Biography

Hemalatha Manickavinayaham

Associate VP - Planning & Digital Transformation, California State University, Sacramento

Hemalatha “Hema” Manickavinayaham is the Associate Vice President for Planning and Digital Transformation at California State University, Sacramento, where she provides strategic and operational leadership for enterprise technology planning, digital transformation, data governance, institutional reporting, and application services. Reporting to the CIO, she leads a team of approximately 36 professionals across the Project Management Office, Campus Applications, University Reporting and Data Services, and ERP functions. Her current work includes advancing Sacramento State’s data governance program, modernizing the university’s data and reporting environment, shaping enterprise CRM strategy, and supporting data-informed decision-making and improved student outcomes.

Hema brings more than 24 years of experience in project portfolio management, enterprise technology implementation, and organizational transformation across higher education, telecommunications, consulting, and consumer packaged goods. Before joining Sacramento State, she spent more than a decade at Georgia Tech, where she led initiatives including the Adaptive Planning implementation with the Budget Office, technology solutions for the Administrative Services Center, and major ERP programs. Her experience includes Banner, PeopleSoft, Workday, Salesforce, cloud-based SaaS platforms, and integrations with systems such as Degree Works, Sunapsis, Concur, Banner Imaging, and CourseLeaf. She is also experienced in applying design thinking to improve services, processes, and user experiences.

Hema is an active contributor to the higher education technology community through EDUCAUSE. She presented at the 2013 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference on the evolution of Georgia Tech’s virtual Project Management Office and later served on the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference Program Committee, helping shape the 2022 conference. She has also served on the EDUCAUSE Enterprise IT Program Committee and currently serves as a Community Group Lead for the EDUCAUSE CRM Community Group. In addition, she has contributed to the EDUCAUSE Data Governance Community Group Steering Committee and Metrics Working Group and provided input to the EDUCAUSE Top 10 Issues featured at the 2025 Annual Conference.

Her recent EDUCAUSE conference contributions include presenting “Supporting the Human Side of Change with Digital Transformation (Dx)” at the 2023 Annual Conference and co-leading the preconference session “Intersection of Project Management and Service Management.” At the 2024 Annual Conference, she presented the preconference session “Building Blocks of Success: Crafting a Data Analytics Strategy and Governance for Your Institution.” At the 2025 Annual Conference, she presented the preconference session “Aligning People, Projects, and Priorities: Resource Allocation” and participated in a panel discussion on “How Regional Data Sharing Among K–12, Two-Year, and Four-Year Partners Is Transforming Student Outcomes at Sacramento State.”

Earlier in her career, Hema held architecture, project management, and program leadership roles with Wipro, Capgemini, AT&T, and The Coca-Cola Company. She has also supported Atlanta Technology Development Center startups through market research and business valuation activities. A proud Georgia Tech alumna, she has maintained strong connections with the Georgia Tech Business Network and Georgia Tech Women Alumnae Network.