Nominee's Name: Taryn Goomishian
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Demonstrates Commitment
Customer Service Example:
Since August, Taryn and I have been working on a unique closeout situation where the award needed to be reopened due to a delay in the release of expected incremental funding. Taryn has worked tirelessly and fielded several requests for information from the sponsor. As a direct result of her timely and thorough responses, it looks like the award is going to be reopened and the PI’s expenditures fully-reimbursed. Thank you for your dedication in seeing this through and your attention to detail Taryn!
Nominee's Name: Cathy Nguyen
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Demonstrates Commitment
Customer Service Example:
Cathy demonstrates commitment, anticipating customer needs, and problem solver! She has taken on a very busy PI with many moving parts, personnel, and awards - not to mention the various departmental and lab folks that she needs to constantly keep abreast of goings on on the PI's portfolio. She continuously makes an effort to ensure all of the information is available and said information is very detailed for all those involved. She is anticipating questions, providing variations of projections to anticipate changes, and providing succinct recaps in emails and google sheets/docs to allow for quick review, easy selection, etc. She is also working with a couple of new PIs, which always requires some additional training for the PIs to educate them on how the systems work, where to go for what, and the various deadlines. She's been busy, but still makes time for patiently providing the information to the people she works with. Way to hustle, Cathy - keep up the great work!
Nominee's Name: Esther Gomez
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
I wanted to take a moment and give you some feedback on Esther in her role in supporting BIDS, and me as the ED. I just completed my nine months in this position and can say, without any doubt, that no one has been more helpful and supportive to me than her since I started this job. She knows her work, doesn't shy away from the details, and perhaps most importantly, has patiently answered many annoying questions I have asked as I tried to learn more about BIDS and UCB. I have been in the UC system for 25 years and on three different campuses. This kind of support is still rare!
Nominee's Name: Jennifer Stone
Nominee's Unit: Other
Criteria: Demonstrates Commitment
Customer Service Example:
Jennifer worked to pull cables, get under desks and remove cords and electrical cords, discard phones and remove computers in the Cory mez offices in preparation for the movers. This work is totally beyond anything she was asked to do but she knew it had to get done and just went into action, like she commonly does. Her commitment to ERSO is second to none and we are so very lucky to have her on the team. THANK YOU Jennifer!
Nominee's Name: Gina Banton
Nominee's Unit: Human Resources
Criteria: Team Player
Customer Service Example:
Gina came to the last minute rescue with gathering audit paperwork. I came to her in a bit of a panic and rush and she calmly delivered. She was swift, organized and documented everything in a perfect way. She was able to help us meet a very tight deadline and I am very grateful for her assistance. Thank you, Gina!!
Nominee's Name: Reagan Lu
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Anticipates Customer Needs
Customer Service Example:
While I’ve only recently started working with Reagan due to SPO’s portfolio reshuffle, I wanted to salute Reagan for his excellent skills in anticipating his PIs’ needs and proactively reaching out to SPO when necessary. Reagan addresses proposal reviews and other requests for information promptly and sets a clear action plan for his PIs to ensure their focus isn’t diverted by administrative issues that he will take care of. As a colleague, I appreciate Reagan’s initiative, friendly demeanor, and conscientiousness. Thank you for all you do Reagan!
Nominee's Name: Amy Frithsen
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Team Player
Customer Service Example:
I noticed I was submitting to the same NSF RFP as Amy - with the same deadline. I had a problem with Research.gov. I could not carry out the subaward budget entry according to instructions in the rfp. I even filed a ticket with Research.gov who told me, "well staff has left early today and Monday is a holiday so at the earliest we can respond will be by Tuesday." After reaching out to Amy about her proposal and asking if she had subawards, I asked her how she had added their budget into Research.gov. She in turn sent me an email that her PI shared which came from the Program Director (in addition to notification of going forward from their selected LOI to Preliminary Proposal stage) with instructions and clarification on entering subaward budget info into Research.gov. This essentially allowed me to enter my Research.gov subaward budget and took care of my error/problem submitted to Research.gov Kudos to Amy for her help!!
Nominee's Name: Judy Tam
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
I really appreciate Judy's answering C&G questions. For example, today, I wanted to check how the new recharge account codes were posting to C&G funds. Judy looked provided the answer. When I received her prompt reply, it occurred to me that I'd like to acknowledge publicly one of ERSO's most experienced, intelligent, and easy-to-work-with employees.
Nominee's Name: Michael Banderas
Nominee's Unit: Purchasing
Criteria: Team Player
Customer Service Example:
We had an important department event, the details of which only came thru at the last minute. Michael helped us get the approvals we needed - all on a Friday (for a Saturday event). He was a real team player, helping us with these last minute approvals. My team and I want to thank him for being such a good team player. Thank you!
