Shout-Out for the Oakland community spaces and open house team
October 14, 2025 •
Thera Kalmijn, executive director of UCOP Operations, shares an enthusiastic Shout-Out to the team members who were instrumental in bringing the new and significantly refreshed Oakland community spaces to life.
“The UCOP Community Spaces and Open House came together through the creativity, dedication and teamwork of many staff across UCOP Operations and our UCOP partners. What started as a bold idea became a reality thanks to the time, talent and spirit of collaboration poured into every detail. These spaces — and the open house event that introduced them — reflect the best of what we can accomplish when we work together. With deep appreciation, I recognize the following groups for their outstanding work.”
Design Team (Heather Baptista, Taylan Ekici and Tiffany McBride)
“The community spaces would not exist without the incredible creativity, dedication and hands-on work of the design team. From envisioning layouts to sourcing unique items, to rolling up their sleeves for arts-and-crafts projects, this team balanced aesthetics with functionality and infused the project with a DIY spirit that reflects the best of UCOP ingenuity.”
Project Support Team (Jumaane Armstrong, Regine Berdan, Juan Conrado, Daniel Estrada, Maynor Guitierrez, Jihee Lee, Loreaner Lopez, Mari-Elizabeth Moore, Brenda Perez, Anne Phelps, Joyce Price, Dan Rugroden, Michelle Simms, Amy Vrizuela, Lee West and Mike Zalaya)
“The project support team played a critical role in making it all happen. In addition to coordinating logistics, managing purchase orders, building furniture and moving equipment, they jumped in wherever needed to ensure the vision became reality. Their persistence, resourcefulness and generosity of time helped transform ideas into completed spaces staff can now enjoy.”
Open House Event Team + Ambassadors (Heather Baptista, Stephanie Chew, Juan Conrado, Margie David, Taylan Ekici, Anne Marie Ferruzzi, Jamie Frick, Deb Gruen, Barbara Heilman, Beth Kellman, Loreaner Lopez, Tiffany McBride, Dennis McIver, Tom Myers, Alex Santos, Amy Vrizuela, and Lee West)
“The Open House was a success thanks to our amazing Event Services Group and ambassadors. From set-up and logistics to greeting attendees and keeping everything running smoothly, they thought through every detail to give colleagues a memorable first experience of the community spaces and set the tone for future use.”
Share your Shout-Out!
Do you want to thank someone at UCOP for going the extra mile? Are you impressed by a colleague’s hard work, dedication and commitment to UC? Please take a moment to email us your Shout-Out — along with a photo — and we’ll run it in an upcoming issue of Link. Shout-Outs are limited to 100 words (unless you’re thanking several people, like in this one), so it won’t take you long to write yours!
Tags: community spaces, Oakland, shout-out, Thera Kalmijn
