Past Nominees 2018
December
Here are just a few of the Nova Southeastern University family who are being recognized for their dedication to the core value of Community
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Les Ross Assistant Director | Regional Campuses, Tampa Les Ross has been a Big Brother for five years, coordinating school visits, usually during his lunch time, with his Little Brother. During that time, he will eat, talk, and play board games with him. They also visit the library to read books together. Ross mentored a 1st grader as well. In addition, he serves as a school advisory committee member with a local elementary school. NSU Tampa Bay has various partners throughout the entire community. Ross' work with some of these schools includes offering his time to their specific needs, which has tightened those partnerships by adding value to individual families. |
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Lisa Ferrara Young Adult Librarian I | Research and Technology Center Through the Drop-in Research Help for Teens program at Nova Southeastern University's (NSU’s) Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center, Lisa Ferrara enthusiastically teaches middle and high school students how to use the library's resources to find, evaluate, and cite information for their homework assignments and research papers. By offering this recurring program, teens within the community have access to resources that will help them succeed in school (and possibly become future NSU sharks)! |
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Marcia Silverstein Director of Community Relations & Market | Alvin Sherman Library The Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center serves the Nova Southeastern University (NSU) community, including alumni and the public, all year round. Every month, the library provides programming to young children, teens, and adults through festivals, exhibits, and workshops. Marcia Silverstein puts together all kinds of marketing materials to make sure we get our community involved in the library and NSU.From enewsletters, to postcards, the marquee, flyers, social media, swag, and all other media, she makes sure we get the word out. Silverstein’s efforts ensure that the internal and external communities know what NSU and the library offer. Working with her benefits all of us here as patrons utilize our library, use our resources, and experience our programs in person or online. She truly embodies the core value of community. |
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Michelle Marsh Payroll Analyst | Financial Operations In October 2018, during the peak of the financial audit, Michelle Marsh provided exemplary customer service to Contracts and Grant Accounting (CGA) accountants who needed assistance with some payroll reports that the auditors requested. Despite it being a payroll week and the department being short-staffed, Marsh was able to generate the necessary reports and help CGA meet various deadlines. The teamwork, and "can-do" attitude that Marsh exhibited made an ordinarily stressful period much more manageable. Her efforts helped the CGA staff meet all the competing deadlines, and the flexibility was very much appreciated. |
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Sarah Divine Adult Services Librarian II | Research and Technology Center The annual StoryFest celebration, which helps promote early literacy for children and families is hosted by Nova Southeastern University's Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center. Sarah Divine utilizes her exceptional organizational skills to recruit and coordinate hundreds of volunteers in assisting with this fun-filled day that serves thousands of people within our community through storytelling, live shows, and free books to help foster a love for reading! |
November's Core Value is INTEGRITY
What does integrity mean for NSU employees? Employees who...
- Adhere to policies and practices in order to service stakeholders with honesty and fairness
- Demonstrate fiscal responsibility and operates as a steward of NSU’s resources
- Openly admit mistakes and takes action to correct situations or change behavior
- Holds self-accountable for making principled decisions
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Alfredo Rehbein Executive Director of Finance and Admin | Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine Our Institute is going through a complex process involving people from various divisions and it is time consuming. Alfredo's professionalism and honesty has been highlighted throughout this process since I am communicating with many people from many divisions. Instead of shifting blame, deflecting questions or prolonging responses, Alfredo continues to communicate openly and honestly. Alfredo's integrity gives me assurance that I can trust him and that he has our best interest at heart. Since I work closely with him, it is important for me to know that I can trust my colleague to be honest with me, even if they are telling me things I don't want to hear! |
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Ana Iglesias EPS Supervisor | Enrollment & Student Affairs Ana is first and foremost a team player. She can be doing 20 things at once and still have the time to help or answer a question. Ana has been heavily involved in our Banner 9 upgrade testing along with myself. She has been nothing short of spectacular when it comes to communicating errors and assisting in all aspects of the testing. Ana has demonstrated integrity by her honesty and strong principles in how we can make what we do in Banner 9 more advantageous to us. Although changes cannot be made, Ana has come up with better ways to use certain screens. She has assisted other areas in their testing. She has always communicated and documented any errors that she has come across. By testing and communicating with OIIT, Ana has made the entire process manageable. There is so much to test with a dwindling timeline. Her integrity has made the process smooth and has developed comradery among fellow coworkers. |
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Christine Panesso Contact Lens Coordinator | College of Optometry Christine is responsible for being sure all of our contact lens patients are up to date with any balances, ensuring that insurance is being billed timely, patient refunds etc. Although many of these situations are out of her control, she still confronts the problems as the department lead, and does so with a positive outlook. Christine has not let the difficulty of dealing with difficult situations distract her from her positive attitude. She has remained confident, and has without a doubt, grown in her career. Christine's knowledge on this side of the department is invaluable. She is one of the most helpful people in the clinic, and is incredibly knowledgeable in her department. Her ability to learn from her mistakes has kept the department positive, and has developed her into an employee that I feel lucky to have on my team. |
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Kefer Benson Technology Support Engineer, Senior | Innovation and Information Technology During Dr. Hanbury's annual Town Hall meetings, Kefer follows Dr. Hanbury to each location to support his IT/Audio Visual/Video Conferencing needs. This means traveling to each location, including the distant campuses like Puerto Rico, to set up and test all of the equipment before the meetings to make sure everything works properly. It is not uncommon for Kefer to arrive a day before to verify that microphones, projectors, computers and A/V components all work flawlessly for the President. These Town Hall meetings are extremely important and help to engage students and employees with the president about NSU's present and future. The information gathered from these meetings enhances the experience of being part of Nova Southeastern University. |
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Kristine Freitas Project Manager | Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine As a project manager, Kris coordinates a program that includes academicians, businessmen, first responders and laborers, all of whom have different goals. She regularly negotiates between government agencies, University administration and contractors with the goal of making working conditions safer on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Somehow, she usually manages to keep the program running and the stakeholders happy, even when it appears that conflicting requirements have created unresolvable problems. Kris is on the front line for communicating the needs and requirements of stakeholders to the program, overseers and clientele. She is unfailingly positive and polite and manages to keep everyone satisfied that their concerns are primary considerations in the running of the program. She often sacrifices her time and effort in order to make sure that principled decisions are enacted rather than lesser alternatives. Working under levels of supervision and oversight, Kris represents the program and the University in ways that reflect all of the NSU core values, as well as the empathy, support and benevolence of a professional public health practitioner. |
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Krysten Herrera Mailman Segal Center for Human Development | Director Integrated essentially means that one's values are "integrated" with ones actions. Krysten Herrera cares deeply for the students, staff, and families that she serves. With oversight over a variety of different groups and programs, she deals with challenging situations on a daily basis. In a recent situation that Krysten was handling, I noticed her adhering to policies and practices with fairness and honesty. She worked diligently to allow those involved to be heard and demonstrated a principle-centered approach. Her approach deepened my trust in the program's commitment to support the success of all students, families, teachers, and classroom environments. Her behavior made me feel part of a wonderful community and enhanced my trust in the program. |
