Thank You to These Community Members

The following MIT community members have been recognized for going the extra mile. Thank someone today.
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Jack Umenberger

Jack goes out of his way to make everyone feel included. He has a great can-do attitude and seems ready for any challenge. His positivity and inquisitive nature is a great asset to CSAIL and MIT.
Gretchen Jones, Schwarzman School of Computing

Kim Haberlin

Kim is simply awesome--thoughtful, hard-working, supportive, talented, and selfless--and I am grateful for her good colleagueship every day.
Matthew Bauer, Division of Student Life

Cory Ventre-Pake, Nazli Ece Usta, Dave Ludgin, Saket Adhikarla

I cannot imagine a group of teaching assistants more capable of turning Covid lemons in to lemonade than you four are. You have taught me how to be better at presenting, more creative in how I do it, and how to keep it all fun. I am learning by your examples what is possible in this new world, and how to use "old world" stuff better, too. You are doing all of this while working on your theses, which just makes me feel lazy. Keep up the good work!
Andy MacInnis, Integrated Design and Management

Matt Kressy, Tony Hu, Shauna Bush-Fenty, Grace Agosto

As my colleagues at IDM, I have seen you step up your game to an amazing level during this Zoom Epoch. You have made me a better teacher, better manager of time, and I've become more pro-active by your examples. Thanks for making my work life the best one I could imagine.
Andy MacInnis, Integrated Design and Management

President Rafael Reif's writing staff

I would love to thank President Reif's writing staff for always bringing their 'A' game. I was especially moved by the President's recent email - Inviting You to MIT Reflects (3/5/2021). This sentence is particularly beautiful and expressive:

"Paradoxically – and to an extent we might never have achieved in the times “before” – the same force that barricades us from being together invites us into radical empathy."

President Reif's first and second emails to the MIT Community regarding the Epstein crisis were also examples of extraordinary writing. While nothing could erase the pain of the Epstein situation, these emails had a simplicity and self-expressive honesty that seemed unprecedented in professional communication. I remember thinking that I've never seen better writing.

I don't know who President Reif's primary writer or writing team is. Could you kindly help me to let them know they're appreciated?
Jay Matthews, Office of Vice Chancellor

Arthur Grau

Every day for the past year, Arthur Grau has offered a brief yet powerful break in our day online @ at250.mit.edu - a restful, silent, and mindful place to renew and feel a connection with others across the Institute. He opens the space, creates a sense of peace and welcome, and models how to make a tremendous difference just by meditating for 10 minutes. I am awed by his dedication, inspired by his practice, and have benefited from his generosity. Thank you, Arthur!
Chris Karam, Office of the President and EVPT

Kristin Gillis

Kristin keeps the whole Executive Education department upbeat and motivated. On top of her heavy workload, she goes out of her way to add positive perspectives and fun. During this very strange time in the world, we are so lucky to have a coworker like Kristin to make every day feel special.
Lauren Moquin, Sloan School of Management

Anne Slinn

Anne virtually (in both senses of the word) set up my home office! We were on the phone for more than 2 hours and the clarity of her instructions still impresses me. I was not the only person she helped. Anne spent hours helping people -- I don't think she slept for weeks. And then there was her patience which still resonates. Thank you, Anne!
geraldine mcgowan, School of Science

Karen Fosher

She was available, helpful and knowledgeable and an aid to getting through the pandemic "work from home situation" with less stress than I thought possible. Thank you, Karen!
geraldine mcgowan, School of Science

Lee Marston

Lee has been working with us in Disability and Access Services to provide enlarged copies of notes to a visually impaired student enrolled in a Mechanical Engineering course. He has been responsive, communicative and goes beyond expectations to get the work done and deliver the notes to the student's dormitory. Thank you so much, Lee, for your help with this!
Kathy Cahill, Division of Student Life

Sheryl Barnes

Sheryl Barnes worked day and night to successfully transition academic operations to completely online. She maintained a great sense of humor, she was willing to help assist, or contribute to all aspects of the endeavor, big or small.
Molly Ruggles, ed tech consultant

Justin Kehoe

In addition to his stellar acquisitions work, Justin keeps our department on an even keel, working with other departments to keep workflows and processes as efficient and transparent as possible. Not to mention keeping us all sane and focused during long Zoom meetings! Thanks, Justin, for your consistent attention both to the big bothersome tasks and the little ephemeral things, all of which make our work lives better.
Susan Buckley, MIT Libraries and MIT Press

Mary Mahoney

Mary is key to the success of our center. For every person - from day 1 with MIT CTL - she is there to ensure we have everything we need to do our work. She has her hand it every part of the operations of our center and makes sure it gets done. Day in and day out, she has an unrelenting commitment to make our office successful, productive, and compliant within the MIT ecosystem. She is a staff advocate and makes sure that we are able to do the work we need to do by making everything else easy. I am never ceased to be amazing with all that she has ongoing, and how she does it all.
Alexis Bateman, Center For Transportation and Logistics

