Olivia Herriford, DM, MBA, is a servant leader with a vision of diverse and truly inclusive tech work environments. Her career in tech spans over 40 years, beginning as a pioneer with a CompSci degree in 1973, leadership roles in the computer hardware & software industry, a long consulting career in IT project management, organizational health & effectiveness, and diversity & inclusion. Since 2010, she’s brought it all together supporting tech workforce development programs and industry partnerships at California community colleges and community-based organizations. Through this work she loves, Olivia continues to channel her passion to see more women, African American, and Latinx students in high-demand tech jobs. In these challenging and transformative times, she is now drawing on her experience leading workshops and conversations on managing implicit bias to support her clients and colleagues in their commitment to face systemic racism in education and tech.
Dr. Herriford is contributing faculty at Walden University where she mentors students developing doctoral dissertations. Olivia did her doctoral research on the relationship between technology organizational culture and the development and application of emotional intelligence in leaders at all levels.
A serial volunteer, Olivia is an advisory board member for Love Never Fails, a non-profit dedicated to serving those involved or at risk of becoming involved in domestic human trafficking. She is on the leadership team of the Bay Area chapter of the International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals, a nonprofit professional organization with a mission to increase the number and success of women and minorities in information security. She serves on the board of 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, Dr. Herriford is 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).
Olivia was born and raised in Compton, CA, the oldest child in a single-parent household. Her tech career moved her to Walnut Creek in 1980, where she still lives. Olivia has always been single, with no children. She enjoys travel, loves Kenya, plays at golf, and is a die-hard Alfisti (lover of Alfa Romeos). Her favorite pastime is wine-tasting road trips in her Alfa.
