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