Staff Recognition
Shout-Outs
Giving a shout-out is a great way to recognize your fellow staff and faculty for their work, talent, and for living out our values. It is also an opportunity to contribute to a culture of appreciation and community. Shout-outs will be added to this page once a month.
Click here to submit your shout-out!
March 2024
Shout-out to Ann Matsushima Chiu, Social Sciences Librarian, and Chloe Van Stralendorff, Visual Resources Coordinator
Ann and Chloe's collaborative effort brought the Reed College Zine Fest to reality! Over 700 visitors came to Kaul Auditorium to participate in workshops, attend presentations, and share their creative work. By their vision and collaboration, Ann and Chloe have set an example for us all of what community engagement can look like at Reed.
-Gregory MacNaughton, Education Outreach Coordinator
February 2024
Shout-out to Lindsey Hoyt, Director of Admission
Lindsey is not only our admission director, she's our biggest supporter. Lindsey has a great way of helping her teams and supporting our growth. She is a beacon of support, understanding, and encouragement. Her leadership style sets a remarkable example for all of us, and I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to work under her guidance.
-Dev Devvrat, Associate Dean of Admission
Shout-out to Sharon Sanchez Santa Rita, Administrative Coordinator, Facilities
Sharon consistently serves as the initial point of contact for individuals reaching out to Facilities, whether by phone or in person. Her unwavering commitment to providing exceptional customer service shines through, even amidst challenging circumstances. Her welcoming demeanor and adept handling of inquiries, even in the most demanding situations, create a positive experience for everyone she interacts with whether addressing urgent requests or calmly navigating complex issues. Glad to have her as a colleague!
-April Sams, Director of Risk Management and Environmental Health and Safety
Shout-out to Luis Giraldo, Director of Student Support
Dr. Luis Giraldo brings value to Reed College because he is hardworking, strategic and an advocate for creating communities of care and excellence. Dr. Luis Giraldo never shies away from speaking up, challenging systems of oppression, being an active bystander and thrives at the challenge of leaving things better. He has experience navigating higher education institutions both in the academic/faculty side and in student affairs. He is an advocate for social justice, but also holds diplomacy skills for navigating political and complex issues and never veers from difficult conversations or challenging situations. Dr. Luis Giraldo understands the importance of cultivating trust and buy-in from the community and as a result has established strong partnerships across the institution. Dr. Luis Giraldo excels when working in an environment where collaboration and having a vision are valued. As his current supervisor, I've observed Dr. Luis Giraldo consistently maintaining accountability, excellence, and integrity in the work that he does; he embraces challenges; and is aware of his own areas of strength and growth; but most admirably he leads with an empathetic scope.
-Claudia Ramirez Islas, Associate Dean for Student & Campus Life
Shout-out to Kat Buckspan, Associate to the VP & Dean of Admission & Financial Aid
Kat is the glue that holds our office together! She's everyone's go-to person. Kat is that person that knows the answer to everything and does so much, it leaves me in awe. She shows kindness with students as she helps them navigate student work. She shows grace and organization when planning on campus events for prospective students. She's a master class on collaboration with multiple departments. Kat is my personal hero.
-Dev Devvrat, Associate Dean of Admission
Shout-out to L. Mattson, Program Director, SHARE
L. Mattson has brought their heart and vision to Reed's campus to create pathways for connection with our students, staff, and faculty. Their warm spirit and hard work as our campus advocate and educator is inspiring. L.'s contributions to our Health and Well-being team in sexual well-being education, advocacy, harm reduction, bystander intervention, supervision of students, and collaboration with campus and community partners in five short months is remarkable. We are lucky to have L. during these times of great change and grateful that they are working towards creating a safer and more connected community for all of us!
-Yasodha Gopal, Associate Dean of Students for Health & Wellbeing
January 2024
Shout-out to Josiane Quitta, DSS Accommodations Coordinator
While I've been out on leave, Josiane has taken over new responsibilities and has functioned as the administrative backbone of our department. She has anticipated the needs of students and faculty, and her proactive problem-solving has kept things running smoothly!
-Jess Gibson, Director of Disability and Accessibility Resources
Shout-out to Christy Martin, Director of Academic Support
During my leave, Christy graciously offered to step in to help process students' accommodation requests. She stepped in to this role seamlessly, providing compassionate and thorough services to our students. (And I'm thrilled that she will be Reed's new 504 Coordinator!)
