TOSHA PHAM
CA
Summary
Forward-thinking and results-driven IT leader and higher education practitioner with over 25 years of progressive expertise in IT operations, system development/testing/implementation, expense/capital budgets, project management, program implementation, policy development, vendor relations, and IT strategy/road maps. Strong track record of redesigning business processes and implementing student information systems, human resources, and finance Oracle Cloud and on-premise ERP systems in multi-faceted and complex private, public, and technical higher education institutions. Articulate, highly organized, and dedicated change management practitioner who excels in digital and business transformation. Innovative leadership style that has led to successful team building and exceeding defined goals and objectives. Proven success in creating strategic IT plans and executing key initiatives and projects across the entire organization through collaboration and consensus with senior leadership executives. Demonstrated program and project management skills with a talent for effective team building and managing high-functioning teams.
Overview
27
27
years of professional experience
Work History
Technical Director (remote)
Cal State University, Chancellor’s Office
01.2021 - Current
- Provide technical expertise, change management, and program management to the Common Human Resource System (CHRS), a complex consolidation project involving all 23 CSU campuses and the Chancellor's Office with annual allocated budget of $6 million over a seven year implementation period
- Responsible for the overall technical development and deployment of CHRS project including developing strategy for the following areas: Application Development, Technical Services, Reporting, Accessibility, Knowledge Base, Training, Identity Access Management, and Third Party Integrations
- Successfully develop and implement on-premise to Oracle Cloud migration for Oracle Human Resources application
- Present monthly CHRS updates to CHRS Executive Sponsors, Executive Steering Committees, and CHRS Open Forums
- Develop and deploy change management and communication strategies to implementing campuses; create templates, surveys and assessment tools, and communication plans for campuses to assess campuses readiness for CHRS project
- Collaborate with project managers, campuses project teams, and working groups to create testing, training, implementation, and transition plans from HR 9.0 to CHRS
- Facilitate and lead functional and technical teams to develop and map out new business processes and procedures to adopt CHRS
- Develop and execute the overall 'Move-to-Production' (MTP) process and project plan including developing the MTP plans and conducting multiple mock MTP dry runs to minimize downtime for the campuses
- Oversee the conversion and security teams to ensure that that conversion and security scripts are executed accurately within acceptable times
- Responsible for staffing internal resources and vendor relationship management of consultants
- Collaborate with Procurement and Legal Counsel to ensure contracts terms and conditions are in compliance with CSU policies and guidelines
- Lead and chair working committees to map out data governance and reporting requirements across the CSU
CIO and Associate Vice President, ITS
Cal State University, Los Angeles
01.2016 - 01.2021
- Provided strategic technology leadership for Information Technology Services (ITS) division with an annual budget of $12 million and 66 full-time staff in the planning, management, implementation, and direction of all technology initiatives in support of both academic and administrative operations, supporting 28,000 students and 2000 faculty and staff
- Led and administered all aspects of integrated campus information technology services consisting of central computing and communications facilities, system programming, enterprise applications development, network, telecommunications, business intelligence, data warehouse, information security, cybersecurity programs, data privacy and compliance, project management, educational technology services, University IT experience, Universal design services, and business continuity
- Successfully transitioned the University to remote learning during the pandemic by providing over 7000 laptops, 5000 IPads and 5000 hotspots to students and faculty; transitioned ITS Help Desk and Enrollment Management Services to 100% remote services; implemented over 365 electronic forms with built-in workflow campus wide
- Provided leadership for strategic planning, operations, development of vendor partnerships, and budget planning and development related to centralized information technology services
- Managed a highly effective customer service-oriented organization structure while fostering professional and effective work teams; approved and directed all recruitment, management, development, and evaluation of qualified personnel to support ITS operations
