Commitment to Excellence Staff Recognition Program
Have you seen a staff member demonstrating excellence in performing their job responsibilities? Take a moment and nominate them for a Commitment to Excellence Award. The Commitment to Excellence Awards are metallic commemorative coins that will be presented to staff to recognize their efforts above and beyond the call of duty.
This program celebrates our staff members who demonstrate the highest standards in their commitment to supporting our mission, vision and values. The Commitment to Excellence program is our practice of thanking those who consistently demonstrate excellence in what they do for our School community.
The award program is intended for staff whose roles are primarily administrative. To be nominated, a staff member鈥檚 performance should meet one or more of the following criteria:
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Consistently demonstrates excellence in the performance of their job responsibilities.
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Consistently exhibits a superb and ongoing high level of service to their customers.
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Consistently produces the highest quality of work product.
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Performed a significant and exceptional role in the completion of a high impact project or initiative.
Any faculty or staff member may submit nominations to the DUSON.staffrecognition@dm.duke.edu email address.
All nominations will be reviewed against the criteria, and once approved, a representative from the Vice Dean, Finance and Administration鈥檚 office will notify the supervisor of the employee so the commemorative coin may be presented to the recipient.
2025-26 Award Recipients
I am pleased to nominate Lisa Strickland for this award in recognition of her unwavering commitment to excellence in the performance of her job responsibilities. She consistently goes above and beyond expectations, demonstrating a high level of professionalism, attention to detail, and dedication to quality in every task undertaken. Her work is always consistent and correct. Whether managing routine duties or tackling complex challenges, Lisa approaches each responsibility with integrity, efficiency, and a very positive attitude. Her reliability and consistent performance make her an invaluable asset to the School of Nursing. She has consistently been a great resource for helping with anything Concur related and has helped me to be able to spend more time on more stressing or time-sensitive matters by helping me with Concur issues that may be routine but can take up a lot of my time. I just can鈥檛 say how thankful and appreciative I am to have Lisa as a go-to resource for helping me in taking care of Concur related work. I am constantly hearing back from DUSON staff and faculty about how helpful she was with taking care of their Concur issues. It is with great enthusiasm that I recommend Lisa for this well-deserved recognition.
Lisa Strickland
July 2025
I am pleased to nominate Lisa Strickland for this award in recognition of her unwavering commitment to excellence in the performance of her job responsibilities. She consistently goes above and beyond expectations, demonstrating a high level of professionalism, attention to detail, and dedication to quality in every task undertaken. Her work is always consistent and correct.
Whether managing routine duties or tackling complex challenges, Lisa approaches each responsibility with integrity, efficiency, and a very positive attitude. Her reliability and consistent performance make her an invaluable asset to the School of Nursing. She has consistently been a great resource for helping with anything Concur related and has helped me to be able to spend more time on more stressing or time-sensitive matters by helping me with Concur issues that may be routine but can take up a lot of my time. I just can鈥檛 say how thankful and appreciative I am to have Lisa as a go-to resource for helping me in taking care of Concur related work. I am constantly hearing back from DUSON staff and faculty about how helpful she was with taking care of their Concur issues.
It is with great enthusiasm that I recommend Lisa for this well-deserved recognition.
Nominated by: William Falls, Jr.
Please accept my endorsement of a Staff Excellence coin for two extraordinary heroes in our community: Ms. Bebe Mills and Ms. Angela Goss. These two women were recognized by a DNP student and the DNP Assistant Dean, Dr. Marylou Affronti, for their excellence and for meeting them in the moment, ensuring they had a remarkable experience here at DUSON. This exemplary customer service is what makes ALL the difference here at our school and we are grateful to Bebe and Angela for their continual service, mentorship, role modeling and care.
Angela Goss and Bebe Mills
June 2025
Please accept my endorsement of a Staff Excellence coin for two extraordinary heroes in our community: Ms. Bebe Mills and Ms. Angela Goss.
These two women were recognized by a DNP student and the DNP Assistant Dean, Dr. Marylou Affronti, for their excellence and for meeting them in the moment, ensuring they had a remarkable experience here at DUSON.
This exemplary customer service is what makes ALL the difference here at our school and we are grateful to Bebe and Angela for their continual service, mentorship, role modeling and care.
