Seana Van Buren

Starting Position:

Senior Clerk/Secretary, School of Public Health

Current Position:

Organizational Consultant, Campus Shared Services Implementation Team

Length of time on Campus:

Nearly 8 years as a staff member, plus another 2 as a transfer student completing my BA

Tell us what you find most rewarding about working for UC Berkeley.

The endless possibilities and opportunities for professional and personal learning, development, and advancement!


What is one piece of advice you would give to someone just starting their career at UC Berkeley?

Make a dedicated effort to meet people outside of your immediate circle of colleagues, perhaps by joining a Staff Organization or a Community of Practice. And definitely take advantage of the amazing resources available to staff for on-going learning - it's not every organization that so generously commits itself to offering employees this many options for developing their knowledge, skills, and abilities!


What has been the most exciting project you've worked on here? What was the scope and audience it reached?

During my time in the School of Public Health (SPH), I led a multi-year project funded by the Berkeley Initiative for Leadership on Diversity. Our Staff Talent And Role Sharing (STARS) Program invited SPH staff to discover each other's positions and units, cultivate new alliances, and explore career opportunities and aspirations by pairing participants for informational exchanges (think "Take Your Child to Work Day" - but more like "Take Your Co-Worker to Work Afternoon"). Being the project leader enabled me to greatly improve my project management, facilitation, and public speaking skills, and also gave me greater confidence in my abilities - to both design such an undertaking and to lead a team.


What are you most looking forward to working on next?

Campus Shared Services, of course! The creation of a single organization staffed with subject matter experts in Human Resources, Information Technology, Financial Services, and Research Administration who will deliver consistent, high-quality administrative services to the campus community is very exciting. To be a part of this initiative and see first-hand the collaborative, thoughtful, and thorough processes behind this new organization's development has reaffirmed my commitment to the University. Go Bears!