2022 Staff Awards of Excellence announced at Principal and DVC’s Town Hall
At last month’s Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor’s Town Hall, a number of employees were recognized for their outstanding service to the university at the annual Staff Awards of Excellence.
This year, six awards were given out in the following categories: Advancing Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence, Enhancing the UBC Experience, Leadership, Global Citizenship, Okanagan Campus Spirit, and Wellbeing.
Congratulations to this year’s Honourees.
Right to left: Lesley Cormak, Jodi Siever, Kristi Hoffman, Janet Heisler, Dominka Wesolowski, Irene McKechnie, Earllene Roberts, Damien Bell, Max Nevill, Casey Hamilton, Dana Lowton, Alex Bayne, Camilo Pena (Missing: Jodie Foster, Gavin Yap)
ADVANCING ANTI-RACISM & INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE
This year’s Advancing Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Award was presented to Graduate Academic Services Officer, Damien Bell.
Damien was recognized for taking a leadership role in advancing equity, diversity and inclusive excellence practices within his department as well as in the broader UBC community. He is committed to continuous learning in the EDI space and then putting the knowledge he gains into practice for the betterment of the College of Graduate Studies, students, staff, faculty and the community.
ENHANCING THE UBC EXPERIENCE
This year’s Enhancing the UBC Experience Award was presented to Senior Department Assistant, Janet Heisler.
Throughout her 15 years of service at UBCO in Earth, Environmental & Geographic Sciences, Janet has been described by faculty, staff and students as a “department anchor”, a “pillar of help” and department “matriarch”. Currently working as the Senior Department Assistant, Janet fosters a family culture where faculty and staff work together to enhance the student experience.
GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
This year’s Global Citizenship Award was presented to Assistant Director of Go Global, Dana Lowton.
Students are at the center of everything Dana does, as she understands that international experiences can have a positive effect on a student’s development of global citizenship competencies and academic growth. As a result of this, Dana is one of the biggest champions of international education at UBC – and was able to grow the number of students coming on exchange to the Okanagan campus over several years, raising the profile of UBCO.
LEADERSHIP
This year’s Leadership Award was presented to Manager, Disability Resource Centre, Earllene Roberts.
Earllene is described as a strategic, coach-like leader, building connections and understanding within her team along with outside departments they might collaborate with, all while keeping an open-door policy to support staff. Earllene helped to build a respectful, inclusive, and collaborative environment for the Student Wellness team, raising the profile of the directorate throughout the university.
OKANAGAN CAMPUS SPIRIT
This year’s Okanagan Campus Spirit Award was presented to The Okanagan Planning and Institutional Research Team. OPAIR team members are Jodie Foster, Kristi Hoffman, Irene McKechnie, Max Nevill, Camilo Pena, Jodi Siever, Dominika Wesolowski and Gavin Yap.
A model of peer support and a positive work environment, the OPAIR team shares resources, bounces ideas off each other, laughs together, and helping each other through tough times. Mutual respect is “through the roof”, as they trust and support each other in all they do. The OPAIR team truly reflects the Okanagan campus spirit, which is to be helpful, open, and transparent; and to do all that with a smile and genuine caring.
WELLBEING
New this year, the Wellbeing Award was presented to Wellbeing Strategist, Casey Hamilton.
Casey is described as passionate, strategic, collaborative and values-driven, working to advance the mission of a healthy UBC in everything she does. She works to create positive change, setting a tone and culture of collaboration and partnership-building across campus, working with faculty and staff but also focused on student learning, leadership and mentorship.