Nominated by: Anne Derouin
Rometa Summerlin backed up her EdTech colleague by helping me troubleshoot a Canvas related issue that significantly impacted the on schedule role out of N763 for the summer semester of 2025. This course has 42 students enrolled who were struggling with a technical issue that impacted their ability to submit a discussion forum assignment on time. Rometa was dogged in pursuit of a resolution working dynamically with both students and faculty to isolate and resolve the issue. Not only did she resolve the issue, but she also assessed all other aspects of the online course for similar problems. Rometa鈥檚 effort went well beyond 鈥渘ormal work hours鈥 and all are grateful for her support. 色控传媒 is most fortunate to have Rometa on the team. It is for this reason, and more, that she deserves public recognition.
Rometa Summerlin
May 2025
Rometa Summerlin backed up her EdTech colleague by helping me troubleshoot a Canvas related issue that significantly impacted the on schedule role out of N763 for the summer semester of 2025. This course has 42 students enrolled who were struggling with a technical issue that impacted their ability to submit a discussion forum assignment on time. Rometa was dogged in pursuit of a resolution working dynamically with both students and faculty to isolate and resolve the issue. Not only did she resolve the issue, but she also assessed all other aspects of the online course for similar problems. Rometa鈥檚 effort went well beyond 鈥渘ormal work hours鈥 and all are grateful for her support. 色控传媒 is most fortunate to have Rometa on the team. It is for this reason, and more, that she deserves public recognition.
Nominated by: Sean Convoy
I would like to nominate Troy Pinkins, DUSON Development, for the Commitment to Excellence Award. Troy was here before our Facilities team arrived and all ready to pivot our set up due to weather. We had a brief team meeting and began setting up for the reception. Troy jumped right in to help with setting up and then straightened out the courtyard with Facilities. Not only for the reasons above, but when the caterer flooded the pantry with dumping items in the sink too fast, Troy went beyond his responsibilities to grab cleaning supplies and mop the area. Even when Facilities and housekeeping stated they would take care of it, Troy rolled up his sleeves and stated, 鈥淚've got this, because housekeeping and facilities have other things to take care of.鈥 I truly want to thank Troy for jumping in and showing what a great team player he is and there is no large or small task that he will not do. Thank you, Troy!
Troy Pinkins
May 2025
I would like to nominate Troy Pinkins, DUSON Development, for the Commitment to Excellence Award. Troy was here before our Facilities team arrived and all ready to pivot our set up due to weather. We had a brief team meeting and began setting up for the reception. Troy jumped right in to help with setting up and then straightened out the courtyard with Facilities.
Not only for the reasons above, but when the caterer flooded the pantry with dumping items in the sink too fast, Troy went beyond his responsibilities to grab cleaning supplies and mop the area. Even when Facilities and housekeeping stated they would take care of it, Troy rolled up his sleeves and stated, 鈥淚've got this, because housekeeping and facilities have other things to take care of.鈥 I truly want to thank Troy for jumping in and showing what a great team player he is and there is no large or small task that he will not do.
Thank you, Troy!
Nominated by: Tina Leiter
We are nominating Melanie Allen for a Commitment to Excellence Award. Melanie had served as Administrative Support for DUSON鈥檚 Beta Epsilon Chapter of Sigma but recently transitioned to a new position within DUSON. Even so, she showed up on Friday May 9, 2025 to help us set up for our semi-annual Induction Ceremony where we recognize and induct the newest members of the professional organization. Melanie not only helped us set up the Auditorium for the event, but she also cleaned up after the event and brought back items to the 鈥淪igma closet鈥 when we were finished. All of this without being asked. She volunteered to help us. We are grateful to Melanie for her initiative. We miss having Melanie as our official administrative support person, but are so grateful that she remains part of our DUSON family. Thank you, Melanie!
Melanie Allen
May 2025
We are nominating Melanie Allen for a Commitment to Excellence Award. Melanie had served as Administrative Support for DUSON鈥檚 Beta Epsilon Chapter of Sigma but recently transitioned to a new position within DUSON. Even so, she showed up on Friday May 9, 2025 to help us set up for our semi-annual Induction Ceremony where we recognize and induct the newest members of the professional organization. Melanie not only helped us set up the Auditorium for the event, but she also cleaned up after the event and brought back items to the 鈥淪igma closet鈥 when we were finished. All of this without being asked. She volunteered to help us. We are grateful to Melanie for her initiative.
We miss having Melanie as our official administrative support person, but are so grateful that she remains part of our DUSON family.
Thank you, Melanie!
