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Presidential Employee Excellence Recognition Program 2023 Honorees

Rutgers Gateway Award (Service to Students)

INDIVIDUAL HONOREE
Sasha Taner
Program Director and Research Coordinator
Rutgers University–New Brunswick
Institute for Women’s Leadership

TEAM HONOREE
Douglass College Advancing Women in Computer Science
Rutgers University–New Brunswick
Lydia Prendergast
Uli Kremer
Ana Paula Centeno
Margaret Cozzens
David Pennock
Sangya S. Varma
Hayet Bensetti-Benbader

Rutgers Gateway Award (Service to Employees)

INDIVIDUAL HONOREE
Keith P. Lewis
Professor and Chair
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine
Rutgers Health

TEAM HONOREE
OIT Enterprise Service Delivery
Service Management Office and Platform team
Universitywide/Central Administration
Vladimir Gabrielescu
Leonard Ambos
Victor Brusca
Rae Clarke
Patrick Cotter
Bryan Loniewski
Gabriel Szabo
Peter Wright
Deborah McDaniel
Bharat Desai
Christopher Hart-Ruiz
Naj Junaid
Jiancy Moreno-Lassalle
Mrunal Nawathe
Brett Smilen
Michele Williams

Rutgers University Spirit Award

INDIVIDUAL HONOREE
Rena Gitlitz
Senior Director of Community-Based Services
Rutgers Health
Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care

TEAM HONOREE
Rutgers University–Camden Driving Change Community
Camden College of Arts and Sciences
Rutgers University–Camden
Aditya Birla
Naima Hall
Amy Savage
Bailey Blessing
Carla Villacis
Carly Hart
Emily Wood
Sunil Shende
Haydee Herrera-Guzman
Jeannie Garmon
Jennifer Oberle
Jesse Sandberg
Julianne Griepenburg
Julie Roncinske
Kate Blair
Kimberlee Moran
Nathan Fried
Kwangwon Lee
Kylie Jenkins
Suneeta Ramaswami

Rutgers Outstanding Service Award

INDIVIDUAL HONOREE
JoAnn Arnholt
Director, Fraternity and Sorority Affairs 
Rutgers University–New Brunswick 

TEAM HONOREE
Rutgers Legal Clinics Faculty and Staff  
Rutgers Law School
Rutgers University–Newark and Rutgers University–Camden  
Meredith Schalick
Sandra Simkins
Victoria Chase
Denise Higgins
Ashley Maddison
Karma Williams
Caryn Schreiber
Taylor De La Peña
Elizabeth Yaeger
Joanne Gottesman
Nyssa Taylor
Jason Hernandez
Mary Hewey
Traci Overton
Ruth Anne Robbins
Arthur Laby
Tara Pellicori
Angelica Latorre Aguirre
Lidia Catoe
Anju Gupta
Randi Mandelbaum
Ashley Cruz
Cosette Douglas
Jared Flannery
Ariela Herzog
Cristi Privado
Tomica Saul
Charles I. Auffant
Ronald K. Chen
Laura Cohen
Elana Wilf
Jon Dubin
Esther Canty-Barnes
Jennifer Rosen Valverde
Douglas S. Eakeley
Theodore Weitz
Sandy Freund
Greg Baltz
Kathryn Sabbeth
Leena Khandwala
Pina Cirillo
Irma Calderon
Shayna Scott
Sylvia Santos
John R. Kettle III
Penny Venetis
Jenise Ly
Diane Martinez

Pride of Rutgers Award

INDIVIDUAL HONOREE
Mohini Mukherjee
Executive Director of International Student Services
Rutgers University–New Brunswick
Rutgers Global–International Student and Scholar Services

TEAM HONOREE
Rutgers Law School Newark Center for Career Development
Rutgers University–Newark
Elizabeth Acevedo
Wendi Taylor
Stephanie Gomez
LaTasha Onugha

Learn more about the honorees

These individuals and teams were recognized for their service to students and employees, for their role in cultivating a beloved community, for making a lasting difference beyond the university’s borders, and for excellence in their work.

Read the Rutgers Today story.