Dwaine danced and Nathan sang, but the real stars of the afternoon were 88 UCOP staff who achieved service milestones and this year’s Innovation and Impact Awards.

At UCOP’s own version of the Oscars, held Feb. 26 at the Elihu Harris State Office Building, UC President Mark G. Yudof handed out awards, while HR Vice President Dwaine Duckett and Executive Vice President Nathan Brostrom served as emcees.

OK, there were no strapless gowns by Dior Haute Couture, no tuxedos and no red carpet. But there were laughs, statuettes of sorts and even a bouquet of flowers for 40-year UC veteran Nancy Capell of Ethics, Compliance & Audit Services.

The milestone recognitions are held twice yearly. The Innovation Awards, now in their second year, are given annually to recognize OP staff for exemplary service in three categories.

This year there were 24 nominations for individual and team awards, representing a range of achievement across UCOP. President Yudof selected the awardees, based on recommendations from selection committees made up of last year’s winners.

And the awards go to:

In the category of Commitment to OP Culture and Principles, Holly St. John (Office of General Counsel) was recognized for championing diversity both within and outside UC through the OGC Diversity Committee and other efforts.

For Advancing the Mission, three individual staff and two teams were honored:

• Jenny Gautier (Office of Research and Graduate Studies) played a critical role in envisioning and implementing a joint faculty senate/administrative committee to monitor UC’s entire portfolio of research investments.
• George Getgen (Facilities Management) has done pioneering work to develop, advocate for and implement energy solutions to achieve climate neutrality as part of UC’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Justin Ilumin (Education Partnerships) successfully implemented an innovative solution for the first virtual conference of the MESA Academy for Science Achievement and Mathematics Educators.
• Han Mi Yoon-Wu (Student Affairs) and Jane Mayer (Information Technology Services) were recognized for their successful leadership on the ApplyUC Project, which updated and streamlined the online undergraduate application process.
• Larry Salinas, Betty Taylor and Kate Daby Horpedahl (State Governmental Relations) were honored for the May 2012 UC Regents–Students joint advocacy event in Sacramento, credited with helping achieve a positive budget agreement.

In the category of Connecting with the Community, one individual and one team award were given:

• Brandi Schmitt (Health Sciences and Services) was recognized for her community outreach supporting UC’s academic donor programs, work with nonprofit organizations and work as a certified emergency medical responder and K9 handler.
• The Communications team (Larissa Branin, Caitlin Callaghan, Brooke Converse, Vanessa Correa, Ethan Davis, Katherine Edwards, Andy Evangelista, Tracy Fitzgerald, Natasha Foote, Matt Glass, Erin Greenfield, Donna Hemmila, Jason Huang, Elizabeth Hull, Terri Hunter-Davis, Peter King, Dianne Klein, Yem Ling Fong, Nicole Freeling, Zak Long, Corey Mahoney, Adam Mangum, Kirill Mazin, Carolyn McMillan, Patti Meagher, Shelly Meron, Harry Mok, Steve Montiel, Jose Pantoja, Alec Rosenberg, Paul Schwartz, Katherine Tam, Lily Wang, Jess Wheelock, Alfred White and Anne Wolf) was honored for its efforts on the Onward California campaign to raise awareness of UC and its value throughout the state.

Also recognized for service milestones were the following:

• 10 years: Lisa Bolivar, Lorrelie Esteban, Carrie Batlin, Andreas Johns, Jason Lam, Mark Lozano, Sajeel Malani, Munish Malik, Patti Meagher, Julie Mendoza, Zoanne Nelson, Wendy Parfrey, Suzanne Renigen, John Shih, Bill Tucker, Roni Wilson, Anne Wolf and Han Mi Yoon-Wu

• 15 years: Jennifer Damico-Murphy, Jo-Ann De Castro, Caroline Gan, James Kassenbrock, Juanita Muniz-Torres, Mary O’Keefe, Doris Parham, Bernadette Ramirez, Dan Sampson and Pikka Sodhi

• 20 years: Vince Cook, Valerie Redmond and Raul Torres

• 25 years: Michael Baptista, Robin Davis-White, Sandra Jacoby, Jerina LaBat-Wells, Connie Miller, Shari Oki and Jenny Zhang

• 30 years: Patty Donnelly, Gemma Rieser and Ben Ulep

• 35 years: Sean O’Hara

• 40 years: Nancy Capell

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