking to someone outside of your organization to learn how they do it. It could also mean paying attention to industry trends to determine how to make yourself more competitive for something in the future. 

“Look across the industry, think about where you wanna go, and make sure that you’re prepared from a technical training perspective to be positioned for opportunities when they present themselves,” says Nava. “I think we’re all trying to figure that out with AI. I need to spend more time with ChatGPT. The more time we can spend learning new tools, new technology, new project management modalities, I think that’s all gonna benefit us and benefit people who are early in their career.”

Charron Andrus added:

Don’t neglect your leadership skills. Sometimes in tech, we get so focused on those hard skills, that we neglect those other skillsets we need that are also important to ensure that we are ready for those roles when they open up, and that we are successful in our careers – those communication skills, leadership skills, people management skills, finance, budget, all the things we need to run a successful tech organization.

Charron Andrus

Lead From Where You Are

Many employees dream of moving into leadership, but the truth is – some are already on the path to leadership and haven’t realized it yet. Nava says, “We all have an opportunity in our roles to be leaders, regardless of your position in the organization or your title or status.” 

But there’s no one-size-fits-all road to leadership, she says:

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, ‘Look at traits you admire in others, but you don’t have to become them. See what fits for you, and amplify the things that work for you. But if you’re not your authentic self, you’re not gonna be your best self.

Co-hosts