Lidiya Walsh: Women's History Month Profile

Hi Lidiya! How many years have you been with ITS 

I joined ITS in September 2014. So, I’ll be celebrating eight years this September. 

And what did you do before you joined? 

I started my career in system and network engineering, and then when September 11th happened, companies started looking into securing their environments. So, I obtained my CISSP and moved into IT operations management shortly after. 

Before joining WCM, I spent 13 years working for one of the leading global engineering firms specializing in full-service MEP, information and communication technology, vertical transportation, and commissioning. I have an extensive background spanning Network & Information Security Management, Data Center Operations, Systems Administration, and Help Desk/IT Support Management in mixed computing environments. 

And what drew you to Weill Cornell Medicine? 

Years before I joined Cornell, I had a personal experience at NYP. I made friends with many nurses and doctors, and they were very exceptional. I’ve never seen such care; it was extremely striking to me. When it was time to move on after 13 years at my previous organization and an opportunity was presented to me by a recruiter – I was excited to take it.   

And now I’m very happy to work with a wonderful and diverse group of people and be part of an amazing leadership team.  

I know your role has evolved in the years that you’ve been here. How would you describe your current role? 

 As Paula Herber often says, we are the “heartbeat of IT”. I am responsible for teams that monitor the quality of the overall services and take the necessary actions in the case of service degradations and outages. We provide operational oversight of WCM's enterprise technical infrastructure and device support that spans over 100 different WCM locations, support Data Center, work closely with other institutions such as NYP, build and maintain relationships with cross-functional teams and service owners to ensure the operation is working effectively to provide the highest level of service. In addition, through problem management and continual service improvements, we are driving operational improvements aimed at finding simpler and better ways of doing things. 

What are some examples of projects you're working on how to improve IT for WCM? 

We get involved in most projects! Any system or service that is being deployed into production will need operational support. If I had to pick some examples, I’d say the NAC (Network Access Control) project, Infoblox, OS upgrades for PCs and Macs, Welcome Kiosks deployment, Epic go-live support, variance process improvements, application monitoring, AWS operationalization, Citrix decommissioning, and NetScaler (ADC) operationalization, tape library migration to AWS migration, etc.  The list is so large... 

What is your favorite part about your job?  

There are so many. If I could summarize it in one statement: I love making a difference. 

I love discovering talent and helping employees grow within the organization. For example, seeing someone in desktop support move into service operations, from there they could become a team lead, or move into engineering or architectural roles.  I really love discovering internal talent. 

Second, I love learning new technology. As I mentioned, I get to work with various internal and externals teams and service owners, thus I get exposed to new technology or processes every day. Finally, I love working on process improvement that directly and positively impacts users and the institution. I always think about "how can we make the new technology implementation seamless to the user?" How can we simplify instead of making it complex?  Often, weak IT operational processes have the potential to undermine the quality of IT services and other business processes within a company.  

What has your experience been like as we have worked remotely for the last couple years? 

 Well, this isn’t something new to IT. Before the pandemic, we had a few remote days for the employees whose jobs can be done remotely. However, Operations are considered essential, therefore, about 80 % of my teams continued to maintain an on-site presence throughout Covid.

I have a better work-life balance now and feel more productive. On average I used to spend 12 to 15 hours commuting each week.  Now, I spend this time working and accomplishing more. My daughter said to me once “I got my mom back because of COVID.” 

Remote work and fewer commutes has allowed Lidiya to spend more quality time her daughter.

Many people I’ve talked to have said it's hard to stop from working and shift into home mode. But there were a lot of silver linings to this era of our lives. 

Oh absolutely. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge to human welfare.

However, we are a resilient bunch.  I’m incredibly fortunate to have had several positive things that have come out of this crisis. 

What keeps you inspired and motivated? 

I was thinking about that, and I must give you one answer: life. One of my favorite quotes that I live by is: one year equals 365 possibilities. It’s my favorite quote. I consider myself lucky because I love what I do and try to live my life, so I don’t have any regrets. Maybe it’s because I’m an immigrant, but every day I see it as an opportunity to learn something new, grow, evolve, put failures behind me and try again.    

When did you move to the US? 

I was 19. I moved here from Russia shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993, and it wasn’t safe to be in Moscow. My Mom used to be a correspondent for a famous Russian newspaper, and she traveled a lot. She got married to a Ukrainian Jewish American who lived here in America and spend her time traveling between US and Moscow. At that time, I was a freshman in university and wanted to finish my education in Russia but with everything that was going on it was decided that we moved here permanently. It was rough at first, being from another country.  However, I am forever grateful to my mom for making this decision. 

Wow. And did you come right to New York? 

Yes, we went to Queens. Which was a little more Americanized than places like Brighton Beach where many Russian immigrants settle. And I started working for an American firm, rather than a Russian firm. And I think those two things helped me to assimilate.   

What had you been studying in Moscow when you moved? 

You’re going to laugh...I wanted to follow in my sister’s footsteps and go to medical school. As part of the preparation courses that you take in high school so you can pass the exams in university, they take you to the hospital. During the tour, I remember thinking “I don’t think this is for me.” So, I was always fascinated with the law, and I decided to give it a try.   

Well given that you had early aspirations to go to medical school, it’s so great you work for one now. Who are some women you admire? 

I have three categories. Because there are so many.  

So first, from this century...I love Oprah! She empowers so many women around the world, regardless of her hardships. I love that underdog story. Also, I love Michelle Obama, I just read her book Becoming. She’s such a well-balanced person. And I adore her quote, “when you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.” That really resonated with me. More recently I started reading about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. What an inspiring woman she was, she is a powerhouse who broke so many boundaries personally and professionally.  

In the category of people I know personally, it’s my Mom. She is an incredibly strong woman who sacrificed so much for me and my sister. She was brave enough to leave Russia, she gave up her career, her friends, and family so that we could have a better life. She inspires me every day.  

Category three is women I know from work, and I have to give a lot of credit to Paula Herber (Director of Service Operations, my manager) for spearheading the Women in IT group. She created a platform where women can share stories and their journeys in the workplace. Her work ethic is immense, and she can simplify very complex things. I’ve learned a lot from her, and I admire her.

What do you like to do outside of work? 

 When I am not taking care of my family or studying, I love the MET opera and ballet. My mom used to bring me a lot as a little girl to the ballet in Russia, so every chance I get now, I go. They were suspended during COVID, but I just took my daughter to go see Swan Lake. How much more Russian can you get, right? Tchaikovsky. We try to go once a season, so we don’t lose that culture.  I love to travel. My destinations are awesome! I have an immense bucket list. When I travel I try to do something adventurous, like dive in the caves, visit the ruins, or go snorkeling with the manatees.  The hidden passion that I carry with me, for 15 years now, is Latin dancing. When my daughter goes to college, I hope to do it a little more.  Also, during COVID, I’ve picked up ice skating and cooking. I am trying to implement healthier eating habits from home-cooking.

Lidiya and her daughter, Sofia, enjoying Swan Lake at the Met.

This has been very inspiring to listen to today!