Previous Award Recipients
See below for information regarding previous awardees:
AY 2025-2026
Fall 2025
Valerie Miller, Director, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, Vice Chancellor for Research
Colleen Piersen, Associate Head for Administration, Pharmaceutical Sciences & UICentre for Drug Discovery, Retzky College of Pharmacy
Andriana Johnson, Assistant Registrar, NCAA Athletic Certification Officer, Registrar’s Office
Kelly Birch Maginot, Assistant Director, Advocacy Services, Women’s Leadership & Resource Center
Ian Jasenof, Chief Medical Officer, Mile Square Health Center
Zaneta Ahuja, Senior Director, Service Line Management
Robin Sylvester, Director of Research Services, School of Public Health
Sylvia Gonzalez, Project Manager, School of Public Health
Mary Kopale, Director of Instructional Design and Learning Innovation, Retzky College of Pharmacy
Eileen Mueller, Instructional Lab Specialist, College of Architecture, Design and the Arts
Lara Vaive, Director, Dispute Resolution Services, Office of Access & Equity
Marcy Hintzman, Visiting Research Specialist, Disability and Human Development, College of Applied Health Sciences
Zhi Li, Senior Research Specialist, National Center for Rural Health Professions, College of Medicine-Rockford
Justin Davis, Research Systems & Committees Coordinator, UIC Cancer Center
Elias Laskey, Visiting Research Specialist, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, College of Medicine
Gus Budiarta, Visiting Research Associate, Disability and Human Development, College of Applied Health Sciences
Carla Youngdahl, Assistant Director, Office for the Protection of Research Subjects, Vice Chancellor of Research
Spring 2026
Jessica Atassi, Visiting Senior Research Specialist, The Behavioral Health Crisis Hub, Jane Addams College of Social Work
Andrea Vaughan, Director, Center for Literacy, College of Education
Viraj Patel, Director, Asian American Student Academic Program, Office of Student Success and Belonging
Ana Marija Sokovic, Lead Computational Scientist, Technology Solutions
Tim Lacy, Senior Director, Student Learning Environment, Executive Dean’s Office, College of Medicine
Celia DeBoer, Academic Advisor and Program Specialist, Honors College
Alex Mena, Associate Athletic Director for Compliance, Athletics
Annalee Nowak, Research Associate, Department of Family and Community Medicine
Brianna Svec, Director of Stewardship, Stewardship & Donor Relations, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Advancement
David Cruz, Associate Director of Recruitment and Enrollment Strategy, College of Nursing
AY 2024-2025
Fall 2024
Katherine Simeon, Director of Assessment & Evaluation, Office of Educational Affairs, College of Medicine
Devangna Kapadia, Assistant Director, Health Policy Administration/School of Public Health
Vanessa Johnson, Associate Vice Chancellor for Marketing, Strategic Marketing & Communications
Lisa Lyons, Academic Advisor, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Kasey Wilken, Associate Director, University Accounting and Financial Reporting
Saleha Rizvi, Assistant Director, Data Analytics and Information Systems, Office of Institutional Research
Lyza Liriano, Area Coordinator, Campus Housing
Erika Chavez, Director of marketing and communications, Office of the Dean
John Smetana, Research Specialist, College of Medicine
Bidisha Gang, Senior Research Specialist, School of Public Health
Sarah Darski, Visiting Research Specialist, Department of Medicine
Adriana Ramirez-Islas, Senior Clinical Research Coordinator, Department of Medicine
Jennifer Gerena, Academic Advisor, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Andy Mitchell, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director of Sustainability, Administrative Services
Matthew Randle-Bent, Associate Director, Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
Spring 2025
Sarah Hearn, Associate Director of Admissions Systems and Data, Office of Admissions
Tasha Carlisle, Research Specialist, University of Illinois Cancer Center
Lorelei Stewart, Director Gallery 400, School of Art & Art History, College of Arch., Design and the Arts
Becky Fall, Graduate Academic Advisor, School of Art & Art History
Sharyn Dyer, Director of Academic Affairs, Dean’s Office, School of Public Health
Juanita LeCrone, Director of HR Operations, College of Nursing
Charity Ball, Director of Clinical Research Education; Co-Director of Clinical Research Operations, Center for Clinical and Translational Science
Elena Lathos, Director, Community Development Break Through Tech Chicago, Computer Science, Break Through Tech Chicago
Paula Melissa Hernandez, Associate Director, Strategic Lead, Computer Science, Break Through Tech Chicago, College of Engineering
Elsa Soto, Director, Equity and Inclusion in Engineering Program, College of Engineering
James Alford, Academic Advising, College of Business Student Services
Ola Giwa, Data Visualization Specialist, Technology Solutions