This presentation will provide insight into the vision, collaboration, challenges, pitfalls, and success experienced by a Social Services Agency in one of the largest counties in California's efforts to effectively launch a sustainable Data Governance infrastructure. After a three-year sputtering start, a large migration into a new State case management system occurred and it identified gaps in existing processes that were only brought to light due to Data Governance. This new State case management system affects 50-60% of all staff and operations.

Santa Clara County is the 5th largest county in California, the nation’s most populous state. The Social Services Agency is a highly matrixed organization. It is comprised of the Department of Employment and Benefit Services (which has about 50% of the staff), the Department of Family and Children’s Services, the Department of Aging and Adult Services, and the various functions and groups in the Agency Office - which includes Central Services, Program Support and Research and Evaluation, Employee Engagement and Well Being. Attendees will learn the following:

• Real-world launch experience, including pitfalls
• Prioritization of where to start with Data Governance
• The role of Master Data Management (MDM) in this journey
• Reorganizing an existing infrastructure/ Minimal needs in structure and policy
• Next Steps

Speaker: Elena Tindall

PMO- Continuous Quality Improvement, Santa Clara County- Social Services Ag

Ms. Tindall brings a willingness to learn from the experts, our clients, and our own staff in her roles as PMO of Continuous Quality Improvement for the Social Services Agency of Santa Clara County, and as the acting Chair of the Data Governance efforts. She derives deep satisfaction in positively impacting the lives of those we serve, and joy in celebrating the many small achievements in the journey of transformation.

Ms. Tindall has more than 18 years of designing and implementing novel programming for a variety of sectors, from military families to our neighbors needing the public safety net. Prior to joining SSA, she worked for twelve years managing all aspects of integrating behavioral health services across the County's 10 Primary Care clinics and 5 contracted safety-net primary care partners, serving over 30,000 residents. She was also instrumental in leading the effort to transition from Fee For Service towards more Value-Based Management.

Speaker: Ely Turkenitz

Sr. IT Manager, County of Santa Clara

Ely Turkenitz is a Sr. Manager at Santa Clara County / TSS (Technology Services and Solutions). TSS is a 900 people-strong IT organization that provides technology services to the county of Santa Clara (2 million residents, 22,000 employees). Ely oversees Application Development, Data Management, Data Security, and Compliance for Social Services Agency, the 2nd largest Agency in the County, where he has been working for the past 18 years. Prior to Santa Clara County, Ely filled several technical and leadership roles at Levi Strauss & Co., DHL Airways, and Stanford University. Ely holds a BSC degree in Information Systems Management from the University of San Francisco (USF).

Speaker: Sandy Stier

DIRECTOR, INFORMATON TECHNOLGY, Santa Clara County- Social Services Ag

Sandy is a seasoned leader in health and human services data and technology. Prior to her current role overseeing information technology for the Santa Clara County Social Services Agency, she served as Information Systems Director for Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, and Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services. Earlier in her career, she led systems implementation and integration efforts for the Alameda County Social Services Agency. In addition to her work in local government in California, Sandy also served as a Senior Advisor and Special Expert at the United States Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families in Washington, DC where she worked to improve data interoperability. Sandy received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Iowa, and a master’s in public administration from Golden Gate University.