More than 500 awards were given to UCF employees on Founders’ Day, a day-long celebration of those who made an impact in advancing UCF as the University for the Future.
Employees were recognized for reaching their 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of service milestones, and recent retirees were also honored. The university also presented Employee Excellence awards, which highlight A&P, USPS and OPS-non-student employees who made exceptional contributions to the campus community. Shane Juntune, director of the Office of Student Involvement, received the Champion of Student Success and Well-Being Award.
“We begin this Founders’ Day by recognizing the remarkable spirit of teamwork, commitment, and dedication of our talented employees,” says UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright. “This is a special opportunity to show you our gratitude and to celebrate the difference you make — every day of the year — at our university, in our community and in the lives of our students and their families.”
The excellence awards recognized honorees in five categories:
Employee Excellence Awards for Community Well-Being
Nissa Suarez Saldana, Office of Military and Veteran Student Success
Roman Watkins, UCF Police Department
Employee Excellence Awards for Discovery and Innovation
Avra Kundu, College of Engineering and Computer Sciences
Venessa Nieves, College of Sciences
Employee Excellence Awards for Operational Excellence
Austin Bott, UCF Downtown
Patrick Higman, Human Resources
Employee Excellence Awards for Service and Partnership
Rick Catasus, Utilities and Engineering Services
Margaret Zorrilla, Rosen College of Hospitality Management
Employee Excellence Awards for Student Success
Jenna Nobili, Student Success and Advising
Judy Rechsteiner, College of Nursing
Employee Excellence Awards Nominees
Sarah Miklos
Rodger “Lee” Smith
Edwanna Andrews
Kimberly Banks
Morgan Bauer
Joshua Bedwell
Bonnie Belot
Robin Chan
Padmini Coopamah Waldron
Regina Dennison
Mario DeVera
Andrea Gandy
Nancy Gayton
Mary Gladding
Christina Grosso
Jordan Grushka
Isha Guerrero-Londeree
Louann Huynh
Lee Anne Kirkpatrick
Stacy Little
Carla Markx
Mike McKee
Stephanie Mederos
Vanessa Nixon
Kyrie Ottaviani
Kristell Padell
Marilez Pagan
Debbie Pope
Michael Pugh
Raiza Ramos-Deatherage
Ryan Retherford
Rex Roberts
Josefina Rosario
Kimberly Santiago
Jessica Scheck
Heather Simeon
Jenny Shen
Barbara Smith
Nicole Stahl
Jennifer Steele
Farrah Torres
Suzette Turner
Ashli VanHorn
Kristin Wetherbee
Danta White
Deanna Williams
Additional 2024 employee honorees include:
Champion of Student Success and Well-Being Award
Shane Juntunen, Student Involvement
Emerita Status Awardee
Lynn Hepner, associate dean emerita and retired from the College of Arts and Humanities after more than two decades of service
Employee Service Awards
40 Years of Service
Patricia Hall
35 Years of Service
Marisa Gonzalez
Antionette Lee
Delores Lewis
Karen Norum
Kari Stiles
Lisa Matty
Lisa Wayte
30 Years of Service
Jeanine Clements
Kellie Dearmas
Larry Eflin
Michelle Embach
Perry Fraser
Jamie LaMoreaux
Judith Montilla
Jacqueline Morales
Vallery Morton
Amy Perry
Ray Ramotar
Lori Safford
Carolyn Standner
Lisa Vaughn
Mark Wagenhauser
David Zambri
25 Years of Service
Grisette Acevedo
Rebeca Alonso
Melissa Anderson
William Atkinson
Ray Bacchus
Elena Beredo
Joseph Bizon
Jeanne Blank
Yasmin Brady
Thomas Campana
Pedro Cordero
Carla Cordoba
Laura Crouch
Stefanie DelGiudice
Madi Dogariu
Jeffery Golub
Susan Hicks
Pamela Jaggernauth
