Team

Meet Our Staff

Lisa Welch

Sr. Director and University Data Officer
(818) 702-1020
lisa.welch@pepperdine.edu

As the University Data Officer, Lisa focuses on using information systems to enhance student learning, support academic excellence, and build lasting relationships with the community. She is responsible for transforming the work done by the University into insights and knowledge about the organization. Her team strives to make information available to ensure the institution has the necessary data to inform, implement, and further its strategic initiatives and goals.

In addition to being a Pepperdine alumna twice over, Lisa has been serving the university since 2004 in various roles, including six years of expertise in the student administration system as well as experience in finance and human resources systems. She comes to BI with a history of collaboration with a wide range of university partners, a deep understanding of business needs, and a heart for improving the lives of Pepperdine faculty, staff, and students through streamlined business models.

Carly Struna

Manager of University Data and Analytics
(818) 702-1024
carly.struna@pepperdine.edu

Throughout Carly's years of experience working at Pepperdine, she has served as a critical resource for several University applications and has proved herself to be a valuable intermediary between functional and technical communities. Prior to joining the Business Intelligence team, Carly served as the Senior Lead Business Analyst for the University's PeopleSoft Student Team, where she led a team of Business Analysts supporting the Admissions, Recruitment, Records and Enrollment, Academic Advising, Financial Aid, and Student Financials modules of the PeopleSoft Campus Solutions system, as well as the student, faculty, applicant, and guest self-service experience.

At Pepperdine, Carly has built meaningful relationships with a variety of constituents within the University community and has shepherded the community through the process and learning curve associated with the adoption and transition to various new technologies. Prior to her role on the PeopleSoft Student Team, Carly managed information systems functions in several University departments, including the Caruso School of Law, Office of Human Resources, and International Programs.

Carly received a BBA in Marketing from Texas State University and an MA in Learning Technologies from Pepperdine's Graduate School of Education and Psychology. She has a genuine passion for people, technology, and learning.

Pauline Samson 

Data Analyst
(818) 702-1341
pauline.samson@pepperdine.edu

Pauline has been with Pepperdine University since 2016. She started her Pepperdine journey at the Graduate School of Education & Psychology (GSEP), serving in the areas of financial aid, admissions, and enrollment. There, she successfully designed and implemented technology solutions that automated processes and streamlined workflows to improve efficiency. She also developed a foundation of the University’s academic structure and a strong interest in data. 

In addition to her time at GSEP, Pauline is an alumnus of Pepperdine’s Graziadio Business School, where she earned her MBA. She also holds a BA in Economics with a Minor in Mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles.  

As a newcomer to the Office of Business Intelligence, Pauline is eager to provide operational support for BI's Data Warehouse, Data Stewardship, and Analytics systems. She assists with the development of new data models and the optimization of BI tools and services, in addition to performing data validation and analysis.

Henry Lai

Sr. Lead IT Manager
(818) 702-1021
henry.lai@pepperdine.edu

Henry has been leading data warehousing initiatives for more than 10 years with the goal of helping provide timely and trustworthy data to decision-makers at the University. He is an alumnus of Pepperdine University earning a BS in Business Administration. He has served in several roles within Information Technology at Pepperdine over the past 30+ years providing broad experience with university information and business processes. He is responsible for data warehouse architecture and tools such as Extraction, Transformation, and Load (ETL), Online Analytical Processing (OLAP Cube), as well as reporting and presentation layer technologies.

Thomas "Tom" Layman

Sr. Lead Application Developer
(818) 702-1022
tom.layman@pepperdine.edu

Tom has been with Pepperdine University for more than 40 years. He has been part of the data warehousing group for the past 4 years. Prior to joining the data warehousing group Tom spent 25+ years within Pepperdine's Information Technology division working extensively with the student and alumni administrative systems. Tom serves as the lead data warehouse developer focusing on data integrity to maintain trust in the reporting solutions provided. He also supports online analytical processing and regulatory reporting needs.

Publications and Presentations

• 2022 Pepperdine IT Annual Review (pp. 8-9) Strength in Numbers: Pepperdine Names Information Technology's Lisa Welch as its First University Data Officer
• 2011 Campus Technology Innovators
• Simply Interactive Reports. Campus Technology Magazine awarded the 2011 Campus Technology Innovators Award to Information Technology (IT) and the Office of Institutional Effectiveness (OIE) for their collaboration in establishing a strategic planning data warehouse to help Pepperdine leaders make more evidence-based decisions in University planning. This award recognizes top-notch university administrators, faculty, and staff that demonstrate the vision and leadership needed to take innovative technology initiatives to new heights on their campuses. Pepperdine was one of 10 recipients chosen out of 393 nominations submitted from higher education institutions around the globe. Timothy Chester, vice provost for academic administration and chief information officer, will be accepting the award on behalf of IT and OIE at the Campus Technology 2011 conference this July held in Boston. The August issue of the Campus Technology magazine will feature Pepperdine's work.
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges Academic Resource Conference 2012, April 2012. Presenters: Lily Pang, Director, Institutional Research; and Dianne Asis, Lead Application Developer, Pepperdine University