- Collaborated with shared governance structure, faculty, staff, students, administrators, and members of the community to ensure that ITS is providing high quality services
- Developed and updated ITS Strategic plan and road map to align with the new University strategic plan
- Collaborated with Cabinet members to develop the University Strategic Plan
- Created Accessibility Strategic plan and implementation road map to ensure University is in compliance with latest regulatory requirements
- Developed and executed the ITS disaster recovery and business continuity plans
- Submitted proposals and received grants to seek additional funding for IT projects in support of the CSU Graduation Initiative 2025
- Served on the campus IT Governance Executive Council, CSU Grad 2025 Committee, and CSU CIO Council; Co-chaired several Cal State LA executive committees
- Led project management of CSU and/or Cal State LA technology solutions for implementing legislation, policies, and key initiatives, including CSU Graduation Initiative 2025, Academic Preparation, CSU Multifactor Admissions, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Data, and CSU Student Conduct Sanctions
- Represented the University as a leader in national and state-wide technology advancement and maintained a high level of involvement with associations in the higher education industry
Associate Vice President, ITS
Cal State University, Los Angeles
01.2014 - 01.2016
- Led the multi-million dollar quarter-to-semester IT conversion project for fall 2017 on time and within budget; campus was behind schedule prior to my leading this program
- Launched the new successful University GETmobile application with over one million transactions conducted by students within first year of implementation
- Led the assessment of IT resource needs, including the planning and coordination of technology acquisitions, implementation of latest information technology strategies and development of appropriate supporting policies
- Conducted campus readiness and deployed change management strategies prior to the deployment of systems impacting campus-wide such as the implementation of a new identity management system, multi-factor authentication application, new incident management system, and digital signage
- Implemented new incident management system and redesigned the ITS help desk processes
- Deployed the first CSU campus 24/7 fully staffed computing lab and ITS Help Desk
- Led the Accessible Technology Initiative to focus on accessibility programs that greatly assisted the University in meeting its compliance goal
- Worked on feasibility studies and requests for proposals (RFP) to replace and implement the Identity Management System and to relocate the campus data center
- Annually requested and approved for one-time funding grants for ITS organization from $1.3 to $1.7 million to fund special ITS related projects
- Implemented and deployed new applications such as new data warehouse system, Canvas learning management system, Service-Now incident management system, Pathlock SSO and PUX, Starfish, On-Base, Interfolio, and Ad Astra Analytics
- Responsible for developing and publishing the annual ITS report against established key performance indicators (KPIs)
Application Support Manager
Cal State University, Chancellor’s Office
01.2006 - 01.2014
- Directly managed 55 functional and technical staff by setting clear and achievable goals, mentoring, leading, and motivating direct reports to meet and exceed expectations
- Responsible for all facets of the planning, design, implementation and/or upgrades for the Oracle Human Resources, Finance, and Campus Solutions applications for 23 campuses and the Chancellor’s Office (CO)
- Successfully planned and executed the Common Finance System (CFS) implementation of consolidating 24 PeopleSoft finance databases into a single production instance as well as the CFS 9.2 upgrade within budget and scope
- Experienced in establishing approach, time, scope and cost estimates for multi-million dollar projects such as the CFS implementation, CFS 9.2 Upgrade, initial CHRS project, and HCM PeopleTools upgrades
- Accountable for all facets of consultant relationships, including defining scope and responsibilities, prioritization of tasks, establishing deliverable timelines, and tracking billable hours to ensure proper utilization of consultant resources
- Managed various audits for the Chancellors Office and responsible for the communication and collection of all documentation as requested by the auditors
- Managed the successful implementation of many key initiatives and regulatory CSU projects such as Executive Order 1037, Annual Mentor Maintenance, California Dream Act/Cal ISIR Program, Facilitation Graduation Initiative, Middle Class Scholarship Program, Service-Now implementation, Salary Schedule Load, CSYou SharePoint
