First, why the presence of Mt. Diablo throughout my webpages. When I moved to Walnut Creek from Southern California, I was struck by the beauty of the mountain and its surrounding foothills. My new home was at its base and the move created a reconnection to my Northern California roots. Its name didn’t resonate because, to me, there was something spiritual about it, so I named it Spirit Mountain. I’ve since learned that the Ohlone, the indigenous people of the eastern Bay Area, call it Tuyshtak which translates to “dawn of time”. They consider it sacred. And so do I!
When I look back on my career and life experience, I’ve always been a servant leader with a vision of being a “multiplier”, supporting others to bring their unique and diverse talent to meeting to achieving personal and organization goals, with a passion for creating opportunities for women and people of color. As a pioneer with a CompSci degree in 1973, I blazed trails and took a lot of arrows! In all of my 40 year career working in the hardware and software industries, I led customer-facing organization. When I left the industry in 1997 to form Herriford Consulting, I’ve leveraged that experience as a management consultant leading technology systems implementation projects. After completing my doctorate in Organizational Leadership, I began providing leadership development in the areas of organizational health and effectiveness, diversity and inclusion, and the professional and personal application of emotional intelligence, all of which continued to stoke my passion to see more women, African American, and Latinx students in high-demand tech jobs.
Since 2010, I’ve brought this experience all together supporting tech workforce development programs and industry partnerships at California community colleges and community-based organizations. California community colleges are the most diverse educational institutions in the country, and again, I found more opportunities to support my desire to see more women, African American, and Latinx students in high-demand tech jobs.
In these challenging and transformative times, I now draw upon my experience leading workshops and conversations on managing implicit bias using aspects of EQ to support clients and colleagues in their commitment to overcome the systemic barriers some of their organizations’ team members still face to successfully contribute and advance their careers.
For over 10 years, I was contributing faculty at Walden University where I mentored students developing doctoral dissertations. I loved this work because of I know what a life-changing the pursuit and completion of a doctorate can be. My doctoral research explored the the relationship between technology organizational culture and the development and application of emotional intelligence in leaders at all levels.
I’m a serial volunteer. I serve on the advisory board member for Love Never Fails, a non-profit dedicated to serving those involved or at risk of becoming involved tin domestic human trafficking. I’m member of the leadership team of the Bay Area chapter of Cyversity, a nonprofit professional organization with a mission to increase the number and success of women and people of color in information security. I’m a board member for Wise Woman, a Northern California nonprofit creating welcoming spaces for connection and learning through shared wisdom and community service. In service to the public sector, I’m a member of the Workforce Development/Education Subcommittee of the California Cybersecurity Task Force and the Information Technology Subcommittee of the California Interagency Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships (IACA).
I was born and raised in Compton, CA, the oldest child in a single-parent household. It was my tech career that moved me to Walnut Creek in 1980, where I still lives. I’ve always been single, with no children. I enjoy travel, love East Africa, play at golf, and I’m a die-hard Alfisti (lover of Alfa Romeos). My favorite pastime is wine-tasting road trips in my Alfa.
