Business Transformation Manager

Erica Aichwalder serves as the Manager for OBT. Erica brings a wealth of knowledge in business management practices, having led operations in the private sector for ten years. Her expertise includes budget, accounting, payroll and human resource functions.  

Since joining the team in 2013, Erica has focused on business process analysis, continuous improvement and organizational change management. Through observation, research and interviews, Erica collaborates with stakeholders to develop recommendations for positive business changes; helping transform information into actionable insights.  Erica also coordinates and facilitates the Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt training program on the Davis campus. 

Erica is a UC Davis alumna and holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology. She has a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification and is a Certified Prosci Change Management Practitioner.

Business Process Analyst

Michelle is a Business Process Analyst with OBT. Prior to joining UC Davis, Michelle worked for the University of Washington Medical Center for eight years, where her work focused on improving business systems in health care, both in administrative and clinical areas. 

Since joining the team in 2011, Michelle’s work has focused on business process redesign by facilitating data, gathering interviews with stakeholders, analyzing efficiencies and deficits associated with those processes and mapping future state flow charts. She has also supported the Shared Services Center implementation by helping to integrate the case management and knowledge management systems with the campus IT infrastructure. More recently, she has worked with Student Health and Counseling Services on communication strategies, and Contracts and Grants Accounting with streamlining their business processes and identifying areas for improvement.

Michelle holds a bachelor's from Princeton and a Master of Business Administration from Yale. She is a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Black Belt.

Business Process Analyst

Bernadette Hill-Comeau is a Business Process Analyst with the Office of Business Transformation (OBT). Prior to joining UC Davis, Bernadette spent the last ten years leading Continuous Process Improvement initiatives in the industrial manufacturing & supply chain industries, at companies such as Nestle, FedEx Logistics, and Conagra Foods, as well as in the healthcare and biotech industries.  Her achievements include leading TPM and Lean training and development implementations for Nestle USA, acting as a Continuous Improvement leader for various organizations, and in the last two years consulting as a Lean and Six Sigma trainer and coach.

As part of the OBT team at UC Davis since 2020, Bernadette’s work is focused on business process redesign by facilitating data gathering interviews with stakeholders, analyzing efficiencies and deficits associated with those processes and mapping future state flow charts. Bernadette holds a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Development and a Masters of Science in Human Resources Management from Chapman University. She is also certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt from American Society for Quality (ASQ).

Business Analyst

Priya Venkatesan is a Business Systems Analyst with the Office of Business Transformation (OBT). Prior to joining UC Davis, Priya has spent several years in supporting projects and teams with a focus on the customer in Finance and Education industries at companies like such as ICICI Bank and ProctorU. Priya has a wide range of experience working across customer-centric roles in Operations bringing a wealth of knowledge in supporting projects and teams with a focus on the customer. Priya’s expertise includes experience in Learning Management Systems, root cause and data analysis.

Priya holds a Master's degree in Computer Applications from Bharathidasan University, India. She is a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) from Scrum Alliance.

Process and Change Consultant

Alicia is a Process and Change Consultant with OBT. Prior to joining the team, she was with the campus Shared Services Organization (SSO) for six years, where she served in multiple, progressively responsible positions.  

Alicia joined the OBT team in 2017 with a focus on change management and process improvement. She is a certified Prosci Change Management Practitioner/Trainer and has significant experience developing, documenting and delivering training. In addition, she has a keen process improvement mindset that was regularly reflected in her work at BelAir, Raley’s, UC Davis Health and the SSO. 

She holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology from California State University, Sacramento. Alicia has completed her Project Management – Lean Process Certification (PM-LPC) and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt.