Outstanding Staff Awards

2024 Oustanding Staff Awards Highlight Reel

Each year, the University of South Florida seeks to recognize employees who demonstrate "above and beyond" performance excellence and support the values in USF's Strategic Plan - In Pursuit of Excellence. The hard work and dedication of these staff and administrative employees greatly contributes to USF's success and upward trajectory.

THE 2024 nomination period is now CLOSED

Thank you everyone for submitting your nominations! We received more nominations than we have across the last several years, showcasing that the work our employees and teams are doing is above and beyond and aligns with USF's Stratgiec Plan. The Outstanding Staff Awards Planning Team along with Leadership have agreed to postponing the previously schedule ceremony that was set for November 1, 2024 in lieu of the closures we faced with Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. The new ceremony date is January 24, 2025.

Current status: The Selection Committee members have selected the nominated winners for their areas. The selected winners were notified on Monday, December 2, 2024. Those that were nominated but not selected for this years award have been notified as of December 19, 2024. Review a public summary of all selected winners here.

2024 Winners

2024 Individual Winners

2024 Individual Winners
Name	Email	Area
Abbie Holt	abbieholt@usf.edu	Bus&Fin-Controller's Office
Adrienne Pollard	apollard@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-SASS UGS
Amanda McNamara	alett1@usf.edu	USFHealth-College of Medicine
Amy Murray	armurray@usf.edu	Bus&Fin-Controller's Office
Anne Jetmundsen	ajetmund@usf.edu	Bus&Fin-University Treasury
Antoinette Puricelli	apuricelli@usf.edu	Executive Services
Audrey Holtzman	aholtzman@usf.edu	USFHealth-College of Nursing
Benjamin Pazian	bpazian@usf.edu	USFSP-Student Affairs
Bob Varghese	bvarghese@usf.edu	Info Tech-Information Tech
Brenda Andujar Colon	andujarcolon@usf.edu	Admin Svcs-Facilities Mgmt
Carlos Moreira	cjmoreira@usf.edu	Sar/Man-Regional Chancellor
Caryn Nesmith	carynn@usf.edu	USFSP-External Affairs
Chad Wallace	ctwallace@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-SASS-OCE
Cherine Chehab	cchehab@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll Engineering
Christa Nelson	crnelson@usf.edu	Exec Svcs-Human Resources
Christopher Ilse	CIlse@usf.edu	Admin Svcs-Facilities Mgmt
Daniel Sacher-Brown	dsacher@usf.edu	Admin Svcs-University Police
Danielle Gamboni	daniellehope@usf.edu	Coll of Pharmacy - Dean's Offc
Deena Vanderbosch	deenav@usf.edu	Research-VP Research
Erica Lovelette	ericalovelette@usf.edu	Library
Erin May	erinmay@usf.edu	USFHealth-College of Medicine
Gengze Wei	gwei@usf.edu	USFHealth-College of Medicine
Gloria Roberts	garoberts@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-SASS Comm Dev&Eng
Holly Behrend	Hbehrend@usf.edu	Univ Advnc-Univ Advancement
James Green	jamesgreen@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-USF World
Jamie Lane	jamielane@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Arts&Sci
Janet Reyes	janetreyes@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll Beh Comm Sci
Jennifer Dent	Jenniferdent@usf.edu	Executive Services
Jennifer Fitzsimmons	fitzsimm@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Education
Jessica Beyer	jmbeyer@usf.edu	USFHealth-Coll of Pharmacy
Jill Brown	jillcbrown@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Business
Jim Fagan	james438@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Arts&Sci
Jordon Hamilton	cjhamilton@usf.edu	Admin Svcs-Facilities Mgmt
Kameron Talley	kjtalley@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-SASS-Health&Well
Kara Bowleg	kbowleg@usf.edu	Bus&Fin-Controller's Office
Kerianne Beckford	kbeckfor@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll Beh Comm Sci
Kevin Lee	clee24@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Honors College
Korin Judge	kjudge@usf.edu	Admin Svcs-Facilities Mgmt
Linda Betts	lindabetts@usf.edu	Admin Svcs-Facilities Mgmt
Melissa Deleon	deleon@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll Engineering
Michelle Burnham	mburnham@usf.edu	USFHealth-College of Medicine
Patricia Cleveland	clevelan@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll Beh Comm Sci
Quincy Yott	qyott@usf.edu	USFHealth-College of Medicine
Ryan Jahn	rjahn@usf.edu	USFHealth-College of Medicine
Sarah Junke	junke@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Arts&Sci
Scott Nolan	snolan@wusf.org	Univ Advnc-Univ Advancement
Shaterra Blocker	swhite4@usf.edu	USFHealth-Sr VP Health
Silvia Moreno	smoreta@usf.edu	USFHealth-Coll Public Health
Tad Schnaufer	tschnaufer@usf.edu	Executive Services
Tessa Slinn	tessap@usf.edu	USFHealth-College of Medicine
Tiffany Moretta	tjs3@usf.edu	USFHealth-College of Medicine
Victoria Ramirez	vmr3@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Arts&Sci
Victoria Stuart	vlstuart@usf.edu	Research-VP Research
Wayne Espinola	wespinola@usf.edu	UCM-Communications&Marketing