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Marla Oxenhandler Public Relations and Marketing Communications| Associate Director Marla is the type of person who always thinks of others. She bakes her specialty butterscotch cakes for birthdays, shares stories relevant to NSU’s areas of expertise in order to capitalize on newsworthy studies or headlines, and mentors less experienced colleagues. Marla continually places the value of her organization at the highest standards. She emphasizes NSU’s core value of integrity every day by providing the highest level of PR counsel to her clients and colleagues. She values family in every sense, including her work family. When our colleague experienced a great loss, Marla stepped up and filled in as department head. She managed the team and was successful securing major media placements surrounding the election, research grants and other topics. Marla always conducts herself with the highest level of integrity and is a respected communicator within NSU and in the broader community. She participates in PRSA and other outside organizations and is known for her giving spirit. |
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Monica Polanin Mailman Segal Center for Human Development |Teacher Monica Polanin consistently demonstrates integrity. I have had the pleasure of having Monica as my child's preschool teacher, and she has impressed me with her competence, compassion, and trustworthiness. When faced with a challenging situation, she adhered to policies and practices with honesty and fairness while also demonstrating the highest level of professionalism and love. I can see that she is a principled human being and has been a committed member of the MSC team for nearly 30 years. Monica consistently lives out the other NSU Core Values - demonstrating integrity (an integration of her NSU values and her behavior). Her behavior made me feel part of a caring community and she demonstrated that she is student-centered. Throughout the year, I have seen her commitment to academic excellence and innovation. She is dealing with a very diverse group of students (ability and maturity) and she creates opportunities for students at all levels to thrive. |
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Paula Anderson-Worts Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine | Assistant Dean of Faculty Affairs In a recent committee meeting, Dr. Anderson-Worts made it possible for everyone to have a chance to share their ideas, while making sure that professionalism and respect for one another was maintained. When we are part of a committee, there are always many points of views in and certain circumstances may bring many disagreements. Dr. Anderson-Worts is a respected and extraordinary educator, and an amazing human being. She handled and (still handles) these disagreements using the same behavior of respect and understanding that she is always demonstrating in her daily interactions. She is not a fake professional - she is who she is all the time and always. Dr. Anderson-Worts makes everybody feels comfortable in her presence. She is an authentic human being with a high level of integrity, enthusiasm, and love for one another. It makes me want to continue contributing with her in all kinds of academic events, internal and external. |
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Phyllis Filker Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine | Associate Dean for Undergraduate, Graduate and Community Education Assisted in the creation of the Emergency Medicine Certificate program and led the start of the Bachelors in Public Health program. Dr. Filker has demonstrated integrity through her various initiatives to start high quality innovative programs at NSU. Through her guidance, she expanded existing programs and helped start the Bachelors in Public Health, the Masters of Science in Nutrition and the Emergency Medicine certificate program. Through the use of existing resources and talent within KPCOM, Dr. Filker has allowed for a tremendous amount of expansion within our college. |
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Richard Perez College of Optometry | Supervisor of Front Desk Operations Richard has had to ensure that every clinic has all the supplies necessary for operating, while having to be extremely mindful of our budget. Richard has made sure that every, single clinic has everything they need (and even coffee!) while ensuring that no one goes over budget or spends too much. He has found ways to keep our employees positive and hopeful, even when facing difficult decisions. |
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Stanley Wilson Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences | Dean I have seen Dr. Wilson demonstrate integrity daily for as long as I have been in the college. He consistently focuses on being just and deliberates on what the best thing for the college and the individual is in each case. He also is thoughtful about treating all employees - faculty and staff - as valuable assets to achieving our overall mission. Stanley is respected throughout the college by faculty and staff because he is trustworthy and competent. He clearly possesses strong character and his values and his actions align. Dr. Wilson is a role model to many and leads with integrity and compassion. The impact of his leadership impacts the behaviors of those he leads and the experience of our faculty, staff, and students. Additionally, people are inspired by both mission and by individuals. He inspires his team to be and do their best. |
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Terry Morrow-Nelson Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences | Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Marrow-Nelson exhibits integrity in her interactions with the IDEA Initiative. I have observed her commitment to the project, the students and the faculty to uphold a program of excellence. She promotes professionalism among our faculty and students. Dr. Marrow-Nelson promotes high quality learning and teaching opportunities for those who participate in the IDEA initiative which serves both the KP-COM and the community. Dr. Marrow Nelson works with the IDEA committee on a regular basis and she commits much of her own time assuring the program is delivered in a professional and effective manner. She goes out of her way to coordinate the programs to include faculty and students from all areas and expertise of the college. She strives to meet the needs of the community the teams serve by providing the right fit of students and faculty. Dr. Marrow Nelson's commitment to meet the needs of the community through coordinating the IDEA initiative projects in a variety of modalities and venues makes her a special asset to our KP-COM. She shows utmost integrity in all of her interactions with IDEA members and through promoting services to strengthen the health of our local community. |
October's Core Value is DIVERSITY
What does Diversity mean for NSU employees? Employees who...
- Comply with all NSU workplace policies including federal, state and local
- Listen to all internal and external stakeholders’ opinions and points of view
- Intervene promptly when inappropriate behavior occurs and/or refer observed inappropriate behavior to the appropriate personnel
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Dawn Dacosta Director, Academic Support Services | College of Pharmacy Ms. Dawn Dacosta recognized a need to expose pharmacy students to the diversity that exists within our community and to learn from and develop respect for each other. She implemented a program titled “Diversity Dialogs” at each of our sites. A panel of students representing an area of diversity (e.g., ethnic, religious, sexual orientation, etc.) discuss their perspectives, life experiences, and beliefs and take questions from the audience. Diversity Dialogs is presented at a convenient time for students and students are awarded “engagement” credit for attending. We have had very positive feedback from students regarding the impact this has had on their lives and their understanding and acceptance of others. It is not unusual to have students in tears or cheering in appreciation for their classmates who have taken on the challenge of being a panelist and our panelists have appreciated the opportunity to share their stories with others. Our students feel this experience will make them more empathetic and understanding pharmacists. |
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Donnie Preston Middle School Athletic Director | NSU University School Donnie is our Middle School Atheltic Director and is always displaying diversity for our student-athletes by making sure everyone has equal opportunities to participate and be involved in sports. Donnie stepped up to the plate to become our Middle School Girls Basketball Head Coach. Donnie did such a tremendous job teaching and leading the middle school girls basketball team that they won the 2017-18 South Florida Middle School League Championship! He is an outstanding leader and demonstrates passion in all that he does. Donnie's behavior has enhanced the experience of being a part of Nova Southeastern University by showing his willingness to help and support others. |
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Justin Soward Administrative Assistant I | Health Professions Justin has helped my coworkers and I each time we need assistance. He doesn't make us what either. He drops what he is doing and stays until what we have asked to be helped with is done. Justin succeeds the diversity core value this month because he doesn't hold back or cater to just one employee. HPD College of Osteopathic Medicine is growing and at times very fast paced. We place many tickets for OIT but sometimes they are busy as well. Justin has been so helpful with computer issues and HPD documents. He stops whatever project he is working on and gives each of us helpful hints and short tutorials. Justin's willingness to give back and helping at short notice, helps keep employee moral upbeat (Well, at least mine). When you work with someone so helpful it makes you realize life is too short to keep knowledge you may have learned to yourself. |
September's Core Value is SCHOLARSHIP/RESEARCH
What does Scholarship/Research mean for NSU employees? Employees who...
