Russell is President’s Employee of the Year

President Benson, Employee of the Year Erin Russell and Nancy Sicalides-Tucker, chair of System Staff Council. (Photo: Cathy Beuten/University of Colorado)

Erin Russell, Employee Learning and Development program manager in Employee Services, is winner of the President’s Employee of the Year Award. The honor, which includes a $1,000 award, was celebrated Tuesday at a reception at 1800 Grant St.

System Staff Council hosted the event, which also recognized other nominees for the annual honor and acknowledged milestone years of service reached by other CU system employees.

In multiple nomination letters, Russell’s colleagues commended her:

• “In addition to always being professional, Erin finds creative ways to communicate beyond email.”
• “Erin is the rock that allows me to successfully manage the growing opportunities that come our way. She anticipates what I need to get our work accomplished and proactively supports the team.”
• “Erin is the collaborative worker you want on your project team.”

System Staff Council also announced two other nominees for the President’s Employee of the Year Award:

John Gargaro, CU Health Plan Administration – “John’s uncanny, insightful, and intuitive talents have earned him complete trust by his coworkers and all who interact with him. What puts John above the rest is his sincere willingness to do what it takes to help our staff, team and the department be successful.”

Michele McKinney, University Relations – “Michele is a team player who works with a variety of people inside and outside the organization to get things done. She excels at follow-through, turning ideas into reality and opportunities into assets.”

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Employees recognized for their years of service to CU:

25 years:

• Maria Buerman

20 years:

• Scott Dunn
• Alexis Kelly
• Cheryl Kisling
• Terry Pew
• Dean Rossi

15 years:

• Yuki Busch
• Debbie Chapman
• Jim Dillon
• Carolyn Donadio
• Betty Heimansohn
• Tanya Kelly-Bowry
• Lan Nguyen
• Karen O’Dell
• Phyllis Oldham
• Normandy Roden
• Mark Stanker
• Keller Young

10 years:

• Cordelia Angel
• Brad Baker
• Christine Bauder
• Cathy Beuten
• Travis Chillemi
• Alicia Dandeneau
• Molly Doyle
• Karyn Hardy
• Heather Hoyer
• Kathy Liljenberg
• Jan Lund
• Mary Martin
• Carolyn Proctor
• Demetria Ross
• David Sprenger
• Gena Trujillo
• Jenny Willits
• Ken Witt
• Kendra Zafiratos

Five years:

• Peter Bowers
• Elizabeth Bradford
• Frances Chapman
• Rosemary Contreras
• Ricky Espinoza
• Jane King
• Patrick Kramer
• Jacob Malson
• Wendy Meyer
• Shaniece Owens
• Pravija Prabhakaran
• Chris Rose
• Erin Russell
• Todd Saliman
• Paul Tabor
• Kris Truesdale
• Duane Tucker
• Lisa Vallad
• Maggie Wilensky