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Welcome New UIS Employees December 2022 – February 2023

Join us in celebrating new hires, transfers and changes to the UIS team!

New Consultants to UIS

Brad Taylor  1/12/23  Organizational Change Manager

Brad’s past Organizational Change Management (OCM) engagements have involved large projects for recognizable clients such as the city and county of Denver, National Institutes of Health, ConocoPhillips and New York Life. Prior to focusing on OCM transformation initiatives, Brad worked in Business Process Reengineering (BPR) for clients such as the US Department of Justice, Weight Watchers International, Illinois Department of Revenue, Walgreen’s Pharmacies and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE / Arca).

Brad completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland College Park – followed by completion of graduate studies at the George Washington University School of Business, located just a few blocks from the White House. In his free time, Brad enjoys skiing, beaches, surfing, biking and traveling.   

Jacqueline Averett

Fall 2022 Program Manager

Jacqueline is a project manager certified in PMI and SCRUM fundamentals, with over 20 years of consulting experience in ERP system implementations and strategic HR business processes. UIS is thrilled to have Jacqueline diligently working with us on the Time and Labor project. 

Jacqueline loves being outside and chocolate, specifically Twix which she uses as a motivator for long walks and running the occasional 5K).  

Ike Benjamin Ibe 12/12/22 Senior Project

Ike is a project and program manager with over 15 years of experience working in various industries such as retail, construction, education, healthcare, and state and federal government contracting.. He specializes in process improvement, application development and vendor management. Ike is currently leading the eRA Provisioning and Authentication Project.

When not working, Ike enjoys spending time with his family and taking them on vacations.

Changes within UIS

Melanie Jones  12/1/22 

Technical Training and Enablement Lead

Melanie has been involved with CU and the eComm program since 2011. Originally hired as a student assistant, her Marketing and Information Systems degree from CU Denver couldn't have provided better alignment with her career around CRM. In her most recent role as the eComm Training Manager, Mel built out training and enablement for various eComm users. She will provide support and a framework for other CRM implementations in her expanded role as the technical training and enablement lead.

Melanie was born and raised in Colorado and currently resides near Steamboat Springs, CO. You can find her hiking, birdwatching, sailing or juggling in the kitchen.

Mike Monroe 12/1/22 Service Desk Manager

Mike has been with the UIS Service Desk since April 2019, moving to Tier 2 and then Business Applications Administrator before becoming the service desk manager in December. As the service desk manager, Mike’s focus is to support our exceptional team and enable them to continue providing the excellent service for which they are known.

Outside of work, Mike loves to read, try new foods and restaurants, and play several instruments such as the guitar, bass, and piano. He also recently started taking dance lessons.

Valerie Carricato

12/6/22 Senior Business Systems Analyst

Valerie received her bachelor’s degree in Business and Creative Communication from UCCS, and her master's in Organizational Leadership from Colorado Christian University. She spent eight years working in Admissions and Records for UCCS and served as a liaison between the different departments on campus. She has also worked for the State of Colorado and the Department of Revenue as a systems business analyst for the Driver Control Unit. We are excited to bring her knowledge and experience to the team!

Valerie also has been playing drums since she was about 10 years old. She enjoys writing and playing music and performing gigs around the Front Range in a few different bands. Valerie enjoys building historical and science fiction models for museums and clients. She also loves to go camping and spending time outdoors with her family and two dogs. 

Timothy Thomas 12/1/2022

Principal Systems Engineer

Tim has been a valued member of the infrastructure team since early 2019. During that time, he led and participated in many projects and initiatives that have benefited not only the infrastructure team but all of UIS. Tim’s most recent accomplishment was the completion of the Microsoft Office 365 Modern Authentication Initiative, aiding to strengthen security across the System Administration Microsoft 365 Suite. Now, Tim is expanding his previous role and responsibilities by diving deeper into more of the technologies managed and maintained by the infrastructure team.

When not busy with his two cats, Chester and Danny, Tim enjoys hiking, traveling, and exploring restaurants with his partner as well as playing board games with friends. Last fall he took a train from Manitou Springs to the top of Pike's Peak, and also traveled internationally on a boat from Seattle to Victoria, Canada. You may find Tim at Rapids or Rockies games on occasion and also enjoying in the plethora of music options provided in Denver.

Bradley Weidman 12/1/2022 Principal Systems Engineer

Bradley joined UIS and the Infrastructure team in late 2020, with almost 20 years of experience as a systems administrator at Westwood College, Page 1 Solutions and Phoenix Capital. In his two years at CU, Bradley has been able to address several key areas of aging technology including the Active Directory Domain Controller and File Server replacements. In his new position, Bradley will focus on our Windows Servers, Active Directory environment and MS SQL Servers, as well as supporting the CU Data Center Move.

Originally from Chicago, Bradley moved to Denver in 2002 and recently tied the knot in December 2022. He and his wife Amanda enjoy weekend getaways, camping with their two dogs, and are avid card players. They are looking forward to a belated honeymoon in Paris this fall.

Abhi Alampalli 12/27/2022 Senior Business Systems Analyst

Abhi has worked at CU since Dec 2015. He began as a student employee and, in July 2017, started full-time employment with the eRA team as a systems analyst. In Sept. 2019, his title was updated to Research and Grants business systems analyst, and he successful transitioned to the Grants team where he now supports the Grants applications for three campuses.

Abhi has supported complex integrations between PS Grants and eRA InfoEd system and CIW. He is our subject matter expert in the area of integrations and has unique and critical knowledge across research and grants operations. He has become an integral part of the PeopleSoft Grants team and has gained a great deal of knowledge and experience with the PeopleSoft applications. His role as a Senior Business analyst will allow us to continue to provide excellent customer service to our campus partners.

Rita Samaddar 12/27/2022 Senior Business Systems Analyst 

Rita began working with UIS as a student employee in 2016 and joined the HR IT Services Team in 2017. Since then, Rita has contributed to numerous successful, high-visibility HCM projects including annual benefits open enrollments, Benefits Fluidization, Wave 3B, multiple Tools upgrades and PUM catch-ups. In this new role Rita is responsible for analysis, configuration, testing, implementation and troubleshooting of HCM application issues.

Outside of work, Rita likes to travel to new places and experience local culture. She also enjoys reading and expanding her knowledge on topics like history, arts and personal finance. Indian classical dance also has a special place in Rita’s heart.

 

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