2024 Team Winners

Team Winners - Group 1
Name	Email	Area
Alexander Lorenz	ajlorenz1@usf.edu	Research-Sponsored Research
Alyson Perry	alysoncondon@usf.edu	Research-Sponsored Research
Chanda Haywood	chaywood@usf.edu	Research-Sponsored Research
Dena-Rose Wilson	dmwilson1@usf.edu	Research-VP Research
Elizabeth Lauer	ealauer@usf.edu	Research-VP Research
Eric Kern	ericmkern@usf.edu	Research-Sponsored Research
Erin Bhagvat	ebhagvat@usf.edu	USFHealth-Office of Research
Erin Jensen	erin10@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Arts&Sci
Jissel Abuawad	jabuawad@usf.edu	Research-VP Research
John Johnson	jtj2@usf.edu	Research-VP Research
Kelsey Wilkinson	kmwilkinson@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Fl Inst Oceanogr
Kevin Reyes	krreyes@usf.edu	Research-Sponsored Research
Laurence Vandeyar	lvandeya@usf.edu	Research-Sponsored Research
Omar Shaheen	shaheen@usf.edu	Research-VP Research
Reena Raturi	rraturi@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll Engineering
Sara Labadie Siville	slabadie@usf.edu	Research-Sponsored Research
Sharon Taylor	scorlett@usf.edu	Research-Sponsored Research
Silvia Alvarez	silviaa@usf.edu	Research-Sponsored Research
Stephanie Rios	srios@usf.edu	Research-Sponsored Research

Team Winners - Group 2
Name	Email	Area
Amethyst Clare Surpris	aauza@usf.edu	USFHealth-College of Medicine
Brianna Colton	bcolton1@usf.edu	USFHealth-Coll Public Health
Danielle Secker	secker@usf.edu	USFHealth-Coll Public Health
Kevin Hitt	kevinhitt@usf.edu	Executive Services
Mary Toth	marytoth@usf.edu	USFHealth-Coll Public Health
Neil Bleiweiss	nbleiweiss@usf.edu	USFHealth-Coll Public Health
Parnia Roghani Shareef	proghani@usf.edu	USFHealth-Coll Public Health
Sandra Miller	Samiller@usf.edu	USFHealth-Coll Public Health
Silvia Moreno	smoreta@usf.edu	USFHealth-Coll Public Health

Team Winners - Group 3
Name	Email	Area
Ebony Miller	ebonymiller@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Arts&Sci
Jackie Malone	jcm6@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Arts&Sci
Jessica Lassiter	jessica5@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Arts&Sci
Kacey Jenkins	jenkinsk1@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Arts&Sci
Kristina Hamp	kristinahamp@usf.edu	USFHealth-Coll Public Health
Russia Collins	collinsr111@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Arts&Sci
Serina Lewis	serinalewis@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Arts&Sci
Sue Girling	suegirling@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Arts&Sci
Yana Sirotkin	yanasirotkin@usf.edu	Acad Affairs-Coll of Arts&Sci

Team Winners - Group 4
Name	Email	Area
Caryn Preston	carynm@usf.edu	Executive Services
James Welsh	jlwelsh@usf.edu	Executive Services
Julian Maguregui	jmagureg@usf.edu	Executive Services
Maria Gerakios	mgerakios@usf.edu	Executive Services

2024 Employee of the Year (Gabor Sponsored)

Employee of the Year Awards
Type	Name	Email	Area
Administrative	Danielle Gamboni	daniellehope@usf.edu	Coll of Pharmacy - Dean's Offc
Staff	Erica Lovelette	ericalovelette@usf.edu	Library

Submitting nominations

Do you know a deserving individual or team that deserve recognition? When the 2025 nominatoin period opens, you'll be able to select the applicable nomination forms linked below.

