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Lean Community of Practice

UC Davis Lean Community of Practice

The Lean Community of Practice works to expand the knowledge of Lean principles and practices and serves to support and promote a continuous improvement culture at UC Davis. By leveraging our collective knowledge, we want to build a broad and diverse network of practitioners interested in creating an agile, sustainable, and supportive infrastructure and a culture of continuous improvement at UC Davis.

Community Goals

  1. Create a learning forum focused on developing Lean and continuous improvement skills
  2. Increase members' knowledge and competency in Lean and continuous improvement
  3. Increase campus community knowledge in Lean and continuous improvement

The Lean Community of Practice will serve as a forum to connect people, enable dialogue, stimulate learning, improve skills, share knowledge, generate new knowledge, and much more. Lean, at its core, is about practicing respect for people and continuous improvement every day, with everyone. Through the sharing of a common language and experiences, we strive to use this forum to share tips, best practices, resources, and institutional knowledge to align and support our organizational missions.

Membership will consist of Lean and Continuous Improvement enthusiasts who are willing to share their experiences and learn from other like-minded individuals. Members have varying levels of training and experience in Lean and continuous improvement.

Lean Ambassadors Bench

In August 2023, Lean thinkers and process improvement enthusiasts gathered to attend the first Lean Ambassadors Bench in-person kick-off event. Lean Ambassadors from campus and Health came together with the shared goal of shaping the direction of the UC Davis Lean Community of Practice. The kick-off event, sponsored by Administrative Innovation and Technology opened with inspiring remarks from the Associate Vice Chancellor, who shared her journey in rethinking processes at UC Davis. During the half-day workshop, ambassadors engaged in :

  • 1,3, and 5-year goal setting for the Lean Community of Practice
  • ADKAR Change Management exercises
  • Analysis of current and future state related to process improvement
  • Case study of a recently completed Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Project

Members of the Lean Ambassadors Bench (LAB):

  • Erica M Aichwalder
  • Bernadette Hill-Comeau
    A person standing in front of a large screen
    Erica's welcome address
  • Alicia M Webber
  • Michelle Agnew
  • Jessica Kvichko
  • Naomi Rosario
  • Peter Blando
  • Amy R Burns
  • Elisabeth Willoughby
  • Stacie Aguil
  • Christine M Herkenrath
  • Christina J Corbett
  • Krista Newberry
  • Aaron Etcheverry
  • Priya Venkatesan

The work completed helps define strategies for the Lean Community of Practice and future outreach efforts to foster a culture of continuous improvement at UC Davis. LAB members meet monthly and are currently working on a Strategic Plan.

UC Davis community members interested in Lean Six Sigma and process improvement are encouraged to join the community of practice. To join the Lean Community of Practice please email Priya Venkatesan.

Virtual meetings will be held bi-monthly; topics and areas of focus are driven by participant feedback. The agenda may include case studies with group feedback, solutions brainstorming, process walks, observations, and learning from guest speakers. To submit a topic for a future agenda please email Bernadette Hill.