- Maintain awareness and understanding of the role of NSU’s activities in scholarship and research
- Support a culture and environment for scholarship/research
- Pursue new information and makes improvements based upon this knowledge
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Althea Harvey Research Support Specialist | College of Pharmacy A substantial grant was submitted by a faculty member two days before the deadline, and Ms. Harvey made significant efforts and obtained all required signatures, staying in constant communication with all parties, identified alternate actions when roadblocks were encountered, kept OSP apprised and resolved the entire problem despite time constraints and made the agency deadline with two hours to spare. This remarkable display of perseverance and passion with which she pursued this task is well aligned with the concept of "Living the Values" in regard to Scholarship/Research. She went above and beyond what would be expected based on the rules for grant submission. The immediate impact is that a grant proposal worth $2 million was submitted on time and if the grant is eventually awarded, it will be substantial in terms of extramural funding being secured. We learned that Ms. Harvey can be counted on to rise to challenges. |
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Amanpreet Cheema, PhD Research Program Manager, Faculty | Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine Throughout her employment at Institute of Neuroimmune Medicine, Dr. Cheema has been instrumental in developing and acquiring federal research grants for the KPCOM-Institute of Neuroimmune Medicine. She has jump-started her career in research after a short hiatus during which she exclusively pursued teaching responsibilities. Along with establishing her research, Dr. Cheema is keen on promoting student scholarship. She has been developing federal training grants for enhancement of underserved minority populations in biomedical sciences. She has been awarded 2018-2019 President's Research Grant through which she is mentoring two graduate students in clinical research methodologies. She has helped INIM in approx. 24 million dollar portfolio where she provided pre and post-approval award management. She is on her way to establishing nutrition research at NSU supported by federal grants. |
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Michael Dressler Laboratory Research Assistant | College of Pharmacy Mr. Dressler took it upon himself to research published articles evaluating pre- and post-training evaluation questionnaires that we should use for our compounding pharmacy workshop happening offsite with students to disseminate the effectiveness of the training. This is now being used at the workshop for assessment purposes. For me, his actions showed that the core values of being student centered, innovative, and scholarly in our research and class activities goes beyond just faculty members. This enhanced my sense of community and being at NSU, as I was pleasantly surprised that staff such as Michael do care as much about these principles as faculty; if not more. |
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Dr. Robin J. Jacobs Adjunct Faculty | Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine Dr. Jacobs is an adjunct faculty with appointments in the Biomedical Informatics Program and the Public Health Program in the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (KPCOM) at Nova Southeastern University (NSU). Since 2008, Dr. Jacobs has focused her efforts on research and mentoring, particularly in the areas of medication adherence, health literacy, and eHealth interventions. She serves as an ad-hoc research mentor to our medical faculty, most of whom who have obtained funding for their studies. She has a productive collaborative relationship with several faculty members in the College of Dental Medicine and College of Pharmacy. Presently, she is working closely with Dr. Raymond Ownby on an NIH grant on health-literacy. Dr. Jacobs's most important achievements at NSU has been building and maintaining an independent research agenda to use scientific methods and innovation to address issues of public health importance, particularly in the area of HIV-related health disparities among vulnerable populations including ethnic minority youth, older adults, women and men who have sex with men. Her publication record is very extensive. |
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Stephen G. Grant, Ph.D. Associate Professor | Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine Dr. Grant is passionate about research and is always apt to find a way to turn a discussion into a research opportunity. He is a true research advocate and is an asset to the NSU family. In every meeting I've ever had with Dr. Grant, he is advocating for an increase in research and the abilities of us as a university to be on the forefront of academic scholarship. Recently, as we discussed his upcoming presentation on autism and how to make it more interprofessional, he brought up a past research experience that may enhance the discussion while lighting up with the idea to recruit an interprofessional team to look into it. Dr. Grant's relentless passion for research has sparked my own interest to pursue opportunities on multiple occasions. He is always willing to mentor young researchers and is more than happy to explain the value of scholarship on personal growth, as well as on the whole of the university. |
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Tanaira Tapia Administrative Assistant | College of Pharmacy Being a professor/researcher at a distant site is not always easy, and Miss. Tanaira Tapia has been a key piece in the success of launching and implementing research projects. Tanaira Tapia is always willing to help and assist others. As a faculty member and researcher at the NSU Puerto Rico Regional Campus, I have been fortunate enough to have Tanaira as my right hand conducting all the administrative procedures regarding my research projects. She has gone above and beyond her regular duties to facilitate the work of others. She is eager to learn, always willing to help, very knowledgeable in the administrative area, and very professional in everything she does. The impact of her work is tremendous. If I had to devote time to doing the tasks she facilitates for us (ex. paperwork for research assistants and assisting in the hiring process of students, among others), I would not have enough time to complete my other duties as a faculty member and researcher. She always completes jobs with excellence, and I have peace of mind when she is assisting me with anything because I know it will be done well. I am very fortunate to have her here at the PR Regional Campus and very fortunate to be able to count on her as a trusted coworker. I would like for her to be recognized because this is the most public way I could show how grateful I am for all that she does, not only for me but also for all my colleagues |
August's Core Value is OPPORTUNITY
What does Opportunity mean for NSU employees? Employees who...
