Two new Communities of Practice (CoP) Coordinators have joined the Michigan Technology Community (MTech) Steering Committee to help advocate, build bridges, and facilitate strategic communications for the nearly 30 CoP groups within MTech.
Kimiko Ziemer and Josh Salazar started with the group in June. These communities of practice strengthen our overall technology community by helping our members build relationships across the university and spreading practical know-how. Topics cover collaboration, data analytics, emerging technologies, leadership skills, ops and engineering, and more.
Kimiko Ziemer
Josh Salazar
In Winter 2026, MTech’s Steering committee identified a gap: while CoPs do a great job connecting folks with like-minded interests, we could do more to connect the CoPs themselves and gather feedback on how best to support their needs and goals. Kimiko and Josh, in their role as CoP Coordinators, will work to close this gap and help our CoPs thrive in our rapidly changing environment.
Tell us a bit about yourselves and your background
Kimiko – My current role is in HITS as part of Michigan Medicine. I am part of the MiChart Research team where I help design order sets and OPAs in Epic. I’ve been in this role for 1.5 years and with the University for about 9 years now.
Josh – I work in Library IT as a software developer in the Design and Discovery Department. My background is in UI/UX Development and focus on improving accessibility. I’ve been at the library for 3 years now, and the University for 8.
What about your job gives you satisfaction?
Josh – Accessibility efforts. Being able to design with everyone in mind is extremely motivating.
Kimiko – My team is incredibly supportive and collaborative, which is something that I appreciate greatly.
What are some challenges you face?
Kimiko – Keeping up with Epic and technology in general in an ever changing environment. This is where participating in MTech is extremely exciting, as it helps connect you with what is going on in the larger university community.
Josh – The rapidly changing landscape of accessibility. Laws, timelines, and technology progress in general. I agree that this is where MTech and the communities of practice can shine by helping us keep each other informed and to be able to share knowledge and skills.
What attracted you to the CoP Role?
Josh – I happened to be talking with my manager about finding opportunities to connect with others on campus. Being a remote employee, it takes intentional effort to make those connections in person. Seeing this role available was the right place, right time, in wanting to get more connected with other IT professionals and staff on campus.
Kimiko – My mentor was part of the MTech mentor program, and he was such a big help. The mentor program opened up so many opportunities for me. Volunteering for the MTech Connect was a great experience, and when I saw this opportunity open up, I thought maybe I can do this and help others out, pay it forward a little bit.
What are some of your initial ideas and hopes for the CoPs?
Kimiko – I would like to take the time to get to know the CoP leads and how we can assist them in growing their groups. What are the challenges they are facing, and how can we help them remove those challenges?
Josh – I would like to share my motivation and passion for making connections and networking to learn, grow, and develop with each other. Working in higher education, we all strive to continue our education ourselves, and doing it socially through these interactions with each other is a great way to meet those goals.
Any parting words?
Kimiko and Josh – We are both looking forward to meeting everyone at the Community of Practice Summer Social at the League on June 29 from 12-2 p.m. It’s a timely entry point for us to begin our work supporting the CoPs and seeing each other in person.
