Davida Johnson,
Managing Director,
UCLA Office of Advanced Research Computing — Data and Technology Solutions
Davida Johnson is currently the Managing Director for the UCLA Office of Advanced Research Computing –Data and Technology Solutions (formerly the UCLA Office of Information Technology). Shehas responsibility for the planning and execution of critical initiatives and projects supporting the campus-wide academic community with a particular focus on the development and sustainability of technology programs and practices that enable the campus research community and internal and external technology communities of practice. Davida earned her B.S. degree from MITin Humanities and Computer Science Engineering. Her diverse background has helped bridge the gap between technical teams and non-technical clientele. She began her professional career writing software algorithms for physicists at Clark Atlanta University on a grant funded by the US Army ResearchLaboratory. She advanced her career as a consultant for Accenture on one of their largest and longest client engagements in Atlanta, Georgia with Bell South Communications (now AT&T). She, then, relocated to Los Angeles after taking a position at Warner Bros. Entertainment where she supported application teams as a Senior Business Analyst in a newly formedITPMO, as a Team Lead for a large retail inventory management application for Warner Home Entertainment, and progressing into a Senior Manager role in Business Continuity in Studio Operations supporting the business globally. Davida then joined UCLA as theDirector of IT Community Partnership Programs in the UCLA Office of Information Technology, mobilizing 900+ UCLA IT staff in collective communities of practice to support the academic mission of education, research and service, before being promoted to Managing Director. Davidais an avid supporter of women in technology and currently co-chairs the UCLA Women in Technology initiative, which she established in 2015.Through UCLA WIT, Davida has organized large-scale conferences addressing key issues impacting women in the tech field, including organizational culture, pay equity, unconscious bias, and leadership potential. In 2019, she co-sponsored a 15-week, intenseWomen in Leadership program with the ITC Corp on the campus of UCLA. Davida also volunteers her time mentoring young African-Americans pursuing careers in technology, and teaches digital skills to women at a transitional housing facility to help them to become independent after experiencing the devastating impacts of homelessness.