- Seek and participate in additional learning opportunities inside and outside his/her area of responsibility
- Act as role models to demonstrate growth, competence and professionalism
- Demonstrate initiative to enhance learning opportunities for professional growth and development
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Katherine Rodriguez Student Insurance Administrator | Enrollment & Student Services While attending the first of 3 sessions of Enrollment & Student Services Training provided to ESS Staff for an annual outreach campaign to incoming undergraduate students, Ms. Rodriguez answered questions raised concerning her area of work. She was quick and thorough in her responses. Her input generated lively and beneficial discussions for the rest of the session. Katherine developed a presentation for the 2nd session and one of her team presented at the 3rd session. Afterward, she developed quick reference sheet to assist the staff in their communications with the students. |
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Lauriane Dalberis Manager Collections & Institutional Recover | Enrollment & Student Services In May of 2018, training began for the transition from Banner 8 to Banner 9 software. Testing for the Accounts Receivable module was implemented with a pilot group as assigned. Lauriane embraces change, when appropriate and takes on new challenges. She demonstrates initiative to enhance learning opportunities for professional growth and development. Ms. Dalberis chose to assign her entire team as pilot group testers. As a result of her initiative, her team provided feedback for the training of the rest of the Bursar Department; which enabled an accelerated training schedule; and the department was able to agree to an earlier software launch date per request of OIIT. |
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Roxanne Hill NSU University School | Athletic Financial Coordinator I became an employee of NSU University School over a year ago, and from the day I started working here, Roxanne Hill has shown kindness, and charm towards everyone. Roxanne works effortlessly to go above and beyond to help out our Athletic Department in any way she can. She has displayed the core value of opportunity countless of times by demonstrating selfless acts to make sure our athletic teams are provided with the best. She also runs our Shark Bites shop (concession stand) and the passion that she has in serving the children is remarkable. Roxanne’s behavior is contagious, and she will light up the room when she is around. She always has a positive vibe and energy that surrounds her. |
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Shantrell Jenkins Area Coordinator | Student Affairs Since being hired in January, Shantrell has made intentional connections across campus and with the NSU community. Recently, her involvement with NSU's CommunityFest and Open House have contributed immensely to our department. Shantrell has gone above and beyond what I would expect a new professional to do in learning the role. She has come in and hit the ground running with volunteering for various NSU Signature events. Recently, she was asked to join the Graduate Assistant Recruitment team in Oshkosh, Wisconsin to interview prospective student affairs graduate students for the Division. Without hesitation, Shantrell agreed to join, undoubtedly displaying her commitment to NSU and the Core Value of Opportunity, Student Centered, and Community. Shantrell's dedication to the division and department has provided a strong sense of pride for not only her colleagues, but for the students she serves. Our students will continue to benefit from her dedication to their success. |
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Suzette Siviter - Assistant Director Academic Advising | Student Affairs Suzette provides constant support to all students who are interested in pre health advising. She connects students with pre health resources across colleges in NSU, the US and abroad. Suzette is an active partner in the creation and facilitation of NSU's Pre Health Day event and the creation of a Pre Health professions web site. Students are finding the support they need to move forward in their pre health professions search and career plan development. |
July's Core Value is STUDENT CENTERED
What does Student Centered mean for NSU employees? Employees who...
- Ask questions and constructively challenge existing processes and assumptions with novel, creative ideas
- Embrace change, when appropriate, and take on new challenges
- Seek, accept and build upon constructive feedback to develop novel and improved ideas
- Support an environment and culture among cross-functional teams to foster creativity
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Bryan Roberts Student Affairs | Area Coordinator One of our front desk supervisors came to Bryan for support in finding alternative ways for her to locate off campus housing. Additionally, Bryan served as an advocate for the student in hopes to find a location for her to reside on campus as she is employed by the department. Although we were unable to accommodate the request, Bryan is continuously working to support her and identifying off campus housing and developing a flexible schedule for her to continue working for our office. Bryan's dedication epitomizes the true essence of what it means to be student centered as he goes above and beyond what is expected of him to support his students. |
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Caitlyn Nay Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography | Assistant Director I Caitlyn is always looking for opportunities to partner with other NSU departments to enhance student experiences. She can identify both potential pitfalls and opportunities to ensure that the NSU student experience is of an excellent quality. Caitlyn always puts students first. Whether it is promoting services to them or ensuring they have what they need to succeed, she always makes decisions with students' best interests in mind. She proactively seeks out and share opportunities with students. Caitlyn positively impacts the Halmos college Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences students' experience while at NSU. She is truly an integral part of student success and satisfaction. |
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Dr. Cyril Blavo Department Chair/Program Director | Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine Dr. Blavo is famous for his dedication towards any task he undertakes. He gives generously of his time to his students and colleagues who need his help. Most importantly, Dr. Blavo does not wait to be asked for assistance. He takes the initiative. A work-study student in the Public Health program is a woman in thirties. She is working toward her degree and needed help in one of her coursework. From one initial question, Dr. Blavo started tutoring her regularly, pro bono, and she in turn tutored her classmates and a good deed spread to many others. This is typical of Dr. Blavo’s caring nature. Dr. Blavo is very good in dealing with people of all ages and all cultural backgrounds. He is a seven-time recipient of the Golden Apple Award for teaching excellence in the medical school. He is also very capable, well organized, and thoroughly dependable in all tasks assigned to him. He is a man with energy, organization, and intellectual skills! In all the times that I have known him, he has been extremely responsible, always courteous, very considerate, and a pleasure to work with. He has never given anyone bad advice and takes full responsibility for all that he says and does, even when things go wrong. |
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Desmond Daniels Deputy Title IX Coordinator | Office of Human Resources Desmond is one of the most approachable and caring individuals I have ever met. He has a calming manner and ability to focus on the individual in front of him, which serves him well in his role as Deputy Title IX Coordinator. His ability to relate with the student while effectively listening helps them navigate through a process that could otherwise be overwhelming. Since Desmond has joined the NSU family, he has worked collaboratively with colleagues across all departments. It has become clear from working with Desmond that students are his priority. His student-centric approach has not only helped ensure the community understands the priority of Title IX, but that the students recognize they have a safe and understanding resource available to them. |
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Edward Parker Supervisor | Enrollment & Student Services Edward is always available to answer questions of assist in solving an unusual situation pertaining to student issues. He asks thoughtful questions to understand the issue and the urgency of solving the issue, and then investigates and reaches out to others that can assist in the needed resolution. Once he has gotten resolution he informs the student what happened, what is being done to correct it, and the timeframe for the correction to be completed. Edward infuses humor into all situations and this always helps to make others feel more at ease, he is very easy to talk to and genuinely wants to help the students through whatever issues they are experiencing. Student are sometimes very upset when they contact Edward but are very thankful when their issue is resolved without them needing to follow up with him. |
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JC Vivas Facilities Management | Machine Operator JC went out of his way to make sure a student was having a good day. You could tell the student wasn't having the best day in the world so he stopped the vehicle and had a small conversation that ended with a joke that ultimately changed her body language and tone of voice almost instantly. It just shows how some people truly do care about others. We ask people all the time in conversations how he or she may be doing but do we truly mean it? He does and I think that is something I have noticed around the University is that a lot of people do care. |
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Julie Vinci Academic Advisor | H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship During a coaching appointment, a student expressed concerns to Julie regarding his relationship with his supervisor. By coaching the student with open-ended questions regarding his workplace, the student started to see he did have value in his workplace. Julie helped the student see where his leadership skills were and how they could be applied to his work. The student valued his time with his advisor and was able to see his leadership potential and the skills he is learning in his MBA. |
