President’s Achievement Award
Each year, the president of Northern Arizona University awards special recognition to classified staff and service professionals to recognize outstanding performance.
This year’s award winners
Award winners are announced in April. Recipients are awarded $2,000 and recognition by the president.
2025
- Jamie Baxter
- Laura Bohland
- Wendy Bruun
- Melanie Colavito
- Salvador Lopez
- Mailani Magana
- Elyce Morris
- Rachael Shapiro
- AJ Swartz
- James Volturo
- Debbie Wildermuth
- Tina Zecher
Nomination criteria
- Promotion of strong positive interpersonal relationships and working with others to create a sense of true community in the workplace.
- Complete job mastery and performance that far exceeds Northern Arizona University expectations.
- Active support of and loyalty to Northern Arizona University, its mission, values, and goals.
Eligibility
- An employee must be in a full- or part-time regular position and in good standing with the university for three years, and have at least three years of performance appraisals.
- Recipients from previous years are eligible if it has been at least five years since they received the award.
- Prior nominees who were not selected to receive the award are eligible to be nominated again.
Nomination process
1. Nominators
Any employee may nominate a colleague who meets the established nomination criteria. To do so, the nominator must complete the official nomination form, clearly explaining how the nominee fulfills the outlined guidelines. As part of the process, the nominator must provide the names and email addresses of two references, one from within the nominee’s department and one from a different department. These individuals will each receive a reference survey to complete based on their experiences working with the nominee. Both reference surveys must be submitted for the nomination to be considered complete. Please note that only one completed nomination form will be accepted per nominee.
2. Deans, directors, and department heads
Deans, directors, and/or department heads review all nominations from their area.
3. Screening committee
The screening committee will comprise representatives from:
- The President’s Office
- Human Resources
- Two members of the Staff Advisory Council
- A winner from previous year
The screening committee will make recommendations to the president regarding employees they believe are most deserving of the award.
4. President
The president will review the recommendations of the screening committee and determine the final award recipients.
Previous winners
2024
- Todd Cly
- Lauren Copeland-Glenn
- John Gartin
- Megan Gavin
- Lizbeth Jimenez
- Robin Long
- Anthony Thompson
- Heidi Toth
- Jessy Zukosky
2023
- Nicole Christian
- Katherine Look
- Suzanna Martinez
- McKenzie McLoughlin
- Tommy Newsom III
- Jaime Smith
2022
- José R. Díaz Aquino
- Carly Banks
- Dawn Birdsell
- Marcelle Coder
- Rebecca Malone-Little Owl
- Jacob Matthews
- Maria Saurer
2021
- Kerry Bennett
- Carol Bolden
- Hilda Chairez
- Brad Miner
- Kegan Remington
- Sandi Smith
- Stephanie Smith
- Boshi Wang
- Holly Wheeler
- Arianne Yago
2020
- Cindy Chilcoat
- Paula Logie
- Sharon Lovich
- Beverly Rodriguez
- Lori Rubino-Hare
- Gregg Schneider
- Cynthia Summers
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