Nominee's Name: Alice Wong
Nominee's Unit: Purchasing
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
We had an important department event, the details of which only came thru at the last minute. Alice completely dropped everything to help us get the exceptions we needed, the approvals we needed, and the documentation we needed - all on a Friday (for a Saturday event). I have long noticed that Alice gives very good instructions and is a problem solver. My team and I want to thank her for her help above & beyond our expectations. Thank you!
Nominee's Name: Chelsea Miller
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
Even though ERSO RAs are not accustomed to using PI Portfolio, some of our faculty do use it and sometimes request help from their RAs to interpret the information. When an RA asked to have a short presentation on PIP, Chelsea stepped up and offered to do a refresher presentation to our team and demonstrated different functions of the system and what the PIs are able to see so that the RAs are better equipped to answer questions if needed. She received the feedback from a team member that she presented the material in a very clear, and concise manner. Kudos to Chelsea for going above and beyond and taking the time to prepare the presentation and answer questions.
Nominee's Name: Esther Gomez
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Anticipates Customer Needs
Customer Service Example:
I nominate Esther for the excellent customer service she is providing to her PIs, but especially to the BIDS center and their affiliated faculty. The ED, who is new to campus, gave feedback that the kind of support Esther provides is rare -- she knows her work, doesn't shy away from details, and patiently answers questions. Esther is valued for her contributions and her partnership with the BIDS team to ensure a successful research program. Her knowledge, positive attitude, and great first impression helped build the confidence needed for a successful working relationship.
Nominee's Name: Michael Banderas
Nominee's Unit: Reimbursement Services
Criteria: Team Player
Customer Service Example:
Michael always does what's needed to help the team achieve its goal. From what I can see, his concept of the team ranges from Reimbursements to ERSO to UCB. When I have questions or when I need help, Michael responds quickly and completely. By "completely," I mean that he not only answers my question but he also anticipates the next question. Working with Michael makes it easy and straightforward to complete what needs to be done. His help is much appreciated!
Nominee's Name: Helena Gin
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Team Player
Customer Service Example:
Helena Gin recently helped by performing a Herculean task of deleting 1876 speedtypes in BFS in order to help with the Physics Dept ID transition to new Dept IDs. We are extremely grateful to Helena for fitting this in with her other work and diligently and steadily plowing through this enormous list.
Nominee's Name: Alice Wong
Nominee's Unit: Purchasing
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
Alice and her team have been a fabulous resource, going above and beyond to handle all our purchasing needs and dozens of inevitable issues. With all the changes to purchasing rules it's been more difficult to navigate the process. Despite many different students/staff from my group having issues, Alice has always been prompt and responsive to help and come up with solutions. Recently we had to rush a vendor into the system which seemed impossible. Alice contacted others on campus, the vendor, and worked out a solution the same day. I am incredibly impressed with the level of service and want to thank Alice Wong and the fabulous team she leads for all their continued support!
Nominee's Name: Alice Wong
Nominee's Unit: Purchasing
Criteria: Demonstrates Commitment
Customer Service Example:
Alice Wong has been extremely helpful with the issues of various POs, Encumbrances and PI's demanding urgent purchasing requests during the last several months. As I often cannot see some BearBuy information deeply enough and identify the issues, her prompt help saves my time and avoids any delays. She points out what the issues are and advises what we need to do to fix promptly even though she is VERY busy. I often think that I cannot do my job w/o Alice's help. Thank you, Alice!
Nominee's Name: Maria Odezynskyj
Nominee's Unit: Other
Criteria: Team Player
Customer Service Example:
Maria is most deserving of a staff salute for all of her exceptional work during this year's fiscal close. She worked on very last minute requests and made sure ERSO was in good standing at year end. Her patience and support was very calming during a time of last minute activity. Thank you, Maria, for all that you do throughout the year, but especially at fiscal close.
Nominee's Name: Dan Matsuoka
Nominee's Unit: Computer Support
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
Dan took quick action to implement a GSR status report for MPS. With the recent transition of MPS units to ERSO, the process for hiring GSR students was a significant change to their previous process. The MPS managers expressed a desire to have transparency in the process; therefore, we thought a self-service report would meet their needs and show that ERSO is a good partner. Accordingly, we approached our IT Team to discuss a report solution. Dan suggested ways to implement the report (i.e. on the People Finder page with security features) and after the business requirements were finalized, he implemented the MPS report within days. Now we are ready to announce the report is ready for MPS to view. Great work Dan! Thank you.
Nominee's Name: Ana C. Fuentes
Nominee's Unit: Reimbursement Services
Criteria: Problem Solver
Customer Service Example:
Very detailed in explaining process. Goes on and beyond the call of duty, doing extra to accomplish the mission of Jacobs Hall. Very polite and professional. Cares about her constituents. I always feel good about myself when working with Ana C. Fuentes and that she will get the job done.