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Katyna Skaff Teacher Assistant | University School On the 100th day of school so we had an early dismissal for a Key Club Carnival - a lot was going on that morning. Dismissal was at 12:15 and parents could come into the lobby to pick up children. Parents were starting to come in as early as 11:30, they had not notified anyone if their child should go to carpool or remain in the school for early pick up. So we had some children who were in the back for carpool and their parents we in the lobby picking up so we had to locate where all the children were. Katyna was extraordinary: she was literally running all around, from location to location to get the children to their parents in a timely manner. It was just amazing to see. In reality, Katyna could have gone home, but she stayed and went above and beyond to help. The parents were appreciative and I could tell it made them proud to be part of the NSU community to have someone like Katyna so dedicated to help make this a great experience. |
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Michelle Migliardi AMS Supervisor | Enrollment and Processing Services Michelle had a Pharmacy applicant who missed the deadline for his application. He was extremely upset and didn't understand why we got his documents so late when he sent them so early. Michelle was able to calm him down and contacted someone at HPD to look into his account. She was able to get him an extension and he was eventually accepted. Michelle not only helped the student but she made a bad situation into something great. She went out of her way to do whatever she could to help the student in any way possible. Michelle displayed a positive mindset throughout the process with the applicant. This is what being a staff member at Nova Southeastern University is all about. We are here for the students and even though not all of them may be happy, we try and make those that have concerns worry free. |
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Nabil Salem One Stop Shop - Financial Aid Office | Financial Aid Associate Nabil was a promoted from a One Stop Shop representative to Financial Aid Associate. During the busy times in the One Stop Shop he goes out to assist students in line. If any the students need to see a Financial Aid Associate he would take them back to his office and answer their questions. He is always willing to meet with students without question and is a great team player. He is a great addition to the Financial Aid staff. |
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Patricia Rameau Coordinator | Alumni Relations Patricia serves as the voice of Alumni team. She receives calls from alumni regarding transcripts, access to the library, etc. One day she received a call from a woman who was trying to navigate the website to order a transcript. The woman was having difficultly figuring out how to order a transcript and couldn't remember when she graduated. After several attempts to walk the woman through the process, Patricia contacted the Office of Research and Prospect Management. With the help of a researcher on the Prospect Management team, Patricia was able to identify the exact date of the alum's graduation. Patricia's willingness to go above and beyond put one of our alumna's anxiety to rest. The woman was so thankful for Patricia's patience and willingness to help her through the entire process. Employees like Patricia create positive experiences for everyone they come in contact with, which in turn creates a positive reputation for NSU in the community. |
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Samantha Townsend Student Affairs | Area Coordinator Samantha continues to support her GA, Georgie, throughout her Job search and personally. Sam's dedication and commitment to supporting her GA has been outstanding. Recently, her GA has been struggling with navigating life after grad school and locating the right student affairs position for her. Samantha has worked with her in developing what her institutional preferences are and walking through the interview process. Samantha's dedication to supporting all students will continue to push NSU forward in recruiting and retaining students. Samantha, being an Alumna of NSU, continues to excel in exhibiting the Core Values of NSU in her professional role. |
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Samuel Reasee One Stop Shop - Financial Aid Office | Financial Aid Counselor The One Stop Ship is open until 6:00 PM on Fridays. Sam had a student that needed to turn in financial aid documents. The student met with Sam a few times before and wanted to turn in the documents to only him. She told him that she would meet him before 5:00 PM. The student was running late and Sam waited until 6:00 on a Friday evening for the student to turn in her documents even though he was scheduled to leave at 5:00 PM. |
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Scott Bowden Teachers Aide | NSU University School The students are very important to him and he takes their safety and well-being to the highest level. It is not one particular event, it is every day. Every morning he is at carpool greeting every family and student. He runs classes in our after care and is an aide in the 4th grade and does a little bit of everything. He enhances our programs tremendously with his enthusiasm and energy. The students Love Mr. Bowden. He greets every student by name and will talk to them about their interests and passions. He shows genuine interest in each and every student he encounters and makes them all feel special and cared about. |
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Wendy Van Woerden Administrative Assistant I | College of Undergraduate Studies Wendy works directly with our undergraduate student population, many of whom are students with documented disabilities and athletes. She also works with faculty and academic advising to schedule and coordinate testing. This is a high traffic position where she encounters a steady flow of students, many of whom utilize our services on a regular basis. Even during midterm week, one of the busiest weeks of the semester, I have seen Wendy go above and beyond over and over. Every student is greeted with a smile and a friendly welcome. Often, this is done by name because Wendy has a relationship with all our regular students. She knows what they are here for and is ready to smoothly transition them to their test. She wishes them luck on each exam, telling them to have fun. She always checks on the students mental state post exam, giving them encouragement regardless of how they felt they did. She also inquires about plans, and sharing excitement for the chance to travel or simply catch up on sleep. Wendy always puts our students first and her students know and love her for it. |
June's Core Value is INNOVATION
What does Innovation mean for NSU employees? Employees who...
- Ask questions and constructively challenge existing processes and assumptions with novel, creative ideas
- Embrace change, when appropriate, and take on new challenges
- Seek, accept and build upon constructive feedback to develop novel and improved ideas
- Support an environment and culture among cross-functional teams to foster creativity
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Carol Fasick Enrollment Coordinator | Tampa Campus
With the support of leadership, Carol arranged a fund-raiser for the Jamaican Medical Mission. On “Blue Jean Fridays” employees and faculty could donate to the Jamaican Medical Mission trip in exchange for wearing jeans. Even individuals who did not wear jeans still donated. Thanks to Carol's efforts in this fundraising idea, $236 in cash was raised and presented to the group faculty lead. Dr Shaw said "These funds are going directly to the people on the island and will go a long way for them and to good use with their medical needs. Thank you!" |
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Eduardo Pablus-Lopez Maintenance Technician III | College of Dental Medicine There was an awards ceremony taking place in the Steel Auditorium and the stage lights needed to be adjusted. The lights needed to be refocused and aimed toward the stage for the award pictures. The photographer hired did not have enough lighting on stage. The day of the ceremony the hydraulic lift needed was not available. The lights in the auditorium were to high up to be adjusted with out a lift. everyone was concerned and the ladders we had could not reach up that high. The lights had a severe impact on the awards ceremony because that special moment was not going to be properly lit. Eduardo was able to think outside the box and took our tallest ladder and with a 15' extension pole was able to reach the overhead lights and refocus them to the stage. Due to Eduardo's ability to resolve the problem under pressure the event was a success. The staff and parents were relived that the special moment in their child's life was going to be captured professionally by a photographer. |
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Goar Alvarez Assistant Dean, Director | College of Pharmacy Dr. Alvarez exemplifies many of the core values so it was difficult to check one of them. I am working with him on a committee to create a health fair/educational opportunities in the pharmacy, and he is always looking for innovative ways to bring the profession of pharmacy into a new paradigm. He is also always creating programs to reach out into the community. He has high integrity and offers opportunity to all embracing diversity. |
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Jayne Schatz Assistant Dean for Student Affairs & Services | College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences As the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and Services, Jayne Schatz has been representing our college working closely with ESS, Student Affairs, COUS, OIIT, library, marketing department, and facilities division. She is a role model for cross-functional effective collaboration. Jayne is extremely open to constructive feedback and effectively uses it to improve existing processes. As part of CAHSS leadership, Jayne welcomes innovation. Through skilled and careful response to challenges, she facilitates smooth transition in all key areas of college functions ranging from instruction, through communication, to operations. Innovation without skilled change management may become a disruption rather than improvement. At CAHSS, we keep up with change and innovation thanks to talented and devoted leaders like Jayne Schatz. |