Nominated by: Board of Directors, Beta Epsilon Chapter, Sigma
I would like to nominate Keysha Hall for a Commitment to Excellence award for always going above and beyond for our students and being there for them through challenging times. Our students are very anxious when starting the MSN program but she ensures they have all the information needed to be successful. She鈥檚 always thinking of creative ways to help the MSN Program and has taken the initiative to benefit the students by having weekly student hours for them to pop in and ask her questions about all things MSN related, which helps take pressure off the students. Her outstanding performance has a significant impact on our team's success. A student specifically wrote the below message in regard to a change of major experience she recently had: Your kindness is very much appreciated during these disquieting times, with a heartfelt thank you to Keysha Hall for always addressing my concerns, whether big or small, with grace and dedication (and most importantly, patience). Grace, kindness, and patience are not things that come easily during these challenging times. I would love for Keysha to be recognized for going above and beyond to serve DUSON students with grace, dedication, and patience.
Keysha Hall
May 2025
I would like to nominate Keysha Hall for a Commitment to Excellence award for always going above and beyond for our students and being there for them through challenging times. Our students are very anxious when starting the MSN program but she ensures they have all the information needed to be successful. She鈥檚 always thinking of creative ways to help the MSN Program and has taken the initiative to benefit the students by having weekly student hours for them to pop in and ask her questions about all things MSN related, which helps take pressure off the students. Her outstanding performance has a significant impact on our team's success. A student specifically wrote the below message in regard to a change of major experience she recently had:
Your kindness is very much appreciated during these disquieting times, with a heartfelt thank you to Keysha Hall for always addressing my concerns, whether big or small, with grace and dedication (and most importantly, patience).
Grace, kindness, and patience are not things that come easily during these challenging times. I would love for Keysha to be recognized for going above and beyond to serve DUSON students with grace, dedication, and patience.
Nominated by: Tiffiany Parker, Benjamin Smallheer
Tiffiany Parker, our MSN program coordinator, assisted Jennie De Gagne and myself in helping us perform a gap analysis schema for our (DUSON BSN-DNP or other applicable) education students moving into the DNP program for the NFLP program or obtaining additional education certificates. Her expertise in this area and extra time was greatly appreciated! The flow chart/schema is now on our DNP website. While we offered her monetary support for her time I was impressed that it 鈥渨ould mean more to her that (she) contributed to our DUSON excellence!鈥 We appreciate and thank Tiffiany for her efforts across DUSON programs!
Tiffiany Parker
May 2025
Tiffiany Parker, our MSN program coordinator, assisted Jennie De Gagne and myself in helping us perform a gap analysis schema for our (DUSON BSN-DNP or other applicable) education students moving into the DNP program for the NFLP program or obtaining additional education certificates. Her expertise in this area and extra time was greatly appreciated! The flow chart/schema is now on our DNP website.
While we offered her monetary support for her time I was impressed that it 鈥渨ould mean more to her that (she) contributed to our DUSON excellence!鈥 We appreciate and thank Tiffiany for her efforts across DUSON programs!
Nominated by: Mary Lou Affronti
I would like to nominate Antonio, Corey, Eric, Josh, Maimunah, Rometa, Tina, and Tyler for a Commitment to Excellence coin. Due to unforeseen circumstances, our team had to pivot our plans for Friday, May 2, and undertake the challenge of relocating the AI Summit from the School of Nursing to University Tower within less than 24 hours. Antonio, Josh, and Tyler, your efforts in ensuring the loaner laptops were ready for the BOV and AI Summit, as well as your support at the desk on Friday, are greatly appreciated. Eric, thank you for your assistance with Thursday's events, allowing Corey and me to inspect the rooms at University Tower. Maimunah and Rometa, your support on-site Friday for an external group in IPE 3280 and an unexpected meeting in 3088 was invaluable. Corey and Tina, your perseverance in supporting the AI Summit at University Tower despite less-than-favorable Wi-Fi conditions and multiple Zoom meetings was commendable. Despite the challenges, the event was a success and enjoyed by all in attendance. The team united through all difficulties and uncertainties, consistently exceeding their job responsibilities without complaint. Even remote or off-site team members were supportive behind the scenes. I am exceptionally proud to be the Director of IT at the School of Nursing.
Antonio Herron, Corey Brown, Eric Bloomer, Josh Venerable, Maimunah (Munah) Kokayi, Rometa Summerlin, Tina Johnson, and Tyler Wehrwein
May 2025
I would like to nominate Antonio, Corey, Eric, Josh, Maimunah, Rometa, Tina, and Tyler for a Commitment to Excellence coin. Due to unforeseen circumstances, our team had to pivot our plans for Friday, May 2, and undertake the challenge of relocating the AI Summit from the School of Nursing to University Tower within less than 24 hours.
