The past four years has seen an unprecedented shift towards remote work, leading to the rapid development and adoption of collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams, WebEx Cisco, and Zoom.

In this seminar, we will explore how these platforms have revolutionized the way we collaborate and communicate in the wake of the global pandemic. We will delve into the features and functionalities that make each platform unique, examine their impact on productivity and communication, and discuss the future of collaboration in a post-pandemic world.

Join us as we uncover the innovations and advancements that have transformed the way we work and connect with others.

Participants will:

• Discover how communication platforms have evolved with the changing work environment
• Learn the latest innovations in Teams, WebEx and Zoom
• See how other County departments are leveraging platforms to enhance internal and external communications
• Answer questions on the effects of the hybrid workplace and loss of social capital
• Explore how to make meetings more engaging for attendees

Speakers:

James Allen began his career with Los Angeles County's Internal Service Department in 1997 and has since accumulated over 25 years of experience in administration and management of large governmental organizations. Throughout his tenure, he has held increasingly responsible executive management positions at both the Internal Services Department and LA County Library, focusing on organizational development, process improvement, capital programs, and information technology. Mr. Allen's expertise extends to joint County/City programs and projects, and he currently serves as the Fifth District's Commissioner and Vice-Chair on the County Library Commission[1][4].

In his current role, Mr. Allen manages Unified Communications services for the County of Los Angeles and is excited to explore how modern collaboration tools and Generative AI can enhance overall County communications. He holds a bachelor's degree from National Labor College in Labor Health and Safety and has earned several executive leadership certifications from prestigious institutions such as Harvard, MIT, UC Berkeley, and USC. Outside of work, Mr. Allen enjoys hiking with his family, volunteering at his local high school, coaching youth soccer, and playing on a men's soccer team, a passion he has maintained for the last 20 years.

Citations:

[1] https://managementcouncil.lacounty.gov/Profile/4821/jamesallen

[4] https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-allen-atyourservice

Erick Cerna began his career in 1999 with the Department of Public Social Services. He has a bachelor’s degree in information technology and over 24 years of experience in information technology management, overseeing an array of IT technologies in multiple departments ranging from application development to infrastructure projects and Operations. 

As an Information Technology Specialist and IT Manager, Mr. Cerna has functioned in multiple facets of IT, including application development, system management, resource planning, and creation of new lines of technological services.  Throughout his career he has leveraged project management methodologies to implement operational excellence initiatives that drove cost reductions throughout the organization.

In his spare time, he enjoys reading, hiking, riding motorcycles, boating and camping with his family. He also volunteers his time coaching soccer and fundraising at his children’s school events.

Jeremy Mathurin currently serves as Director of Technology Strategy for Los Angeles County, collaborating directly with CxO leaders throughout the county to align technical solutions to business problems. Jeremy has extensive experience supporting federal, state, and local organizations in their technology innovation efforts, focusing primarily on data analytics, robotic/intelligent automation, artificial intelligence, operations, and process engineering. Most recently, Jeremy secured a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree with a concentration in Digital Technology Innovation from Cornell’s S.C. Johnson School of Business.

Kieran Garcia is a Modern Work Specialist in his 2^nd year at Microsoft. Prior to that, he spent 8 years as an independent consultant assisting public sector customers with deployments to Microsoft 365. Lately all of his tech attention has turned to generative AI – specifically Copilot for M365.

Kieran’s spare time is almost exclusively catered around a rambunctious 4 year old and a life long love of soccer and video games.

Mark A. Nash is the Managing Director, COO of Global Collaboration Sales at WebEx Cisco. He and his team drive Cisco’s Collaboration Sales Strategy, Operations, Acceleration and Readiness. Their key focus areas include the story we tell, the offers and solutions we sell, our routes to market and the way we incent our field and partners.
Mark is a 20+ year Cisco veteran and has been a top performing sales and change agent in Cisco’s Collaboration Group through its various evolutions and transitions.

Mark joined Cisco as an engineer and was one of the first transitioned into the newly-formed Advanced Technologies group. Since then, Mark has been a highly recognized SE, CSE, Collaboration Specialist and Business Development leader across multiple business segments. He is also a member of the Cisco Chairman’s Club Hall of Fame. He is well known for his thought leadership, his ability to simplify the complex as a subject matter expert in both Cisco's solutions as well as those of its competitors, and for capturing mindshare and trust at many levels within Cisco, and with its customers and partners.

Prior to Cisco, Mark held several roles, including Manager of IT at Blue Cross/Blue Shield, as a Senior SE for a Cisco partner (where he earned many industry certifications), and as a President’s Club Sales Executive and Manager at Xerox Corporation.

Mark is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB) where he played football. He recently moved back to Grand Island, NY with his wife and 11 children from Park City, UT. Mark enjoys family time, his children’s many activities, and giving back through church service where he and his family are very active members.

Mike O’Flynn is Director of Webex Sales Strategy & GTM and leads a team that focuses on sales strategies and go-to-market motions for our calling, meetings, and messaging portfolio.  Mike and his team are continually focusing on the best ways for Cisco to compete and deliver customer solutions in the UC marketplace.

Mike has spent the last 30 years in the technology industry on both the vendor and customer sides of the business.  His diverse background includes both leadership and direct roles in sales and sales engineering across both the manufacturer and channel partner communities.  Mike also understands the customer side of the business well, having held many roles in IT and IT executive leadership. 

A Cisco veteran for most of the last 25 years, Mike has also held roles at other technology companies such as Palo Alto Networks, Extreme Networks, and ANM.   Mike holds a BS from the State University of NY and an MBA from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Phi Yim is the Zoom Account Manager for the County of Los Angeles and State of California agencies.  He has over 15 years of experience in the IT industry advocating for customers and helping achieve IT initiatives.  His almost 4 year tenure at Zoom consisted of working with State, Local and Education customers realize the full potential of the Zoom platform with a focus on Zoom Phone.