-Jess Gibson, Director of Disability and Accessibility Resources
Shout-out to Beth Platte, Associate Director of Instructional Technology Services
Beth has been an indispensable IT support for me for years now, she was absolutely essential during online teaching during the pandemic, and she continues to be extremely dependable, and endlessly patient with the often detail-laden nature of faculty needs. She is always prompt in her responses to my queries, and she comes up with creative solutions to my challenges. Multiple times to help students navigate some complexity of Moodle. We need such support in these anxious times!
-Charlene Makley, Elizabeth C. Ducey Professor of Anthropology
Shout-out to Maddie Willon, Assistant Director of Disability and Accessibility Resources
Maddie has been a total rockstar over the past couple of months. While I have been out on leave, she has used her wisdom and expertise to guide our department and ensure the integrity of Reed's student accommodation process. Thank you, Maddie!
-Jess Gibson, Director of Disability and Accessibility Resources
Shout-out to Steve Abrahão, Associate Dean for Academic Life
Since joining our cluster, Steve has prioritized fostering connection and support amongst our team members. Through regular gatherings, supportive chat messages, shout-outs, and hilarious memes, he has helped to cultivate a culture of compassion, fun, and appreciation. The impact has been palpable!
-Jess Gibson, Director of Disability and Accessibility Resources
Shout-out to Maddie Willon, Assistant Director of Disability and Accessibility Resources
Maddie has done a phenomenal job at supporting students with their accommodation processes, especially while Jess has been out. I have gotten to work closely with Maddie on several cases and she did a great job in managing expectations, navigating conversations with students and parents, and ensuring that impacted offices received the appropriate information. She has been great to work with!
-Vanessa Guerrero, Director of Residence Life for Housing
Shout-out to Amaan Mohiuddin, Quantitative Skills Specialist and Tutor Program Coordinator
Amaan has been going above and beyond to improve the effectiveness of the Academic Support office. This semester alone, he's improved the way we're gathering data on drop-in tutoring, automated two of our time-intensive processes, and redesigned out of date resource materials for students. I'm grateful for the knowledge and skills he's investing in our work and students!
-Christy Martin, Academic Support Services
Shout-out to Maddie Willon, Assistant Director of Disability and Accessibility Resources
I would like to give a shout-out to Maddie for her excellent job filling in for the DAR director while she was on leave. Maddie embraced the additional responsibilities with dedication and hard work, making it seem like a breeze.
-Josiane Quitta, DSS Accommodations Coordinator
Shout-out to Vanessa Guerrero, Director of Residence Life for Housing
I have been continually impressed by how Vanessa takes nearly every challenge in stride and still finds time to have fun. I have appreciated her firm yet compassionate leadership over our team :)
-Destinee Nelons, Residence Life Area Coordinator
Shout-out to Maddie Willon, Assistant Director of Disability and Accessibility Resources
Maddie has been a key player keeping the DAR office afloat in the temporary absence of Jess Gibson. Maddie is knowledgable, grounded, empathetic, and consistent. She's willing to have uncomfortable conversations for the sake of doing her job well. I'm inspired by and so grateful for Maddie!!!
-Christy Martin, Director of Academic Support Services
November 2023
Shout-out to Terry Hamamura, Maintenance Specialist, Painter
In our most recent leaky office situation, Terry worked quickly to fix our leak and to do it while causing the least disruption. Terry is always thoughtful and checks in often to be sure that we know what to expect. Thank you so much for your great work, Terry!
-Cypress Williams, Assistant Director of Human Resources
Deniz has been doing amazing work cultivating and leading the new Advancement Communications team. She is passionate and collaborative, and has a wealth of higher education communications knowledge. Thank you, Deniz!
Shout-Out to L'Keisha Riley, Johanna Workman, Anne Kimberly, Elizabeth Knight, Melanie Evans, Katie Occhipinti, and Rachel Neuendorf, Health and Counseling Services
My team of coworkers L'Keisha, Johanna, Anne, Elizabeth, Mel, Katie and Rachel all wore capes for super hero day. They really get me and I appreciate their enthusiasm.
Excellence awards
Once a year, staff may nominate a colleague for any aspect of excellence in one or more of these areas: leadership, change and innovation, or behind-the-scenes excellence. Excellence awards listed here will include the winners from the past five years.
2023
Eric Alwine, Library Reserves Specialist
April Sams, Director of Risk Management and Environmental Health and Safety
2022
Lyn-Mara Eggleston, Assistant to the Librarian
Jolina Kwong Caputo, Associate to the Dean of the Faculty
Jenni Leatham, Staff Counselor
2019
Bryan Kelly, Custodial Shift Supervisor
Jessika Chi, Assistant Dean for Institutional Diversity
Katrina Tanner, Assistant Director of HR
Ray Krebs, Custodian