Barbara Kelly-Hursey
Jennifer Krolowitz
Narene Lindauer
Julio Luna
Dennis Maddox
Paula McClure
Robin Mccormick
Douglas O’Brien
David Pavlonnis
Esther Pennepacker
Miyerladi Perez
Rebecca Piety
Emily Rank
Debra Reynolds
Susan Schroen
Lavonia Scott
Bradley Smith
Kimberly Smith
Mary Stanley
Kelly Stevens
Cheryl Stripling
Dale Voorhees
20 Years of Service
Rocio Alfonso
Maria Alvarez-Medina
Benton Anderson
Edwanna Andrews
Alia Asi
Chad Binette
Joseph Bizon
Patrick Blount
Margaret Bolinger
Michelle Brooks
Nikki Cason
Nataly Chandia Viano
Jordan Clark
Richard Colon
Cynthia Contreras
Debra Copertino
Sophie Cortes-Thomas
James Costa
Maria Cseh
Christopher Dahlstrand
Nicholas Deavellar
Esther D’Silva
Elizabeth Exner
Joseph Fauvel
Bendetta Fuller
Patrick Hadlock
Laurence Jaffe
Kathryne Janeiro
Dana Juntunen
Shane Juntunen
Frederic Kittinger
Ana Mack
Enrique Martinez
Vivian Martinez
Lisa Massi
Erica Mendoza
Mary Montgomery
Susan Nisavic
Stephen O’Connell
Suphi Ogreten
Fredrick Okumu
Jennifer Parham
Nelson Perez
Maria Piloto
Cheryl Piper
Robert Ramos
Jan Reason
Tracey Robinson-Crawford
Jose Santos
Gregory Saunders Jr
Victoria Sharp
Angelia Smith
Kellie Tabor
Martha Tirado
Thien-Thanh Tran
Kinte Vickers
Pete Wallace
Heidi Watt
Kristin Wetherbee
Mary Williams
15 Years of Service
Peter Alfieris
Abby Amo Snipes
Heather Anderson
Maria Aragon
Elba Arroyo-Cid
Teresa Ayers
Edilu Becerra
Leslie Brunswick
Rafael Caamano
Adelino Cardona
Katie Connolly
Morayma Cubero
Annette Gamarra
Caryn Garcia
Leben Goldman
Monique Gregory
David Griffin Jr
Lynn Hansen
Mark Hartman
Arne Hestad
Fazal Jameer
Erick Jauregui
Aaron Keyser
Jade Laderwarg
Nicole Lamoureux
Elizabeth Lozada-Rivera
Yee Lui
Liara Maharaj
Jessica Mays
Christy Miranda Perez
Aisha Morfe-Bencosme
Amber Mullens
Trang-Minh Nguyen
Jenna Nobili
Christey Oberbeck
Joel Okun
Annette Ortiz-Rivera
James Padel
Brandy Pieper
Brooks Pingston
Laurel Poole
Patricia Potashner
Cynthia Rahrle
Evelyn Ramos
Iris Rios
Elexis Ritz
Cassandra Schauff
Jeanette Schreiber
Svetlana Shtrom
Lisa Simcoe
Karen Smith
Soraya Smith
Emily Stettner
Patricia Stroupe
Cheryl Suter Thorn
Carlee Thomas
Paul Turner
Katherine Vazquez
Jacqueline West-Lee
Spencer Williams
10 Years of Service
Luribel Abreu
Joseph Alcala
Nicole Arft
Aaron Banfield
Bill Barker
Gesa Barto
Danae Barulich
Lauren Becker
Bonnie Belot
Amelia Bray
Derick Brown
Allison Bryant
Arian Bryant
Gabriel Camejo
Jordan Castillo
Amy Childs
Jennifer Cicia
Luisa Cintron
Ashley Connors
Carla Craig
Danielle Darwich
Reshard Denard
Matthew DeSalvo
Kristin Donnelly
Sarah Drehoff
Keely Duffy
David Dumke
Allen Dunn
Jodi Elder
Kimberly Esterline
Jennifer Fackler
Lawrence Falkenhausen
Jennifer Farran
Vilma Ferrer
Maria Ffrench
Amy Floyd
Heliana Forero Martinez
Anita Gabbard
Javier Gioia
Casey Goerg
Sue Gonzalez
Sandra Griggs
Melissa Guadagnino
Miguel Guzman
Lavera Henderson
Sunny Heyl
Ashley Hilyer
Jackie Hop
Latoya Jackson
Louisdor Jean
Michael Jimenez
Stephen Johnson
Alicia Keaton
Schuyler Kerby
Jeannie Kiriwas
Christina Kittipatarin
Zachary Knauer
TJ Krattinger
Nasrin Lakhani
Tonya LaPrarie
Vernet Lasrado
Elizabeth LaTorre
Celia Linton Walker
Ashley Longoria
Maria Lopes
Philip Lopez
Keanna Machado
Leslie Marchand
Jesus Martinez
Kim Martinez
Ashley McConnell
Mike McKee
Derrick McQuern
Adam Meyer
Shawna Meyers
Eric Michael
Christine Michel
Lisa Miller
Oscar Monzon
Laurie Morin
Beejal Nana
David Nelson
Aracelis Nieves
Venessa Nieves
Martin Nyenkan
Stephanie Odierno
Dana Pagan
Alex Parlato
Leonardo Pascua
Brenda Perez
Sean Pinto
