Nominee's Name: Taylor Kaserman
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Demonstrates Commitment
Customer Service Example:
Huge shoutout to Taylor Kaserman for leading an outstanding RAPDP class on Proposal Development today! Taylor did a fantastic job breaking down complex proposal processes into clear, actionable steps and sharing practical insights that will make navigating research administration much smoother for everyone. Thank you, Taylor, for your dedication, dedication to knowledge-sharing, and commitment to supporting our Research Administration community's growth!
Nominee's Name: Marlene Perez
Nominee's Unit: Payroll
Criteria: Team Player
Customer Service Example:
I really appreciate all that Marlene has been doing with regards to assisting with SCTs. There have been quite a few emails lately with issues with SCT forms, and she reaches out to the RA to request updated forms or additional details rather than simply outright rejecting the SCTs. I cannot thank her enough for her extra set of eyes and graciousness in getting things resolved quickly and without delay. Thanks for being such a great team player, Marlene!
Nominee's Name: TK Chen
Nominee's Unit: Computer Support
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
There are not enough words to express my gratitude for TK Chen's effort over the past few weeks to troubleshoot issues with our Business Portal due to a dependencies with EECS project files. When we received a 3 hour notice that our system would be going down for possibly several weeks, TK sprung into action to suggest backing up our files locally and transferring them to campus storage in order to remove the dependency. He successfully executed this monumental task and had our Business Portal back up and running 48-hours later. TK went above and beyond to limit the downtime of our critical system. Thank you, TK.
Nominee's Name: Derek Johnson
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Team Player
Customer Service Example:
In mid-July, I had to go out for a family emergency for my grandmother, and Derek stepped right in and starting assisting with things on my desk, including assisting one of my more robust PIs with their work and outstanding items. I then was out for an approved time week of time off during the same period, so it's been a lot for Derek over the last few weeks despite me working in the mornings and later afternoons to try and catch up on things and address urgent items as they arose. He supported my team, providing teaching moments, and helped where he could when he could. I am so grateful that I had his extra support during this time as it made it easier to focus on my family as well as making it more streamlined when I was able to work in between family things. Thank you SO much, Derek. Truly!
Nominee's Name: Cathy Nguyen
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
Cathy has been an incredible mentor ever since I onboarded at ERSO. Over the past week, as several unique situations hit my desk, she was right there to help me talk through them and problem-solve. Her guidance has been invaluable!
Nominee's Name: Sarah Lirio
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Problem Solver
Customer Service Example:
Sarah helped me with a budget that was complicated and pointed me in the right direction. Her assistance allowed me to meet deadlines and provide accurate information to my faculty. Thank you Sarah!
Nominee's Name: Alice Wong
Nominee's Unit: Purchasing
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
One of my PIs had 35 outstanding Linde gas invoices form March 2023 - March 2026 that needed to be processed in order to reactivate the account to allow for future and continuing gas orders. Despite multiple follow ups with the PI and his research group for months with no movement, it took until June for the PI to input the Business Portal request to get these paid, and Alice then needed to process each of the 35 invoices separately in BearBUY - it was a lot of unnecessary work for our Purchasing team due to delays with other campus partners, but she processed these quickly and allowed for me to approve them expeditiously to get the vendor paid. I truly appreciate the quick assistance and processing of these despite the arduousness of the request. ERSO is so lucky to have Alice as a part of our team - thanks again, Alice!
Nominee's Name: Alberto Marcelo
Nominee's Unit: Human Resources
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
There is a very complex HR issue with an employee that is under Vetter's and Vujic's group that is now needing 7 months of back pay while also dealing with a reclass of earnings between a lecturer/reseacher appt that also involves the NE dept. This employee's record is further complicated by various leaves they were on during the missing pay periods, and there have been MANY HR and Payroll emails with me and the dept regarding this situation. Alberto kindly offered to meet with me via zoom to discuss, in detail, the various moving parts, how it all fits together with the employee's full funding package, and next steps. He went record by record in UCPath showing me the breakdown of how to reconcile once the full pay issues have been resolved and took the time to detail out all the leaves. It will require many SCTs to correct given that some fund sources are no longer active, but with Alberto's expert guidance and assistance, I now have a better und erstanding on what needs to be done going forward. I cannot thank him enough for all the assistance on this, especially as an RA I don't have the same views in UCPath or knowledge of how the system works for these types of situations. ERSO is SO lucky to have him on our team - thanks again, Alberto!!
Nominee's Name: Amy Frithsen
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Team Player
Customer Service Example:
Amy is the definition of a team player! I was called in for jury duty last week, which was not ideal as we are in FY close period as well as dealing with staff coverage on my team. Amy chatted me and said 'you can't be in jury duty AND working as an RA even as good as you are,' which is what I needed to hear. We encourage people to not be shy or feel bad about asking for help, and Amy essentially did that for me. She kept an eye on the approval queues for Sarah L who was still out as well as checking in with my team on various other topics that needed addressing last week. Knowing that there are colleagues who truly see you and offer their help without taking no for an answer so that they can truly show up and assist is what makes Amy an absolutely fantastic team player. I so appreciate her so not just asking but also doing. Thank you SO much, Amy!
