IT team supports Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona in building stronger communities 

IT leader steps up to align IT with organizational needs

Ending poverty through work is Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona’s vision, and for over 100 years, this vision has helped remove barriers to employment for the community. Through the sale of donated goods, the organization empowers community members with no-cost career support and development opportunities while reducing landfill waste.

With over 100 retail stores, several career centers, a large logistics and operation center, and an adult high school, the IT team faces the complexities of supporting several lines of business and addressing organizational needs quickly.

“Info-Tech is an excellent resource and a key partner for us, making sure we always have the resources, tools, and knowledge to help us move forward as a team.”
– Danielle Saldivar, VP of IT, Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona

From tech enthusiast to IT visionary

Danielle Saldivar, Vice President of IT, has led the team to support Goodwill’s initiatives within the community by fostering internal growth and building effective strategies based on real data.

After a career in the restaurant industry, Saldivar joined Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona in 2010, working as an IT Technician. She advanced within the organization and stepped into the role of Senior Director of IT in 2023. The new role required a broader understanding of the IT landscape, so she turned to Info-Tech for research and advisory support.

“With exponential IT, we're going to have to move at the speed of the business and not at the speed we’ve operated at in the past. We must understand and anticipate the business’s needs and design the IT team and infrastructure to support them.”
– Danielle Saldivar, VP of IT, Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona

A partnership for internal growth

Saldivar began working with an Executive Counselor who helped validate staffing decisions and address other areas of concern. Info-Tech Executive Counselors are seasoned IT executives who provide dedicated one-on-one support to help IT leaders achieve organizational and personal goals.

“We were able to assess issues that needed to be addressed right away and recognize areas where we needed to hire talent,” Saldivar stated. “Because of the collaboration with my Info-Tech counselor, I was more confident, and it became easier to lead our team through what could have been a really challenging time.”

Saldivar and her team have also used Info-Tech’s resources to standardize job titles and descriptions. Where upskilling was necessary, she provided training to team members and leaders through Info-Tech Academy. Built around Info-Tech’s IT Management & Governance Framework and based on actionable research, the Info-Tech Academy offers a series of online courses to help teams master core IT processes.

With access to 9 certificates and 45 courses, Saldivar and her team can apply relevant training to their day-to-day practices: “It’s great to have that industry standard with Info-Tech Academy so that we know we’re aligning our practices with what we should be doing and making sound decisions.”

The team designed an organization-aligned IT strategy using an Info-Tech IT Strategy Workshop, where expert facilitators help teams complete a key initiative and work through critical project deliverables. “The Info-Tech Workshop was fantastic,” noted Saldivar. “We were able to build our RACI, understand our areas of responsibility, and align them with the business strategic plan. Being able to do that was instrumental in how we developed and designed our IT department.”

Diagnostic tools for data-informed decision-making

To reposition the team for success and map out the future, Saldivar also needed real data from key collaborators, including the IT team and other business leaders. Info-Tech’s diagnostic tools – IT Staffing Assessment and CIO Business Vision – provided reliable statistics to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the team.

The IT Staffing Assessment provides a comprehensive report on IT resource allocation, with feedback to guide improvement and allocate staff more effectively. Similarly, the CIO Business Vision diagnostic offers detailed report cards on satisfaction with IT performance.

“We have done the Info-Tech IT Staffing Assessment for several years now,” Saldivar explained. “It is key to understanding where our team thinks the shortages are, and then we pair that with Info-Tech’s CIO Business Vision diagnostic to hear from the business leaders in the organization. These two help us build our roadmap for the next year.”

The partnership with Info-Tech has helped Saldivar and her team maintain industry standards and provided a framework for governance, security, and training. Saldivar highlighted the importance of this partnership: “Info-Tech is an excellent resource and a key partner for us, making sure we always have the resources, tools, and knowledge to help us move forward as a team.”

Bigger capabilities, bigger community impact

As the team’s capabilities grow, the impact is felt in the community. Of note is the team’s contribution to the Excel Center, an adult high school where individuals can continue their education and earn their diploma. Saldivar’s team participated in the selection and design of the technology used to facilitate education.

“It was rewarding watching students go in on their first day and then seeing our first graduate,” she said. “It was an emotional journey that connected what we do to the impact on the community. I don’t think I will ever forget the value of what we do and how it can really change lives.”

A glimpse into the future of IT and IT leaders

Today, as Vice President of IT, Saldivar aims to build a future-ready IT organization: “As a non-profit organization, we have to build our infrastructure and our teams in a scalable, secure, flexible, and affordable way so we can continue to support the organization into the future.”

The future beckons with advancing technologies, and Saldivar foresees IT leaders requiring effective communication skills to explain IT strategy and secure funding for projects: “If we can’t clearly articulate our needs, we’re going to get left behind and the organization will move on without strong infrastructure and security in place.”

She also sees that IT leaders will have to pivot swiftly: “With exponential IT, we’re going to have to move at the speed of the business and not at the speed we’ve operated at in the past. We must understand and anticipate the business’ needs and design the IT team and infrastructure to support them.”