Council & Community Members
Mike Holdaway
Director, CNC Portfolio Management
Mike Holdaway is the Director of Portfolio Management for the CES Network Center. He oversees the project and product management activities for the network teams for BYU, BYU–Idaho, and BYU–Hawaii.
Mike has been working in IT for more than 20 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics Education from BYU. He has overseen a wide array of network projects in his time at BYU. He enjoys learning and collaborating with multiple teams. Mike currently lives in Lehi.
Michelle Bennett
Technology Resource Planning Director, Office of CIO
Michelle Bennett serves as the Technology Planning Center Managing Director in the Office of the CIO for Brigham Young University and the Church Educational System. Her leadership role is to assist BYU, BYU–H, BYU–I, BYU–PW and LDSBC’s Senior Leadership team in technology planning, prioritizing and delivering on the approved plans. Michelle provides standard principles, practices, and metrics to track and manage the plans appropriately. She oversees ways to improve communication and collaboration between all of the CES institutions.
With over 25 years in the technology industry and 20 years of leadership experience, Michelle has a broad understanding of different perspectives when it comes to information technology. She has a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a master’s degree in Information Systems Management. She enjoys learning and being part of an ever-changing IT industry. Michelle serves as the President for the Westnet Education and Research Consortium (WERC) and as a sponsor to the Women in Computer Science club at Brigham Young University.
Chris Johnson
Senior Director, Platform Services
Chris Johnson is the Senior Director of Platform Services at Brigham Young University in the Office of IT where he oversees the Data Center, Server & Storage, and Monitoring teams. He has been working in technology for more than 20 years and finds the leadership, mentoring, and relationship building aspects of his role to be the most enjoyable. He has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science & Information Systems from Utah Valley University and an MBA in Information Technology Management from Western Governors University. Some of the current projects he is leading include a major data center power upgrade, engineering a hybrid cloud, availability monitoring, and system reliability initiative. Chris lives in American Fork, Utah.
Chad Feilbach
Director, Administrative Solutions
Chad Feilbach is the Director of Administrative Solutions at Brigham Young University where he leads teams that support the business operations of the university in Financial Services, Human Resource Services, Supply and Logistics Management, and Retail Technology. He has worked with the people and systems that use technology to enhance business processes for over 20 years. He has a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Brigham Young University.
How to Contact/Interact with your CDC
In order to schedule an appointment with the CDC please contact:
Email CDC: techleaders@byu.edu
Mike Holdaway: 801-422-6712
Michelle Bennett: 801-422-4871
Chris Johnson: 801-422-4753
Chad Feilbach: 801-422-7975
Please note: Before meeting with the CDC, it would be helpful to come prepared with your completed “S-curve” chart and having taken time to reflect upon your own career desires and aspirations. Strong consideration should be given to personal aptitudes, skills and interests. Please know that the CDC will be a good resource to share your thoughts and feelings with and to receive feedback, guidance and direction, but that the majority of the initiative and effort will need to come from the Community member.
Community Welcome Letter
In the Fall of 2019 several introductory sessions were held around campus to introduce the eight new Career Development Communities for Technology. You have been identified as a technology leader at the University and as such, we invite you to participate in the Technology Leadership Career Development Community.
In support of this new career development program, we are reaching out to welcome you to the Community and explain its purpose. We will also share where you can go for more information, who we are, how to contact us, and details on our kick-off meeting.
Strong Information Technology (IT) leadership is crucial to aligning IT with the organization. Higher education organizations leverage IT to solve business challenges, drive change, and transform learning. These changes require leadership capable of creating and executing on a shared vision, inspiring employees to leverage IT to improve processes, and enhancing the educational experience. The Technology Leadership Community is focused on helping IT professionals achieve developmental objectives and gain skills that would further them on their career path to becoming Technology Leaders of tomorrow.
While every individual is responsible for their own career development, it is our hope that the Technology Leadership Career Development Community will be a resource for you on your path to accomplishing your professional goals and aspirations. The primary source for information is the technology leadership career development website which can be found at: https://careerdevelopment.byu.edu/technology-leadership/home.
We would like to meet with you to discuss your career development. To be prepared to meet with the technology committee, please read through the documents on the technology leadership website listed above.
You are invited to join us for a kickoff meeting on Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 3:00pm in the WSC Varsity Theater. We will review the purpose, help answer questions, and share next steps.
The Technology Leadership Committee members are Chad Feilbach (Administrative Solutions), Michelle Bennett (CES Technology Planning Center), Mike Holdaway (CES Network Center), and Chris Johnson (OIT - Platform Services). We are here to help as a resource for you and can be reached through the email address: techleaders@byu.edu.
We look forward to working with you.
Chad Feilbach, Michelle Bennett, Mike Holdaway, and Chris Johnson
Technology Leadership Committee
Community Members
| Shane Allred | Chad Feilbach | David Pratt |
| Ryan Amy | Tracy Flinders | Michael Ralls |
| Christina Baum | Steven Gudmundson | Luke Rowley |
| Michelle Bennett | Richard Hanks | Russ Scadden |
| Todd Berrett | Sherwin Harris | Bart Schaerrer |
| Debra Biser | Mike Holdaway | Joe Seegmiller |
| Thad Brown | Scott Hunt | Peter Sentz |
| Todd Brown | Chris Johnson | Monte Shelley |
| Craig Cardon | Matt Keifer | Brandon Smith |
| Ryan Cox | Elaine Lauritzen | John Smith |
| Mark Crowther | Ray Lines | James Speirs |
| Daniel Cunningham | Kenneth Millard Jr. | Joe Taylor |
| Brad Dew | Brent Moore | Christine Tolman |
| Frank Dittmar | Mark Morrell | Nick Turley |
| Charles Draper | Eric Nord | Joann Vogtman |
| Paul Eden | David Orton | Daniel Wells |
| Nyle Elison | Dave Palica | Phil Windley |
| Brent Ellingson | John Payne | Danny Yeo |
| David Ericson | Mark Philips |