Jon Pizzo
Macrina Raghunanan
Taneisha Ralph
Chauntrice Riley-Stanford
Sarahis Rodriguez Pacheco
Stacey Royalty-Rose
Marisa Salazar
Rachel Schaefer
Jessica Scheck
Donald Scrip
Mary Scroggs
Christina Serra
Michelle Shirzad
Shela Siegrist
Giji Skaria
Tracy Slavik
James Smith
Erica Spaulding
Vanessa Stein
Kimberley Thrash
Dawn Tripp
Ashley Turner
Steven Valdez
Nicole Williams
Lee Williams-Lana
Mark Wright
Maria Yebra-Teimouri
Chip Youngblood
5 Years of Service
Melinda Abreu
Amber Abud
Gabriella Agosto
Christina Alecse
Amanda Allman
David Amaro
Amanda Ammirati
Christine Anderson
Karen Austin
Joshua Bedwell
Kelly Belga
Claudia Bello Punto
Caitlin Bradbury
Tia Bramwell
Sherry Brown
Ida-Raquel Burgos
Edwin Cabral
Jennifer Calame
Shannon Callahan
Tianna Campbell
Tyler Campbell
Ramon Candelaria Rivera
Carmen Caraballo
Edgar Castellanos
Tiffany Chestnut
Christopher Childs
Padmini Coopamah Waldron
David Correia
Victor Cosme
Geoffrey Cravero
Aaron Davis
Jennifer De Leon Diaz
Jerald DeFord
Kathiana Desir
Silvia Diaz
Elimar Diaz Martinez
Katelyn Dillon
Janeza Dino
Sharon Doras
Henry Dubel
Amy Duvall
James Ehmer
Hannah Estes
Anne Everett
Kathryn Feehrer
Bin Feng
Melissa Findling
Joseph Finnigan
Michelle Flis
Wantao Frashier
Tattianna Fuentes-Duarte
Nester Garcia
Sara Garrabrant
Stephanie Gavarrete
Karina Girgis
Christina Gonzalez
Jennifer Gonzalez
Darryl Gordon
Rose-A-Lee Guillemi
Iolanda Guseman
Kimberly Hannush
James Hardy
Heather Hargreaves
Cherie Herrin
Randy Holmes
George Holt
Jeffrey Hopkins
Yujun Huang
Louann Huynh
Bernadette Isidro
Angela Jackson
Carl Jackson Jr
Carmen Jarquin
Roy Johnston II
William Kent
Ashley Khalil
Bryan Kirk
David Kramer
Joshua Kuhn
Rebecca Lasala
Hayden Lau
Alex Lazin
Heather Lovett
Bernice Lugo
Eva Lynch
Barbara Macias Castaneda
Jay Malcolm
Frederick Marshall II
Kyle Martin
Jennifer Mckinley
Carlos Medina
William Mollenkopf III
Laszlo Molnar
Carmen Montijo
Kelli Morales
Norma Morell
Megan Morris
Robert Mott
Devindra Narine
Gregg Nelson Jr
Adam Novak
Eduardo Ortiz
Janet Owen
Andres Pagan
Santos Pardo
Nicole Phanstiel
Thomas Porter
Mari Rains
Marisa Ramiccio
Patricia Riva
Yadira Rivera-Vazquez
Katherine Rocco
Lorna Rodriguez
Sandra Rodriguez
Stephanie Rodriguez-Makhlouf
Lorena Roedan
Jillian Rogero
Tijuana Rollins
Wrenz Ronas
Amber Ryder
Melissa Saint James
Michelle Salcedo
Albert Sammelian
Vanessa Sanchez
Natalia Santana
Evaristo Santana Estrella
John Settle
Stephen Shier Jr
Daniella Shuch
Carolina Silva
Sean Simmons
Rachel Sims
Quinton Smith Jr
Cindy Spiers
Louis Stevens
Paul Sturgis
Yariela Thompson
Amanda Tier
Sharon Tinny
Emily Troilo
Zenobia Turk
Jaclyn Velez
Jairo Vidal
Whitney Walker
Jennifer Walters
Robert Wells II
Maichoua Yang
Dorothy Yates
Julianna Zink
Recognition of Retirees
Sandra Austin
Griselle Baez-Munoz
Elena Beredo
Wayne Bonacci
Carmen Brache
Deirdre Campbell
Ron Carey
Ina Carpenter
Laurie Carroll
Brenda Catrett
Patricia Coderre
Amparo Contreras
Theresa Corral
Angie Feliciano
Allan Garnett
Elizabeth Irizarry
Bunnie Jackson
Kathleen Janda
Michael Jimenez
Jacqueline Johnson
Tamara Jones
Thomas Lancione
Maggie Leclair
Toni Lee
Elizabeth Livingston
Fanny Lopez
Ivette Martinez
Ellen McDade
Russell Muller
Dorann Mullins
Janet Nettles
Karen Norum
Sophie Overlock
Cindy Padilla
Renee Phillips
Buddy Pittman
Susan Pruchnicki
Ray Ramotar
Wylette Robinson
Edna Rolle
Miriam Rosario
Maryline Rosario
Jerry Ross
Rajendra Shah
Alana Shepherd
Kari Stiles
Yu Tang
Debra Urban
Jose Vazquez
Julie Wagner
Paul White
Jan Whitehouse
Chip Youngblood
