IIBA Bay Area Chapter

We would like to congratulate our members who recently earned their IIBA certifications in March and April of 2026!

Susithra Sundaresan, CBAP
Sravika Valluri, CBAP
Gia Vasend, ECBA
Nida Vurkir Singla, ECBA
Harsimran Nanhwan, ECBA
Bill Tran, ECBA
Anjana Koumudi Mantravadi, CPOA

Way to go!!

Interested in earning YOUR IIBA certification? Please visit this page (https://www.iiba.org/certifications) or contact us to learn more.

Be sure to join IIBA Western Region Chapters for Mufaro Nyachoto's virtual presentation on TUES. MAY 12TH, 6:30PM... First Contact: Building Trust and Delivering Value.

In today’s fast-paced environments, Business Analysts must influence outcomes without formal authority and deliver impact quickly. Yet rushing into solutions often erodes trust and limits long-term success. In this session, Mufaro introduces a practical approach to building trust, mapping stakeholders, tracking early wins, and sustaining professional resilience. Participants will gain tools to move from “order taker” to strategic advisor—positioning themselves as trusted partners who drive clarity, alignment, and measurable value.

https://bayarea.iiba.org/Events

Join the IIBA Bay Area Chapter as we engage in a community service event with Keep Dimond Clean. This weekly 45-60 minute neighborhood volunteer cleanup event has been taking place in Oakland's Dimond District for over 15 years.

*Additionally, IIBA volunteers are invited to stay for a bite of brunch and networking with other volunteers at the Grand Lake Kitchen - Dimond restaurant (2042 Macarthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94602) from 10am-11am.

EVENT DETAILS AND REGISTRATION: https://bayarea.iiba.org/events

Happy 5th Birthday to the IIBA Bay Area Chapter!

As we celebrate the 5th anniversary of our chapter’s rechartering in April of 2021, we are grateful to our members, our corporate and academic partners, our wonderful event speakers and presenters, our amazingly supportive colleagues at IIBA Global and in the West-Am region, and to our chapter volunteers who work each week to make this a wonderful organization for professional development, networking, and community.

Join us, lend your ideas, voices and creativity, and help shape the next five years of business analysis excellence here in the Bay Area!

Hello friends of the IIBA Bay Area Chapter,

As part of our focus on providing professional development and certification support opportunities this year, we are launching a BABOK® Study Group for our chapter.

The goal is to create a structured, peer-led learning experience that supports members preparing for ECBA, CCBA, and CBAP certification exams (https://www.iiba.org/business-analysis-certifications/iiba-certifications/), while also helping practitioners deepen their practical understanding of BABOK concepts.

Before we finalize the format and schedule, we'd love your input on how to make these sessions as valuable as possible.

👉 Please take 2 minutes to complete this anonymous short interest survey: https://forms.gle/ZEjFnJxgoeJPJgzF9

Your responses will directly help us launch the study group successfully and identify potential interest in both participant and facilitator roles.

Whether you're actively pursuing certification or simply interested in participating in structured learning with peers, your feedback is valuable.

Thank you for helping us build meaningful, member-driven professional development at the IIBA Bay Area Chapter!

Bay Area Business Analysis Professionals, join us for this co-hosted event by IIBA® Bay Area Chapter and PMI - San Francisco Bay Area Chapter at the outdoor beer gardens at Plank in Oakland's Jack London Square on Tuesday, April 7th at 5:30pm to 7pm PST. Bring a friend or a colleague from work. Networking, community, fun!

*Event info and registration:
https://lnkd.in/gxbVZScb

This session explores how early warning signs of project failure emerge long before timelines slip or issues become visible, and why they rarely appear in formal reports or slide decks. Be sure to join on Wednesday , March 25th , 2026 at 6:30pm PST.