Individual Award Nomination Form | Submit a nomination sharing recognition of a single employee's "above and beyond" performance and support the values in USF's Strategic Plan.
Team Award Nomination Form | Submit a nomination for the recognition of a team of employees for its execution of a project, plan and/or initiative that:
- Break silos across OneUSF and incorporates a team from across two or more units and/or across two or more campuses,
- Demonstrates above and beyond performance, and
- Supports the values in USF's Strategic Plan - In Pursuit of Excellence.

ELIGIBILITY AND NOMINATION PROCESS

Eligibility

All staff and administrative employees (in a regular, established position) continuously employed from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, are eligible for nomination. To continue meeting eligibility, an employee must be employed on an established position thirty days prior to the awards ceremony to receive the award. Time spent in temporary (OPS) assignments will not count towards eligibility.

Faculty and temporary employees (student and non-student) are not eligible to be nominated for the Outstanding Staff Awards. However, faculty and temporary employees (student and non-student) are welcome to participate in nominating staff and administrative employees for recognition.

Nomination Process for the Nominator

Complete your individual or team nomination online with the appropriate 2024 Outstanding Staff Awards Nomination Forms linked above. We will only accept nominations completed through the online form. Prepare the text of your nomination in advance; it is highly recommended that you write the body of your nomination ahead of time, using the prompts for the nomination form. You can then copy and paste the text into the fields provided on the online form.

Process for the Selection Committee

Central Human Resources (CHR) will validate eligibility, then provide the nominations of all eligible candidates to each VP Area Outstanding Staff Award (OSA) Selection Committee for review. CHR will maintain copies of all nomination forms.

frequently asked questions

Nomination Questions
Question	Answer
How many employees can be included in a team nomination?	To support our OneUSF approach, there is no longer a limit on how many employees may be nominated for a team award, but each member should have contributed significantly to the team.
Who can submit an outstanding staff award nomination?	Any member of the USF Community may submit an Outstanding Staff Award nomination. As a OneUSF program, we encourage nominations from members of all campuses in order to showcase the wide range of contributions of our staff and administrative employees. We also encourage nominations of staff and administrative employees who are essential workers, veterans, and members of historically marginalized groups.
Can someone nominate an employee from a different department or VP area?	Absolutely. An employee can nominate their colleague, supervisor, or someone they work with from a different area.
Can someone nominate themselves for an award?	Yes! If an eligible employee would like to nominate themselves for an individual or team award, they are encouraged to do so.
Can someone be nominated for more than one award?	Absolutely. An employee can win an individual and/or a team award.
I want to nominate a team but one of the team members has only been here six months. Is the team still eligible?	Yes, though only team members that meet the eligibility criteria will be considered for an award. The team members not eligible can still attend the ceremony and cheer on their fellow team members from the audience, but they will not be recognized on stage or with a monetary award.

Eligibility Questions
Question	Answer
Who is eligible for an Outstanding Staff Award?	All regular staff and administration employees (with a position number) continuously employed on a position from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, are eligible for nomination. Faculty and temporary employees (student and non-student) are not eligible to be nominated but are welcome to participate in nominating staff and administrative employees.
Are previous winners eligible to win again?	Yes. There are no limits set regarding how many times an employee can receive an Outstanding Staff Award.

Ceremony Questions
Question	Answer
When is the ceremony?	The selected winners, their direct supervsiors, and Senior Leadership will receive notification of the ceremony date and details to follow regarding parking, guests, and additional details. The selected winners will be notified once the Selection Committee has completed their review and selection.
If I am not a selected winner, can I attend?	Due to space limitations, we regret that not everyone will be able to attend in person. However, we are excited to share that the ceremony will be recorded, and photos will be made available for everyone to enjoy.
How are recipients recognized and awarded?	Each individual Outstanding Staff Award recipient is recognized during our annual Outstanding Staff Awards ceremony, by their area leadership. Recipients are given a trophy and a monetary award of $500.