Antonio, Josh, and Tyler, your efforts in ensuring the loaner laptops were ready for the BOV and AI Summit, as well as your support at the desk on Friday, are greatly appreciated.
Eric, thank you for your assistance with Thursday's events, allowing Corey and me to inspect the rooms at University Tower. Maimunah and Rometa, your support on-site Friday for an external group in IPE 3280 and an unexpected meeting in 3088 was invaluable.
Corey and Tina, your perseverance in supporting the AI Summit at University Tower despite less-than-favorable Wi-Fi conditions and multiple Zoom meetings was commendable. Despite the challenges, the event was a success and enjoyed by all in attendance.
The team united through all difficulties and uncertainties, consistently exceeding their job responsibilities without complaint.
Even remote or off-site team members were supportive behind the scenes. I am exceptionally proud to be the Director of IT at the School of Nursing.
Nominated by: Carla Nichols
I would like to recognize Eric Bloomer for his help in getting a trial of some new technology to facilitate better attendance and other data tracking for our learners. It was a long process that was very time-consuming for him, on top of his many other responsibilities. Thank you, Eric!!!
Eric Bloomer
May 2025
I would like to recognize Eric Bloomer for his help in getting a trial of some new technology to facilitate better attendance and other data tracking for our learners. It was a long process that was very time-consuming for him, on top of his many other responsibilities. Thank you, Eric!!!
Nominated by: Stephanie Gedzyk-Nieman
I would like to recognize Angelina Sharak for her exceptional work in developing the Data Governance Best Practices Standard Operating Procedure. In only a short amount of time at DUSON, Angelina has been able to collaborate with multiple departments, including DUSON, DOCR, DOSI, and Data Curation to identify best practices for data governance for researchers at DUSON. The Center for Nursing Research is incredibly grateful for her work ethic in providing clarity around data governance. I鈥檓 proud to work with someone as dedicated as Angelina! Thank you for your service and support of research at DUSON!
Angelina Sharak
May 2025
I would like to recognize Angelina Sharak for her exceptional work in developing the Data Governance Best Practices Standard Operating Procedure. In only a short amount of time at DUSON, Angelina has been able to collaborate with multiple departments, including DUSON, DOCR, DOSI, and Data Curation to identify best practices for data governance for researchers at DUSON. The Center for Nursing Research is incredibly grateful for her work ethic in providing clarity around data governance. I鈥檓 proud to work with someone as dedicated as Angelina! Thank you for your service and support of research at DUSON!
Nominated by: Staci Reynolds
I鈥檇 like to recognize the entire Admissions office team for their outstanding collaboration and ongoing commitment to excellence over the past few weeks. While anticipating two new team members (and participating in those interviewing sessions), they maintained a steady routine of reviewing applicants to our academic programs, communicating with enrolled students and those on waiting lists and fielding phone calls. Without a receptionist, they rotated serving the front desk and collaborated to demonstrate efficiency and professionalism, working long hours and with limited support. I want to commend them on demonstrating our core values, serving the 鈥済reater good鈥 of the community and ensuring we have a pipeline of well-qualified nursing students for all our academic programs. Thank you to this remarkable team.
Briana Colbert, Brandon Holmes, Steven Johansson, Grace Miller, and Austin Vick
April 2025
I鈥檇 like to recognize the entire Admissions office team for their outstanding collaboration and ongoing commitment to excellence over the past few weeks. While anticipating two new team members (and participating in those interviewing sessions), they maintained a steady routine of reviewing applicants to our academic programs, communicating with enrolled students and those on waiting lists and fielding phone calls. Without a receptionist, they rotated serving the front desk and collaborated to demonstrate efficiency and professionalism, working long hours and with limited support.
I want to commend them on demonstrating our core values, serving the 鈥済reater good鈥 of the community and ensuring we have a pipeline of well-qualified nursing students for all our academic programs. Thank you to this remarkable team.
Nominated by: Anne Derouin
This season of constant change in the financial picture of 色控传媒 and DUSON has required extraordinary efforts among the team, especially Karen, Sherry, Selnatta, Leslie, and Tina. While anticipating new team members (and participating in those interviewing sessions) to join us and alleviate some of the workload strain, each of these team members have maintained efficiency, responsiveness and professionalism, working extremely long hours and 鈥渟howing up鈥 with poise and kindness to one another and to member of the community at large. I am so proud and honored to work with this dedicated team of colleagues who continue to demonstrate our core values, a commitment to excellence and service that exceeds expectation. I celebrate each of you and thank you for the outstanding service.