About the Presenter:
Matthew Oleniuk is a former senior executive who provided oversight of large, high-stakes government projects, where optimistic reporting and complex governance often obscured emerging problems. His work focused on identifying early warning signs that rarely appear in dashboards, reports, or formal assurance processes. Today, Matthew works with leaders and delivery teams to improve how insight, evidence, and judgment inform real decisions.
His sessions explore why critical signals are missed, how assumptions go untested, and how information gets simplified in ways that reduce understanding. He helps practitioners intervene earlier, before small misinterpretations compound into visible delivery failures.

Event info and registration: https://lnkd.in/gyVftzbD

Be sure to join Western Region Chapters for Angela Wick's presentation on BAs in the Age of AI on Tuesday, March 10th at 6:30PM PST. Business Analysis is changing fast, while their organizations are investing heavily in analytics, AI, and automation. That gap in business analysis is clear! It's not about templates, process adherence, or documentation. It's about value, and enabling delivery of real value with AI.

This session explores what it means to be a high-value BA in an AI-enabled enterprise. You’ll learn how modern BAs are expanding beyond traditional requirements and work into a new BA mandate. This session focuses on how you can evolve your skills, services, and mindset to stay relevant and influential. Attendees will walk away with a clear picture of how the BA role is shifting, and how to step into the new BA reality and future!

*Event info and registration: https://lnkd.in/gmWaUdjK

The IIBA Bay Area Chapter partnered with Apex Systems for an insightful 1-hour session on Navigating the Business Analysis Job Market in the Bay Area — and it was packed with practical, real-world guidance for job seekers.
The session offered a behind-the-scenes look at how hiring trends are evolving and what candidates can do to stand out in today’s competitive market. Some key topics covered included:
🔹 New and more impactful ways to network that can convert into job opportunities
🔹 Effective approaches to reaching out to peers and hiring teams
🔹 Tips on resume structure and formatting
🔹 Recommended meetup groups to connect with industry peers
🔹 What companies are really looking for in BA candidates
🔹 LinkedIn profile optimization strategies to catch a recruiter’s attention
🔹 And many other actionable job-search tips

A huge thank you to the Erica Woods and Rebecca LaMaita from for taking time out of their busy schedules to share such valuable, firsthand insights with our community. Your transparency and practical advice made a real impact 🙌

If you’re a Business Analyst or job seeker, I encourage you to join the IIBA Bay Area Chapter to benefit from sessions like these—where industry professionals and recruiters share real hiring strategies, trends, and career guidance.

We hosted our first book club session of 2026 by discussing Radical Respect by Kim Scott, and it sparked a meaningful, nuanced conversation.

The book gently challenges us to reflect on how we show up at work — not just in what we say, but in how we listen, respond, and create space for others.

Grateful to everyone who joined the conversation and contributed thoughtfully. Looking forward to more sessions that help us grow not just as professionals, but as humans working together.

Thank you Jeannine and Mohan for selecting this wonderful book and keeping the session so engaging.

The IIBA Bay Area Chapter is delighted to be partnering with DAMA International, the team that hosts the annual Data Modeling Zone (DMZ) conference (https://lnkd.in/dFHfnm2x), which will be held right here in the Bay Area, at Oracle's campus in Redwood City, March 3-5, 2026!

What's more... DMZ is offering a 25% discount on conference admission to active IIBA members (a savings of almost $400!) Learn more about IIBA membership here (https://lnkd.in/gM5Fdrpy)

DMZ is the only global conference dedicated entirely to data modeling. You’ll gain practical skills, fresh perspectives, and the connections you need to plan and design for systems that deliver business value. From hands-on workshops and case studies across industries to sessions on communications, data-driven AI, data mesh, and semantics, DMZ 2026 brings together the tools and techniques that are shaping the future of data.

Over 50 sessions taught by speakers from over ten countries across five tracks:

*Foundational Modeling Skills,
*Intermediate/Advanced Modeling and Case Studies,
*Data Strategy/CDMP,
*AI/Semantics, and
*Communication.

Be sure to join us at the conference and raise your data modeling knowledge and skills to the next level! Click here (https://lnkd.in/gmWaUdjK) to learn more and learn how you can sign up (and claim your 25% discount as an active IIBA member!) Be sure to share this unique opportunity with your colleagues at work!