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Krishawna (Krissy) Pawlowski Academic Advisor |H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship Krissy has worked diligently to bring new technology to the Advising Office. She has met with OITT personnel to discuss ways to better communicate with our students. Her knowledge in social media, Facebook and texting has improved the outreach to our students. Krissy helped to implement a texting plan for registration outreach, which was a new way for us to contact students. Our outreach had been emails and phone calls, but due to Krissy's work on texting and other social media we are better able to reach our students with timely messaging. |
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Lawrence Parker SharePoint Developer III | Office of Innovation and Information Technology Lawrence was assigned as the OIIT representative to support a project I had submitted, to create an online study abroad application. Lawrence and I have been working together on this project since December. Innovative is the perfect word to describe the expertise and problem-solving skills that Lawrence brought to the project to create an online study abroad application. When I described my goals for this project he paid meticulous attention to details, identified solutions to achieve these goals, and suggested creative alternatives when the software limitations got in the way. He took time in describing the work he had done in a way that a non-developer could understand and never showed any frustration by the frequent project additions that came up. Lawrence always gives the impression that he shares my excitement for how this project would improve our work and efficiency within the office. |
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Laura Bennett Title IX Coordinator | Office of Human Resources Since Laura joined the NSU family she has re-shaped how the University responded to allegations of sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination. She works tirelessly to advocate for students, a fair process, and ensuring that appropriate resources are available to those in need. Without Laura, many in the community would not have the opportunity to be heard, and her implementation of the Maxient tracking software will assist not only student facing services for the University, but several of the administrative functions as well. |
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Luis Reyes Rodriguez System Administrator III | Office of Innovation and Information Technology On 03/12 while working with an outside vendor to setup card readers on the four printers in the HPD Library, Luis took the time, several times in fact, to stop to assist various students with their printing issues. He even took the time to apply a credit to a student’s account that had been impacted by the printers being down and unable to print. Additionally, Luis discovered an issue that was hindering the use of student’s NSU ID cards with the new card readers. He made several inquiries until he found who to contact to rectify the issue. Coordinating with yet another outside vendor, he was able to get the issue resolved. On 03/14, he took the time to return to the library to confirm the issue was properly resolved. Luis’ behavior positively impacted the several students he assisted that had printing issues while the card reader installation was taking place. The greater impact however will be the simplified printing process that the new card readers will have on all HPD students |
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Robin Hofberg Administrative Coordinator 1 | Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine Robin is an excellent worker and a nice person to work with. She is always asking questions and will hunt down everyone and anyone until she gets the answer. She is very meticulous with her work and is constantly making me aware of ways that she has discovered that makes the day to day process more efficient. Robin has created and re-created forms that are being used on a monthly basis to perform her job. Robin's behavior definitely enhanced the working environment by being organized and simplifying the process to get the job done. |
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Rochelle Reynolds Senior Technology Support Engineer | Office of Innovation and Information Technology Rochelle spearheaded the testing of the Kaltura CaptureSpace software on a Windows 10 computer in the HPD Auditoriums. She met with, communicated results to and coordinated with the HPD AV team, the LMS Administration team, Directors and a Managing Director to test the viability of upgrading all auditorium podium computers to Windows 10. This upgrade test identified software and possible hardware issues that need to be addressed prior to rolling out the upgrade university-wide. The initial impact will be to the various OIIT departments that can now establish a project plan based on the concerns outlined by the test results. Once the concerns are addressed and the upgrade is implemented, this project will impact faculty and students throughout all of NSU. |
May's Core Value is ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
What does Academic Excellence mean for NSU employees? Employees who...
- Provide top quality resources and services to support academic excellence
- Identify issues that might affect academic excellence and escalate them to the appropriate stakeholder(s) or, if appropriate, participate in designing/implementing solutions
- Support a culture and environment that fosters learning
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Dr. Kenneth Johnson Assistant Dean / Department Chair | Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine A student and peer writes that “Dr. Johnson has excelled, demonstrating both vision and leadership,” as an “outstanding professional who has an excellent record as an innovative, motivated, and engaged teacher. He is well-versed in maternal and child health issues and has extensive experience in incorporating clinical perspective into public health teaching. His readiness to offer assistance to his colleagues and students alike and his sense of responsibility are a few of the many wonderful qualities that everyone finds totally unique and difficult to come across. Dr. Johnson has made a considerable impact on the students, the department, and the campus community. His knowledge and understanding of different cultures, religion, and languages has produced in him the recognition that an international ethos is not only valuable but also necessary. With this in mind, Dr. Johnson has worked tirelessly since his appointment serving the college and enriching it tremendously. |
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Angela DiPalermo VC Field Support Specialist III | Innovation and Information Technology Angela routinely makes herself and her team available to assist the HPD CSS Tech Team with any AV issues. On March 15th knowing that we were extremely short staffed, she not only assisted in verifying that the AV equipment was ready for a training session scheduled for the following week, she also assisted in verifying that the student computers had the necessary software for the training. Angela’s behavior impacted the trainer and the attendees of the training by helping verify that the AV equipment and the computers were ready. It also impacted the HPD CSS Tech Team by allowing our team to quickly confirm the labs readiness, which allowed us to assist other users with their requests. |
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Karl Haro Professional Content Tutor & Trainer | Student Affairs Karl started in our office as an undergraduate student employee. He worked as a tutor focusing on math and science until graduation. At that time, Karl opted to stay on in the office as a professional tutor. He now assists office administration in training new tutors, in addition to his responsibilities as a tutor. Beginning in January 2018, writing support was transitioned to the Writing and Communication Center, leaving the Tutoring Center with additional space and resources to investigate expanding support to other areas. Karl has been an integral part of this process. He has stepped up to work with tutors that we've hired in these new areas, such as Spanish, Engineering, and Marine Biology. Although he may not have taken these classes as a student, he has developed relationships with faculty and students to help ease the process. He has a strong drive and dedication to our center and to our students, and he will do anything in his power to serve them. Without Karl and his expertise in tutor training, the process of expanding services would be a slower endeavor. His dedication, maturity, and drive make him a trustworthy and valued member of our team. He is a big part of the process to expand tutoring and ensure the support we provide is top notch. |
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Nora Quinlan Director, Reference & Instructional Library Services | University Relations Nora Quinlan has coordinated the 'Thinking Money Financial Fair' exhibit that took place May 5th at the Alvin Sherman Library. Nora reached out to the American Library Association Public Programs Office and help set up this fantastic fair that was open to NSU and Public patrons. The fair which was free helped patrons learn from representatives of various local agencies learn about financial literacy and avoid pitfalls. The exhibit reached out to tweens, teens and adults. The impact of this exhibit that Nora advocated helped patrons increase their knowledge of financial literacy especially for adolescents to build a financial sound future. The exhibit drew in many patrons to the Alvin Sherman Library at NSU which left a major impact on the type of quality events that take place at the library. Nora also continues to reach out to various programming offices for other types of exhibits and programs. |
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Dr. Alexia Georgakopoulos Associate Professor |College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Dr. Alexia Georgakopoulos is an accomplished scholar in her area of expertise and has published results of her ongoing projects, many of which entail collaboration with students. One of her most recent books is an award-winning handbook of mediation. The record of research project collaboration with community partners, other researchers, as well as students, attest to Dr. Alexia Georgakopoulos's academic excellence. It is note-worthy that Dr. Georgakopoulos is actively engaged in scholarly work while actively practicing conflict resolution. Dr. Alexia Georgakopoulos collaborates with colleagues at the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies as well as students provided them with a unique opportunity to engage in meaningful experience practicing scholarship of engagement. |
April's Core Value is COMMUNITY
What does Community mean for NSU employees? Employees who...