Maria Nargi

Maria is the Senior Financial Assistant at Dept of EECS. Without her generous and timely help approving reimbursements and purchase requests, all of our student-care initiatives and remote social events for EECS grad students won't be possible. Her dedicated efforts and patient guidance enabled us, the Graduate Student Association (GSA) at EECS, to give away 400+ quarantine gifts to our grad students (e.g., sunrise alarm clock, ring light for Zoom calls), each of which is a purchase request submitted by students she needs to verify and approve. She also made it possible for us to efficiently reimburse student's food for virtual coffee hour and improv game nights, which bring the students together in this isolated and challenging time.
Zhutian Yang, School of Engineering

Gretchen Jones

Gretchen has been spectacular as fiscal officer for our CSAIL research project. She is always available and ready to do extra work in financial analysis and advice during these confusing pandemic times. Gretchen is truly a credit to CSAIL and to MIT.
Hal Abelson, Schwarzman School of Computing

Ollie Gelmont

Ollie Gelmont is the most incredible building manager (for W98) one could ever hope for. He cheerfully provides assistance whenever staff need something from the building. While most of us are working remotely, he has taken care of watering all of our plants and periodically sends photos so that we know that they are doing well under his nurturing care. He also sends photos of the building and surrounding area to help us all feel connected. His cheerful attitude and his thoughtful attention to anything and everything has certainly been a beacon in this storm.
Bonny Kellermann, Alumni Association and Resource Development

Robyn Goodner

Robyn Goodner has been a true North Star through the past twelve months. She is incredibly talented and skilled but she also has empathy, all of which she so readily shares with students and colleagues alike. I lost my daughter this past year, and Robyn shed her light so generously as I was learning to navigate the dark tunnels of grief. I am incredibly thankful for her.
Saana McDaniel, School of Engineering

Leslie Kolodziejski

Thanks to Leslie's tireless efforts, five graduate degree programs in the School of Engineering greatly benefit from the Sloan-MIT University Center for Exemplary Mentoring (UCEM). Leslie goes above and beyond to nurture each UCEM scholar, to help faculty enhance their mentoring abilities, and to foster a supportive community across MIT graduate programs.
(https://ucem.mit.edu)
Julie Greenberg, School of Engineering

The MVP team, in particular Barry, Kevin, Rod, and Clayton

The MVP team has been critical in helping us reach and connect alumni and students since March 2021. Each and every one of them is patient, thoughtful, and excellent at making alumni, students, and staff feel comfortable with webcasts. One of the silver linings of the pandemic has been working with MVP and we're all really grateful for the chance to partner with them!
The MITAA Student/Alumni Relations and Parents Association Team, Alumni Association and Resource Development

Jillian Rabelo

I greatly appreciate that Jillian helped with my onboarding and training. It was challenging to start a new position while working remotely. She had a detailed training plan with daily meetings and zoom training sessions. This was very helpful and generous of her time. She was very welcoming and kind.
Rhonda Dragon, School of Engineering

Angela Mickunas

Angela helped the IMES team during a transition period. Her sponsored research experience was a tremendous help during this time. She was especially helpful with implementing a new projection tool. She is appreciated for her hard work and dedication to the team.
Rhonda Dragon, School of Engineering

Tim Finase

Tim Finase is a phenomenal manager all around! He has provided the Customer Support Team with incredible support and leadership through many changes this year. He goes above and beyond to understand the needs of each member of our small team so he can set each of us up for success. This has helped us all not only succeed as a team at work but has also helped us maintain our work/life balance through this difficult time. Thank you, Tim!
Liz Breda, MIT Open Learning

Eboney Hearn

Eboney is a phenomenal colleague, a fantastic thought partner, and all-around wonderful. She is always willing to lend a hand or advice, and it is clear how important MIT and are students are to her!
Danielle Reddy, Alumni Association and Resource Development

Katha Washburn

Katha, thank you for making our work feel as important to you as it is to us. Thank you for working to make yourself a part of the team, and for being creative and passionate about our students and alumni!
Danielle Reddy, Alumni Association and Resource Development

Kate Hassey

Thank you for your great work across our digital marketing program, especially Giving Tuesday and the 24-Hour Challenge. Your leadership is valued and appreciated to ensure our events are successful and run smoothly.
Lance Covert, Alumni Association and Resource Development

Kim Warner

Thank you, Kim, for your patience and your knowledge in keeping us organized and in line with our budgets! I am grateful for you!
Danielle Reddy, Alumni Association and Resource Development

Sean Widlake

Thank you, Sean for the patience, cheer, and thoughtfulness you bring to your work each and every day!
Danielle Reddy, Alumni Association and Resource Development

Ashley Mac

Thank you for your great project management and support over this past year conducting our direct marketing program which tends to have its own separate challenges with the pandemic and our vendor relationships. Your diligence is valued immensely.
Lance Covert, Alumni Association and Resource Development

Mariah Mullen

I can’t thank you enough for your patience with our calling program being on pause, helping us navigate our start-up of the program this spring, and jumping into other projects within the Annual Fund over this past year.
Lance Covert, Alumni Association and Resource Development

Sean Riley

Thanks for all your help, Sean partnering with me on all of our Annual Fund projects and leading us through our online presence and supporting the whole marketing team.
Lance Covert, Alumni Association and Resource Development
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