Neetika Varma and Elizabeth Garcia-Solorzano are undoubtedly a cornerstone of the Business Transformation Office (BTO). Neetika joined the BTO in 2016 as a business analyst working on the Student Information Systems (SIS) project and is now the IdM project manager on the Ascend project, where she’s responsible for the transition of access management for Ascend and multiple campus applications from DACSS to Grouper.
She holds an MBA in global management, has completed the UC IT leadership program and has deep technical expertise and consulting skills. Driven by her keen desire to resolve issues and assist the campus community, Neetika has also built strong working relationships both within and outside the BTO. In fact, she’s often seen informally collaborating with team members to tackle work-related challenges as they arise. Definitely a real team player and innovative problem solver.
A typical workday for Neetika consists of facilitating discussions and workshops, sketching out ideas on white boards, liaising with vendors and application owners across campus to make sure the solutions developed effectively meet business needs, identifying any risks and working closely with Audit & Controls to ensure the technical solutions proposed by her team meet compliance requirements.
On top of managing her work duties, Neetika also makes time to participate in events such as UCLA Volunteer Day and recently organized a Diwali celebration for the entire team. When she’s not on vacation and busy paragliding in Switzerland or somewhere else in the world, that is!
Elizabeth Garcia-Solorzano joined the team in 2014 and works as executive assistant to BTO Executive Director Omar Noorzai. She’s responsible for event logistics, daily financial transactions (such as invoices), working with suppliers and managing the day-to-day operations of the BTO. This means keeping track of more than 200 staff and consultants, managing multiple large meetings or training sessions every day, and ensuring the 30,000+ sq. ft. office, along with all the equipment and technology, is running smoothly. Responding quickly to changing circumstances is no doubt second nature to her.
Elizabeth is truly a hard worker who’s willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done and she consistently exceeds expectations. “With a proven track record of exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail and ability to single-handedly plan large-scale events, she was the obvious choice when I needed to fill the office move coordinator role to manage the BTO move from the Wilshire Center to Oppenheimer Tower in 2018,” says Omar. Since then, her role has evolved to liaising with building management to ensure compliance with building and fire regulations, configuring (and reconfiguring!) floor plans to accommodate the growing project teams and playing a key role in fiscal year-end activities. Outside of work, Elizabeth puts her creative streak to great use by volunteering to decorate and make floral arrangements at events.
To respond to the increasing campus demand for innovative solutions and BTO services, and to foster professional growth, Omar along with program director Ming Fu regularly assign challenging work and mini-projects to everyone on the team. They believe in offering opportunities for development at all levels, regardless of your job title. One thing is for certain – there is no shortage of opportunities to learn new skills, develop leadership acumen and build confidence as part of this organization.
On behalf of the entire BTO team, we’re extending our sincere thank you to Neetika and Elizabeth for all that you do for us. From ensuring access to financial data is granted with appropriate security controls in place, to running the office like a well-oiled machinery, you both go above and beyond to get the job done and are nothing short of an absolute pleasure to work with!