- Accountable for all personnel matters for the Application Development Team including vacancy requisitions, recruiting process, evaluations and disciplinary actions, in-range progression, and reclassification requests
Oracle / PeopleSoft Functional Lead
Cal State University, Chancellor’s Office
01.2003 - 01.2006
- Effectively managed the development and testing phases of the Campus Solutions upgrade project, ensuring that all CSU modifications were upgraded and tested within established time frame and scope
- Led and managed project teams to achieve systems implementation, testing and deployment goals in highly complex environments
- Effectively managed fit/gap analysis and specification preparation, development, training, and knowledge transfers to campus users
- Developed design specification documentation, configuration guides, and business process guides
- Responsible for all functional development and testing of Oracle and CSU customizations for the Admissions and Campus Community modules
- Provided all aspects of production support and knowledge transfer to the CSU campuses
Senior Consultant
Cedar
01.2001 - 01.2003
- Responsible for the successful ERP system implementations and upgrades such as student information systems, human capital management, and finance systems for various public and private higher education institutions
- Facilitated data governance and strategic plan development sessions with Cabinet and senior University leadership team
- Conducted fit/gap sessions, configured applications, unit and system integration testing, developed test scripts, configuration guides, business process guides and reports, and led end-user training
Strategic Alliance Manager
IBM Global Services
01.2000 - 01.2001
- Successfully managed concurrent $3-5 million dollars system integrations and application development client engagements in North America and Australia
- Responsible for relationship management with clients including change management, project planning and execution, resource staffing, risk assessment, cost-benefit analysis, and status reporting
- Implemented the 'one-stop shopping' student-centered services and best practices in student services on client engagements
Project Manager
IBM Global Services
01.1998 - 01.2000
- Managed $15+ million ERP implementations and upgrades for various public and private higher education institutions in North America and Australia
- Created methodologies and standard tool kits to promote fast, successful implementations
Education
MBA - Business Administration
University of California, Irvine
01.1997
BA - Business Administration
California State University, Fullerton
01.1994
Skills
- Inclusive Leadership
- Change Management
- Program and Project Management
- Risk Assessments and Management
- Strategic Planning and Development
- Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
- Enterprise Resource Planning
- Produce Development Roadmap Design
- IT service management
- Enterprise software implementation
- Client Relationship Building
- Strategic Planning
Presentations & Professional Development
- Higher Education User Group, Integration Community of Practice, 01/01/21 - present
- Member, ReadyEducation Higher Education Advisory Board, 01/01/19 - present
- Member, Laserfiche Higher Education Advisory Board, 01/01/20 - present
- Presenter, California State University Technical Conference, 07/01/19 - 07/01/22
Skillsandprofessionaldevelopment
- National Diversity and Leadership Conference, 03/01/24
- DEI Strategic & Planning and Inclusive Leadership Training, 03/01/23
- Foundation for Women’s Leadership & Empowerment, 04/01/22
- Prosci Change Management Re-Certification, 04/01/22
- Emotional Intelligence Training, 04/01/21
- ITIL 4 Training and Certification, 05/01/20
- Assistive Technology Certificate Program, 05/01/19
- Educause Leadership Institute, 07/01/18
- Prosci Change Management Certification, 01/01/17
- Project Management Training Certification, 11/01/16
Timeline
Technical Director (remote)
Cal State University, Chancellor’s Office
01.2021 - Current
CIO and Associate Vice President, ITS
Cal State University, Los Angeles
01.2016 - 01.2021
Associate Vice President, ITS
Cal State University, Los Angeles
01.2014 - 01.2016
Application Support Manager
Cal State University, Chancellor’s Office
01.2006 - 01.2014
Oracle / PeopleSoft Functional Lead
Cal State University, Chancellor’s Office
01.2003 - 01.2006
Senior Consultant
Cedar
01.2001 - 01.2003
Strategic Alliance Manager
IBM Global Services
01.2000 - 01.2001
Project Manager
IBM Global Services
01.1998 - 01.2000
BA - Business Administration
California State University, Fullerton
MBA - Business Administration
University of California, Irvine
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