The University IT (UIT) Organizational Effectiveness team is excited to introduce IT Connect + Grow, a new initiative designed to bring clarity, structure, and simplification to career and community growth across the IT community. This initiative is sponsored by the CIO Council.
“Over the years, we’ve heard from staff that they want more clarity and support in their careers and in how they connect with others across the IT community,” said Brittany Cripe, UIT program manager for IT culture and talent. “IT Connect + Grow gives us a cohesive, strategic way to meet those needs. It’s not another new program—it’s a framework that gives us a single planning lens across existing career development and leadership programs, community-building initiatives, events, and more. This approach reduces duplication, avoids competing priorities, and ensures opportunities are accessible to all staff.”
Organized into two pillars, Community and Career, IT Connect + Grow focuses on these goals:
- Clarify pathways for career growth and advancement
- Build a culture of connection and collaboration
- Support talent retention, mobility, and succession planning
- Provide meaningful next steps for leadership program (STLP and ITLP) alumni to lead from where they are
What you can look forward to
- Streamlined Career Development Programming: In the past, career development events and initiatives were siloed within multiple groups and programs. Going forward, they will be centralized within the Career Pillar of IT Connect + Grow. This includes IT Career Pathways, a new event series and resource library launching in early 2026 to help IT staff explore both technical and management career paths.
- Enhanced Community-Building: The Community Pillar will focus on creating spaces for collaboration and peer support. Initiatives such as Communities of Practice and #it-connect will continue fostering networking, knowledge-sharing, and stronger connections across the IT community.
- IT Converge: We’re simplifying the event landscape by uniting the IT Unconference and Cyberfest into one signature event: IT Converge. This new format will combine the best of both events while reducing competing demands on time and resources for staff.
Get involved
On top of attending and participating in the various events and programs themselves, IT Connect + Grow offers many ways to get involved in the planning and leadership of these programs. Current opportunities include:
- Join the planning team for IT Career Pathways
- Join the planning team for IT Converge
- Serve as a program leader for other IT Connect + Grow activities
If you’re interested in contributing to any of these areas, please contact the IT Connect + Grow team at it-connect-grow@lists.stanford.edu.
In addition, ITLP and STLP are currently accepting nominations (including self-nominations) for the 2026 leadership cohorts. To submit a nomination, please fill out this form.
Share feedback
If you have ideas, questions, or feedback you’d like to share related to IT Connect + Grow, please email the team at it-connect-grow@lists.stanford.edu.