Karen Jackson, Sherry Nichols, Selnatta Vereen, Leslie Zanaglio, and Tina Leiter
April 2025
This season of constant change in the financial picture of 色控传媒 and DUSON has required extraordinary efforts among the team, especially Karen, Sherry, Selnatta, Leslie, and Tina. While anticipating new team members (and participating in those interviewing sessions) to join us and alleviate some of the workload strain, each of these team members have maintained efficiency, responsiveness and professionalism, working extremely long hours and 鈥渟howing up鈥 with poise and kindness to one another and to member of the community at large.
I am so proud and honored to work with this dedicated team of colleagues who continue to demonstrate our core values, a commitment to excellence and service that exceeds expectation. I celebrate each of you and thank you for the outstanding service.
Nominated by: Anne Derouin
One of our team members recently had a baby and has been out on maternity leave. While planning for how to manage the leave, Leah White was asked if she could help cover our teammate's group of student placements. Leah graciously agreed to help in whatever way she could! Leah willingly accepted the additional load and has managed this group of students since the beginning of March and will continue to do so through the first week of May. Her willingness to do so enabled our work to continue with absolutely no disruption to the group of students that she is serving. It also kept our team from having to bring in a temporary employee to handle the additional workload, which saved the school and our department from accruing additional expenses. Leah鈥檚 willingness to always help in anyway that we need, whenever we need her, and keeping a positive attitude while doing so is a true example of amazing teamwork! Her commitment to our MSN students and the clinical placement team is greatly appreciated!
Leah White
April 2025
One of our team members recently had a baby and has been out on maternity leave. While planning for how to manage the leave, Leah White was asked if she could help cover our teammate's group of student placements. Leah graciously agreed to help in whatever way she could! Leah willingly accepted the additional load and has managed this group of students since the beginning of March and will continue to do so through the first week of May. Her willingness to do so enabled our work to continue with absolutely no disruption to the group of students that she is serving. It also kept our team from having to bring in a temporary employee to handle the additional workload, which saved the school and our department from accruing additional expenses.
Leah鈥檚 willingness to always help in anyway that we need, whenever we need her, and keeping a positive attitude while doing so is a true example of amazing teamwork! Her commitment to our MSN students and the clinical placement team is greatly appreciated!
Nominated by: Shannon Monroe
I want to nominate the following for their help with the Dean Candidate interview process: Tina Leiter for going above and beyond to help me secure rooms for the interviews. She was able to secure a space with the PT department for their classroom at no cost since all of ours were full. She also assisted and double checked all my other room reservations and assisted with logistics during the week of interviews with lunch deliveries while I was busy escorting candidates. Carla Nichols & Denise Williams for setting up and coordinating all the AV and IT needs for the interviews. They worked with the IT group from PT to make sure the candidates presentations were up and the meetings were recorded. Also, they coordinated all the individual meetings to assign IT help from DUSON each day and coordinated with the Provost's Office to do so. Rodney Bean and Corey Brown for their day-to-day support of the Provost鈥檚 staff for all the individual interviews. Monday-Wednesday Rodney was the dedicated support person, and Corey was that person on Thursday. They made sure all of the AV and IT needs for each meeting were met.
Tina Leiter, Carla Nichols, Denise Williams, Rodney Bean, and Corey Brown
March 2025
I want to nominate the following for their help with the Dean Candidate interview process:
- Tina Leiter for going above and beyond to help me secure rooms for the interviews. She was able to secure a space with the PT department for their classroom at no cost since all of ours were full. She also assisted and double checked all my other room reservations and assisted with logistics during the week of interviews with lunch deliveries while I was busy escorting candidates.
- Carla Nichols & Denise Williams for setting up and coordinating all the AV and IT needs for the interviews. They worked with the IT group from PT to make sure the candidates presentations were up and the meetings were recorded. Also, they coordinated all the individual meetings to assign IT help from DUSON each day and coordinated with the Provost's Office to do so.
- Rodney Bean and Corey Brown for their day-to-day support of the Provost鈥檚 staff for all the individual interviews. Monday-Wednesday Rodney was the dedicated support person, and Corey was that person on Thursday. They made sure all of the AV and IT needs for each meeting were met.
Nominated by: Karen Jackson