The CUCSA officers and delegation at the UCPath Center.

The OP Staff Assembly’s (OPSA’s) highlight of 2023 was when UCOP hosted the quarterly meeting of the Council of University of California Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) at the UCPath Center, from December 6 – 8, 2023.

CUCSA provides communication, collaboration, advisement and advocacy throughout the UC system on issues of interest to staff, and in particular policy-covered staff. Delegates do this work under UC Systemwide Human Resources’ sponsorship and are proud to have done so since 1974.

The CUCSA delegation consists of two staff assembly delegates from each UC campus, plus UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, Berkeley National Laboratory and UCOP. The CUCSA delegation meets quarterly for two-and-a-half days to share organizational best practices, communicate and collaborate on issues of concern for UC staff.

At this meeting, the CUCSA delegation had an opportunity to meet with and engage in conversation with:

• Callale Concon, Ombudsperson, UC Office of the President
• Calvin Turner, Executive Director, UCPath
• Angelina Gomez, Director of Employee Services, UCPath
• Jo Mackness, Staff Advisor to the UC Regents, UC Berkeley
• Andenet Emiru, Staff Advisor Designate, UCOP
• Van Williams, Vice President of Information Technology Services and Chief Information Officer, UC
• Clare Sheridan, Regents Analyst, Office of the Secretary of the Regents

They also received a tour of the UCPath Center, where they met UCPath leaders and learned about the work of each department, as well as UC Riverside Arts.

The meeting was a success and CUCSA officers and delegates left with a greater understanding and appreciation of the work happening at UCPath. CUCSA shared a digital card to express their gratitude to OPSA and contributing colleagues for hosting a fun, informative, and productive meeting. For more details, you can read a detailed summary of the meeting.

A special thanks

OPSA members at the CUCSA reception hosted at The Barn at UC Riverside. From left to right: Lisa Smith, Angela Porras-Weydemuller, Mahjabeen Yucekul, Giselle Jose, Tom Myers and Danielle Gunkel

OPSA is grateful to the many staff members who helped make this meeting possible, including:

• Dana Adams, Benefits Associate, UCPath, and OPSA Steering Committee Member
• Andrew Balisi, Communications Specialist, UCPath
• Patrick Evans, Building Manager, UCPath
• Deb Gruen, Senior Event Planner, Building and Administrative Service Center (BASC)
• Barbara Heilman, Event Services Manager, BASC
• Giselle Jose, Coordinator and Training Specialist, Local HR, and UCOP CUCSA Delegate
• Juliann Martinez, Interim Executive Director, Systemwide Employee Relations, and Former Staff Advisor to the UC Regents
• Maria Martinez, Coordinator to the Executive Director, UCPath
• Amy Metcalf, Senior Public Events Manager, UC Riverside Arts
• Lisa Smith, Payroll Supervisor, UCPath, and OPSA Chair
• Calvin Turner, Executive Director, UCPath
• Amy Vrizuela, Director, Business Resource Center
• Erica White, Benefits Associate, UCPath, and CUCSA Alumni
• Dale Williams, Employee Relations Coordinator, Systemwide Employee Relations
• Mahjabeen Yucekul, Senior Software Developer, California Digital Library, and UCOP CUCSA Delegate

Thank you to the following UCPath leaders for taking the time to meet with the CUCSA delegation and participating in the UCPath tour:

• Angelina Gomez, Director, Employee Services
• Christina Saint Martin, Production Director
• Daniel Teeter, Finance Supervisor, Benefits Billing
• Tera Urias, Business Operations Manager
• Erin Warnock-Smith, Human Resources Business Partner

Thank you to the following CUCSA leaders:

• John Bodenschats, UC Irvine, Chair
• Jen Bowser, UC Santa Barbara, Chair Elect
• Derek DeMarco, UC Santa Cruz, External Communications Officer
• Dennis McIver, UC Office of the President, Immediate Past Chair
• Jeremy Thacker, UC Irvine, Internal Operations Officer