- Serve as an NSU ambassador by representing the University in a professional manner when engaging with the internal and external community
- Share information readily with others and respond to questions appropriately (or refers them to the appropriate personnel) to promote community engagement
- Demonstrate commitment to the University through his/her actions and interactions within the internal and external community
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Lauren Filippi Academic Advisor | Student Affairs Lauren serves as Undergraduate Academic Advising Center's Relay for Life Captain. She is also a student organization advisor. Lauren has been part of the advising family for only few months and continues to demonstrate her commitment to NSU's students and community at large. She represents us well and makes us proud as we follow her leadership and become involved with student development and the community. |
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Maria Montoya Assistant Professor |Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine Maria is beautifully committed to serving her community. She has taken the reins on numerous community health fairs over the past several months, traveling far and wide to serve the community, support KPCOM and the MPH students. More than just service, when Maria talks about the weekend she spent supporting the health fairs her eyes light up with joy at having made a difference in the lives' of others. Maria is a passionate advocate for serving the community, vulnerable populations, and her students. Maria brings passion and joy to NSU. She brings the core values of community to each and every activity, consistently ensuring that programs appropriately meet the needs of vulnerable populations. |
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Lesly-Loudmar Mathurin Athletic Trainer |NSU University School Lesley displays the core value of community showing fellowship with others with common attitudes and goals. Lesley is extremely passionate about this job, and the student-athletes that he serves. He enlightens athletes with his charisma and motivates them to always do their best. Lesley's behavior has enhanced the experience of being a part of Nova Southeastern University because of his willingness and passion to encourage others. |
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Piya Chayanuwat Executive Director | Library Systems Piya attends almost every community event that NSU holds. He is always promoting NSU community events, checking in to them on social media, and posting pictures. He truly embodies the NSU Value of Community! He not only is embedded in the NSU community, but also works to promote it to others. |
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Alysia Salley Supervisor, Patient Management | College of Dental Medicine On a daily basis, Alysia Salley interacts with patients, students, faculty and staff and handles concerns of all kinds. The respect she demonstrates to all she encounters reflects her commitment to the NSU Value of Community. She handles all these issues with great emotional intelligence, recognizing that she is a representative of the NSU College of Dental Medicine as she resolves concerns in service to the College of Dental Medicine. |
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Ana Maria Igleses Registrar's Office Supervisor | Data Entry & Degree Conferral Ana serves as an NSU ambassador throughout the year by volunteering to bring services to the internal and external community. Ana saw great value in the wellness seminars being offered to the NSU community and she coordinated an effort to bring relevant topics to the EPS (Enrollment Processing Services) building where over 50 staff members have been able to participate. Ana also serves as the contact for the Heart Walk and continuously provides fundraising opportunities for the building to contribute. She brings awareness to community issues and coordinated drives and collections for local schools or organizations in need of support. She makes it easy for all of us to contribute a little and the outcome is impactful to the recipient of her kindness. One year she organized back to school supplies for a local school that provided supplies to kids who otherwise would not have had the needed supplies. Seeing the pictures and hearing the thanks of that community made all of us feel good and continues the momentum when Ana comes knocking at your door for the next project. |
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Melissa Fils Administrative Assistant | Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine Melissa was accepted into the 16th Annual Paul Ambrose Scholars Program Student Leadership Symposium where she joined 40 other medical, physician assistant, dental, pharmacy, physical/occupation therapy, public health, and graduate nursing students from across the country who are dedicated to bringing health promotion and preventive approaches to health professions education and their communities. Melissa attended presentations focused on prevention, healthcare, health policy advocacy, project planning and community organizing to prepare and submit the HPD grant proposal for her project "Honeybee hygiene", which focuses on the underserved community. Melissa is leading the project for the underserved community in Miami Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County. Melissa works with the women and children that experience socioeconomic issues, which lead to unemployment, children becoming a ward of the state, and losing their homes. Melissa will implement her community health project focused on one of the Healthy People 2020 Leading Health Indicators within the next year. |
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Josh Appelt Benefits Manager | Office of Human Resources Josh has implemented and designed new and innovative approaches to communicating information about the benefits packages and open enrollment to the university community, greatly increasing community understanding of the benefits available to them. Josh continuously puts others before himself, thinking and introducing ways of recognizing and rewarding coworkers. From bringing in snacks to providing departments with stress-relief coloring pages to encourage team bonding. |
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Candice Leaty Accounting Specialist | Facilities Management Candice exemplified Community recently through her work with raising money for NSU Day of Giving as well as her leadership to the Facilities Management Heart Walk Team. She planned and executed 3 major Facilities Management wide events for the NSU Day of giving, engaging over 200 employees from all the Facilities Departments, resulting in one of the highest participation rates. She led the Facilities Management Heart Walk team which exceeded their fund raising goal by 30% thereby allowing them to finish 3rd overall from NSU's 17 teams. During this effort she again brought together all of the Facilities Management departments and numerous community agencies towards a common goals that will save many lives for many years to come. Candice’s ability to motivate is contagious. She has refreshed and renewed a belief in team work and working towards the greater good. She has reminded us to reach beyond our four walls or limitations and see greater purpose and responsibility that can change the world. Most importantly she has reminded us that we all need each other as we work as 1 NSU towards the same goals. |
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Grace Telesco Assistant Professor |College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Dr. Telesco along with her Bachelor’s of Science in Criminal Justice students created a socio-drama presentation. This group of 8 students performed their sociodrama at the Blanche Elementary School cafeteria in Davie, FL. Dr. Telesco behaved in a manner that not only allowed for collaboration with her students, but created an educational activity to aid our local community! The sociodrama performed was on anti-bullying. Which potentially leads to decreased violence among students. The sociodrama was WELL received by both Elementary school administrators and the group of 4th and 5th grade student viewers/participants. Dr. Telesco’s students performed this in such a manner to allow the Elementary students to become part of the act. This is a true form of engaging our community as well as NSU undergraduate students. |
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Travis Searle & David Vanderlaan Locksmith | Facilities Management I want to commend the Public Safety/Locksmith staff members, Travis Searle and David Vanderlaan for the terrific work they have been doing for HPD Library. They have been more than patient with all of the changes, installations, etc., during our recent extensive renovation project, always responding quickly and pleasantly. They also handled a difficult situation very well earlier this month when a student was stranded in a study room after a lock broke. They were very efficient and calm in spite of the distress of another student watching the proceedings, and I commend them for the way they conducted themselves. Both Travis and David have responded rapidly and efficiently to all of the requests for keying and rekeying as we have frequently changed offices, entrances, and study rooms to different locations as the work progressed. Their expertise and adaptability have made our jobs much easier throughout the process, reducing our stress while helping us to provide continuous service to our users. They were always patient in answering questions and explaining procedures to us in a way we could easily understand. The process continued through two final exam periods as well as through provision of everyday needs of students and staff from eight different colleges with differing schedules and break periods. The students were hardly impacted by the changes in entrance and room usage, thanks in part to the work of these two staff members. |