Nominee's Name: Emily Martinez
Nominee's Unit: Human Resources
Criteria: Team Player
Customer Service Example:
I needed to make a change to a recall appt for one of my faculty, and it was late in the month that I sent a request in, a week past the internal funding update deadline. Emily was super quick in taking care of the funding update in UCPath to get it updated for May pay, resulting in once less SCT that I needed to process. I am so grateful that Emily was able to assist to quickly and jumped right in to assist, despite other HR deadlines during a busy period. I really appreciate the partnership and accommodation. Thank you SO much, Emily!!
Nominee's Name: Saleem Hasan
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
Saleem went above & beyond to support a complex multi-investigator proposal for NSF's National Quantum and Nanotechnology Infrastructure program. He diligently worked with the proposing team to carefully develop a complex budget. He also made himself available late at night to identify incomplete remaining components on the final day when the team faced a series of unprecedented peripheral emergencies, ensuring successful submission of the proposal.
Nominee's Name: Alberto Marcelo
Nominee's Unit: Human Resources
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
Alberto went above and beyond in providing support on a complex NSP account. He took the time to meet with me and walk through the details with exceptional patience and clarity. His explanations were not only thorough, but also insightful; he carefully outlined why certain issues were occurring and why others were not, which made a complicated situation much easier to understand. Alberto clearly identified the specific action items needed to correct the account, ensuring that I left the conversation with a solid plan moving forward. I truly appreciate his dedication, expertise, and willingness to go the extra mile to help resolve the issue. Thank you, Alberto, for all that you do; I truly appreciate it!
Nominee's Name: Sanchita Pal
Nominee's Unit: Reimbursement Services
Criteria: Problem Solver
Customer Service Example:
Sanchita took on an additional role of working with the Business Contracts Office (BCO) to streamline processing of business contracts with ERSO - she updated the departmental approvers, worked to create separate units within the ERSO organization (CEE, NE, etc.) so that specific BCO analysts handle our contracts. She put together an updated ERSO process flow map and assisted in updating the screenshots for our internal user guide. She demonstrated problem solving abilities, going above and beyond to ensure consistency and efficiency, and as always is a team player in gathering this information and disseminating it. Thank you so much, Sanchita, for your help in this process!
Nominee's Name: Saleem Hasan
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Team Player
Customer Service Example:
Earlier in March, while Weixing was out for a few weeks, one of her faculty submitted a late proposal with a quick turnaround time. Both Cathy (Weixing's backup) and I were slammed with late proposals of our own. As our pre-award RA, Saleem takes on many proposals for many PIs, but he graciously indicated that he would be able to take on this proposal for Weixing in addition to his current workload. I can't say how grateful I am to him for assisting us in this way! It's so nice to be able to ping him to see if he has the bandwidth to assist in times of high proposal volume. Thank you again, Saleem - we wouldn't have been able to manage this proposal without your expert assistance!
Nominee's Name: Alice Wong
Nominee's Unit: Purchasing
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
Alice is always a positive, efficient and effective contact within the purchasing department. I have always found her to be incredibly knowledgeable regarding bearbuy, and purchasing policies and procedures. This has made her an invaluable resource when trying to address unusual issues under urgent circumstances. She is always positive and prompt when working with UCB staff and outside vendors. She brings a friendly personal touch to calls and always finds time to help. Most recently, Alice was able to assist me with quickly obtaining more than 100 invoices that were being requested as support by a sponsor. She took the time to teach me about some of the quirks of bearbuy and how to better navigate the system to pull available invoices. She then contacted vendors to obtain invoices that were not in the system. I would not have been able to address the sponsor’s document request without her help.
Nominee's Name: Cathy Weaver and Julie Aquino
Nominee's Unit: Payroll
Criteria: Anticipates Customer Needs
Customer Service Example:
After the January MO deadline had passed, Cathy and Julie were able to lead the team in preventing an overpayment (caused by UCPC) AND issue pay at correct FTE. Performing in efficient fashion and preventing disruption to the employee demonstrates their commitment, teamwork, problem solving and anticipatory thinking.
Nominee's Name: Joel Spitzer
Nominee's Unit: Human Resources
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
Joel exemplifies ALL the criteria and is especially a team player. I have the privilege of working with him since I joined ERSO in 2012. He is caring and compassionate. It is evident, in all Joel does, that he genuinely cares about coworkers. He is innovative in seeking and finding the best solution for all concerned. My own example involved (2) medical matters. Peace of mind, due to Joel's excellent work and work ethic, made all the difference. Thank you so much, Joel !