Nominee's Name: Melodee Li
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
Melodee is a new employee (8 months) in ERSO but she has willingly taken the time and effort to thoroughly coach and mentor two other new RAs in my team (Rachel and Eva on pre-award administration). This includes developing a budget using the ERSO budget template, collecting required documents, uploading them to the sponsors portal, and submitting the proposal in Phoebe. She also took the initiative to invite a few other RAs during her mentoring session with Veronika so they all get some clarity on submitting requests in the Student Information System. In addition, she also helped the campus community by volunteering for the BSA Excellence in Management Award ceremony. I'm very impressed to see Melodee's willingness to always help her colleagues and teammates and always have their best interests in her mind.
Nominee's Name: Amy Frithsen
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
Amy greatly deserves this award and much more. She helped our research group navigate the murky waters of subaward from DOE with grace and efficiency, and even helped us get more funds that we expected. Amy has our best interests at heart, and I feel fortunate to work with her.
Nominee's Name: Sarah Gaugler
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
Sarah covered for me for over a week while I was out on Medical leave. The amount of work that she handled for me was tremendous. She handled the submission of multiple complex proposals, handled hiring issues, submitted close outs, followed up with effort reporting deadlines, set up new gifts, submitted summer salary requests and answered every inquiry sent to her. She also stepped in and taught the New Awards RAPDP course in my absence. She did an extraordinary amount of work, on top of her own workload. I am so incredibly thankful for her as it allowed me to relax and focus on recovery without having to worry that work was piling up on my desk. She deserves all the accolades for her effort and for the endless support she has shown me and the rest of our team. Thank you so much Sarah!
Nominee's Name: Rebecca Foster
Nominee's Unit: Payroll
Criteria: Team Player
Customer Service Example:
I had a situation where a Faculty Allowance was approved in January. However, it split through the cracks on our end. As a result, I submitted an urgent request for Faculty Allowance at the end of March. Rebecca was accommodating and gave explicit instructions on making these types of requests in the future. As a result, she was able to get this payment processed promptly. Thank you, Rebecca, for your patience with the last-minute request! The faculty member was very impressed as well.
Nominee's Name: Joel Spitzer
Nominee's Unit: Human Resources
Criteria: Problem Solver
Customer Service Example:
I would like to Thank Joel for assisting with a complicated Sabbatical case. One of our Faculty has a Joint appointment with Stat and Math, plus the sabbatical they were taken was just partial. This was difficult figure out how to get this type of appointment entered into the system and paid correctly. Joel went the extra mile and help Math and Stats get this appointment processed correctly. I true appreciate all you hard work!
Nominee's Name: Joel Spitzer
Nominee's Unit: Human Resources
Criteria: Demonstrates Commitment
Customer Service Example:
It has been such a pleasure working with Joel since the Stat department transition to ERSO. He is always so responsive and a great resource for many of my complicated question. Including the most recent assistance with providing information about the performance evaluation process in which he was very much involved, and helped us execute successfully. Joel is always going above in beyond, thank you for being a great HR Business Partner.
Nominee's Name: Reagan Lu
Nominee's Unit: Research
Criteria: Above & Beyond
Customer Service Example:
Reagan is a new employee (11 months) with very busy PIs and challenging workloads. Despite this, he has taken the time and effort to thoroughly coach another new employee, Melodee Li (5 months) on how to submit stipends and fees in the Student Information system (SIS). This is for the NSF Training grant which has many components and restrictions and the SIS itself is a complicated system. I'm very impressed to see how much expertise Reagan has developed on Berkeley systems in such a short time even given the limitation of an all-virtual workplace, that he can confidently train another RA during the portfolio transition, and that too for a complicated award like this one.
Nominee's Name: Alberto Marcelo
Nominee's Unit: Human Resources
Criteria: Team Player
Customer Service Example:
This is a special shout out to Alberto who has demonstrated being a Team Player since he began at ERSO! Alberto is always willing to assist and go the extra mile to ensure the our HR Operations division runs smoothly and efficiently. Recently, he assisted with important benefit counseling with a potential new hire that we are trying to bring on as a new employee. This is not the first time he has assisted me with trying to seal the deal! Thank you for making time with your busy schedule and know that you are appreciated!
Nominee's Name: Julie Aquino
Nominee's Unit: Payroll
Criteria: Demonstrates Commitment
Customer Service Example:
I nominate Julie for her stalwart commitment to accurately completing a missing pay request which encompassed (10) pay periods and (95) individual line items for one of our EECS Tutors: one of the longest we've ever had. While processing missing pay is a standard task at ERSO-Payroll, the length of this case was unusual. Julie demonstrated the accuracy, diligence and careful attention that was required to get this missing pay processed successfully in a timely manner once known. I reconciled the transaction and Julie's entries were 100% accurate --- kudos! Thank you so much.