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Dominic Bortot Assistant Director, Prospect Management | Advancement and Community Relations Patricia Rameau is the coordinator of Alumni Relations. She answers questions regarding transcripts, alumni benefits etc. She was on a call with an older alumna who couldn't remember her graduation date. She turned to Dominic Bortot who is a member of our research team. Dominic researches and provided profiles for prospects and high level donors of the university. He was in the middle of a research report and stopped what he was doing to help Patricia figure out when the woman graduated from NSU. Less than five minutes later, Dominic identified the woman's exact graduation date from 20 years ago. Dominic's willingness to assist his colleague and his expert research skills solved an alumna's problem and created a positive experience that can enhance NSU's reputation to the community. |
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Dr. Elaine Wallace Dean | Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine Dean Wallace demonstrated the core value Community this month during meetings with fellow co-workers and regular interactions with Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine and NSU employees. Dean Wallace is a true ambassador of NSU: She is engaging, professional, caring, and kind with all of the employees. Her unwavering commitment to NSU is demonstrated further through her actions through leadership and decision making that brings our department to a level of excellence. She promotes a positive atmosphere for employees to flourish in that is unduplicated. I am so very proud to serve KPCOM and NSU under her leadership. I am excited for the future of our team and NSU. |
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Wendy Gorden Administrative Coordinator III | Research and Technology Transfer Wendy supports this value of Community through participating in "Moving Day" for Broward County, a walk to raise awareness and funds for Parkinson's disease. She has actively been supporting her own efforts by also fundraising for the event and cause. Not only is Wendy walking and fundraising, she is an active member of the local support group for the Parkinson's Foundation. This foundation raises awareness of Parkinson's Disease and offers support to those that suffer from the disease and the family members that care for them. Wendy's participation and support of the Parkinson's Foundation, will ultimately help fund invaluable research to find better treatments for Parkinson's Disease that will lead to better lives for every person that is diagnosed with and living with Parkinson's disease every day. |
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Dr. Eddie (Supanchit) Jitpraphai Assistant Dean for Administrative Services | Student Affairs Eddie attends almost every community event that NSU holds. She is always promoting NSU community events, checking in to them on social media, and posting pictures. She recently volunteer to take official photos at the NSU Libraries StoryFest! on March 4th the morning of the event. She truly embodies the NSU Value of Community! Eddie's behavior shows that she lives the value of community. She not only is embedded in the NSU community, but also works to promote it to others. |
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Jeremy Katzman Director, PR/Marketing, NSU-MD | University Relations Ever since Jeremy Katzman came to NSU, he has represented the university well in numerous organizations in Broward County. He has done this while excelling in his job and parenting two young children. Currently, he serves in a wide range of roles including: Board of Directors, Public Relations Society of America, Ft. Lauderdale Chapter, Treasurer, PRSA Sunshine District, Member of Cooper City Education Advisory Board, and Chairman for Government & Education Day, Leadership Broward Jeremy’s ongoing involvement in the community in a variety of capacities clearly demonstrates NSU’s values of “Community.” He represents the university exceptionally well as a leader and doer while, at the same time, he improves the community where he lives and works. Jeremy is not new to taking on leadership roles in the community. Through the years, he has served as President of PRSA, been a class participant in Leadership Broward and was an active volunteer in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in Broward County. |
March's Core Value is INTEGRITY
What does integrity mean for NSU employees? Employees who...
- Adheres to policies and practices in order to service stakeholders with honesty and fairness
- Demonstrates fiscal responsibility and operates as a steward of NSU’s resources
- Openly admits mistakes and takes actions to correct situations or change behavior
- Holds self-accountable for making principled decisions.
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Liza Sumulong Director, Admissions & Recruitment | Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship Liza Sumulong has illustrated integrity through various efforts including recruitment, admissions and corporate development. Liza has presented to various corporate organizations with effective communication and promoting scholarship with opportunities for employees to pursue advanced education. Just one example is a partnership with American Express who consistently consult with Liza on referring their employees for programs at NSU and she goes out of her way to assist them, even if it is a program not within her college. Through her various efforts she has supported the university’s mission for increasing enrollment of new students in her college and often times at others through the corporate development partnerships she has started and maintained. |
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Bibi Zid Accounting Administrator | Facilities Management Bibi is always willing to help and has stepped up several times in our department's time of need, doing her job along with additional responsibilities while a key position was being filled. She is a true value to our department. She is a proud Nova Southeastern employee and always tries to do what is right. Bibi's integrity is amazing. She works based on her principles and values and does not do anything that will compromise her integrity. She is an asset to NSU and is always there when you need her. It does not matter if you are a student, co-worker, or faculty, she is always willing to help. |
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Teri Williams Director of Experiential Education & Learning (ExEL) | Experiential Education and Learning Dr. Teri Williams has illustrated integrity through her work ethic to improve the prospective students understanding of the Experiential Education & Learning program(ExEL). With integrity, she has engaged with our internal community of faculty members, current students, and prospective students to educate and assist, and even certify for experiential education. She has utilized effective communication and in short timeframe developed policies and procedures that will prepare our NSU students to graduate with a competitive advantage: an e-portfolio and enhanced experiences that include: faculty mentored research, travel exploration, leadership, and more. |
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Efraim Hernandez Senior Director of Advancement Services | Advancement and Community Relations Efraim made sure that before leaving the office for a week's vacation that data was available to run necessary reports during his absence. This made it possible made it possible for myself and ACR Associate Director Allison Shambora to prepare reports for our Vice President's upcoming meeting with the NSU Advancement Committee. |
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Giovanna Stincer Associate Head of School | University School Giovanna Stincer is my supervisor and is also the person who nominated me for the NSU Emerging Leader Program. She is the model of what an NSU employee should be and always has the University's best interest at heart. Ms. Stincer instills confidence in me every day. She supports all of her employees, listens to their concerns, ideas and needs and makes everyone feel like a valued employee. Giovanna leads by example and because of that I want to do my best each and every day to reward her for believing in me. I love coming to work each day, she has made the work environment one in which I feel valued every day and excited to always come to work. |
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Alyssa Rothman Director, Project Manager | PR & Marketing Communications Alyssa Rothman has recently led efforts to host the Holocaust Reflection contest. Alyssa tackled this invite primarily on her own with little oversight and involved a student worker so they could enhance their portfolio. Alyssa demonstrated consistent work ethic and engagement with the community through effective communication to bring about an event that involved developing a process to review over 1,300 entries to identify winners for the event. Through this event via Alyssa’s efforts, middle and high school students had a unique opportunity to reflect on the Holocaust, participate in an experience that will forever change their lives, exposure to NSU’s Holocaust Reflection room and scholarship for winning participants. |
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Diana Ortiz-Rios Director, Employee Services | College of Dental Medicine An employee who has known Diana for over 10 years wrote: “Since day one, I admired her knowledge in the HR/Finance field and her integrity. Diana always conducts herself with complete openness, transparency and with a strong sense of ensuring that she is doing the right thing.” She leads by example and continuously works to ensure all employees are conducting themselves with integrity and doing the right thing. |
