The following MIT community members have been recognized for going the extra mile. Thank someone today.
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Karen Rennell
We manage a group of 23 people which is a lot in easy times, quite stressful in trying times. Karen has been such a support, cheerleader, motivator. It's all anyone could ask for. She only helps, does not ask for anything. She deserves all the respect and thanks we can give.
Janis Burke , Department of Facilities
Colleen Leslie and Carol Wood
Colleen and Carol have both been tireless in their gathering of information and conveying it to the RAS office in purely factual, simple terms, devoid of panic or worry. Being the voice of reason isn't easy to do no matter what the circumstances. Always making sure their staff is accommodated for effective work-from-home, the sudden shift from being in the office to working remotely has been seamless. Their urging of constant interaction and check-ins has helped what could be potentially isolating just another way of getting work done. So, thank you.
Ian , Research Adminsitration Services
The Boyer Lab
Thank you all Boyer lab members for your tremendous teamwork and first rate response to the COVID-19 situation and for putting others first!
Laurie Boyer, Biology
Karen Yegian, AO DUSP
Karen Yegian is the most creative, thoughtful, clever, reassuring financial and organizational manager in the School of Architecture and Planning. When others say no, Karen finds a way. When someone is at their wit's end, Karen brings them back from the abyss edge. When a proposal is made that seems impossible to fund, somehow she always finds a way to make it happen. Along with her amazing talents as a money manager, Karen also is the sweetest, most self-effacing leader, always ducking behind a barrier to avoid receipt of a complement. DUSP is a better place because of her endless enthusiasm, unassailable professionalism, and dogged determination to make things succeed. When students and visitors had to clear out of the department and grad housing, she did her best to take care of everyone. We are so lucky to have her as our leader.
Amy Glasmeier, DUSP
Chris Lesswing, Sloan Technology Services
I had an issue logging into my laptop coming back from maternity leave, and Chris from Sloan Technology Services went above and beyond, spending close to an hour trying to find a workaround to avoid me having to get onto the network while physically on campus. He then gave me his cell phone number and made sure I had access to everything I needed even as I called him, panicked, on the Sunday night before my remote return. It was great to get to know more about Chris and his family, and it is thanks to him that I had a smooth return to work this morning! Thank you, Chris!
Leah Ofsevit, Office of External Relations, Sloan School of Management
IS&T
Thanks to IS&T team for making working from home possible, and everyone else who has to go to campus to keep things running.
Eugene Knyazev, LIGO Lab
Elaine Mello
Elaine is INCREDIBLE. She has long facilitated distance learning at MIT and continues to wear many complicated hats. She has facilitated the "auto" video capture of many MIT courses and continues to do so in spite of the current situation, to a degree that you almost wouldn't realize anything had changed. She also edits video (a term which here means she MacGyvers a plethora of technical challenges, such as mixed aspect ratios). And she does all of this with a remarkable pleasantness. THANK YOU, ELAINE!
Brett Paci, MIT OpenCourseWare
Our wonderful dining staff, house custodians, security and night watch team
You are the ones who keep our students safe, keep our spaces clean and beautiful, and feed our community - always with a warm smile on your face! You are the true heroes every day. Thank you for all that you do for us!
Suzy Nelson, DSL
Gus Burkett and Anthony Grant, our DAPER partners and CAC, Chaplains, and Diversity and Community Involvement team
Gus and Anthony responded to this crisis with quick action, starting up online opportunities for physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing as we moved to a virtual environment. We are grateful for their efforts, and appreciate the ways to stay connected, stay healthy, and stay well.
Suzy, DSL
Peter Cummings, Liz Green, Jon Carlson and all in Administration and Operations at DSL
Peter, Liz and Jon and their entire team have worked behind the scenes to make sure we consider payment to our campus partners, and we manage business continuity and staff development. They are a remarkable group and we are grateful for their many efforts!
Suzy, DSL
Matthew Bauer, Kim Haberlin, Stephanie Tran, and our communications partners
This is an amazing group of people who write quickly, keep us on track, and help get out important information for our students and other members of the community. They work around the clock and are always there when we need them. THANK YOU!!
Suzy , DSL
Michel Goemans
Michel has been a fantastic leader in this time of crisis. From the very beginning he has helped the whole math community with compassion and efficiency. Using his own account to make the order arrive faster, he even bought a large number of tablets for our TAs to facilitate their virtual teaching. Thanks Michel!
Gigliola Staffilani, Mathematics
Mark Hayes and Heather Ryall, Bon Appetit, Naomi Carton, and our dining partners and our wonderful dining hall staff
Mark, Heather, Naomi Bon Appetit, and our dining partners have been remarkable in this time. Standing up a new "no-cost bridge dining program" for our undergraduates living in emergency housing, setting up pantries on campus and opening our at-cost store in Flowers. Well done and thank you!
Suzy Nelson, DSL
Judy Robinson and the entire Residential Education Team, our Heads of House and House Teams
Judy has been an exceptional leader in this difficult time, meeting regularly with our house teams, our student leaders, and the entire Residential Education group as well as many of our partners, working to manage this pandemic and our move-out process. Thank you for all that you do!
Suzy Nelson, DSL
MIT Sloan Administration
Thank you to Dean Schmittlein and everyone in the Deans' Office, to all of our managers, Sloan Technology Services, and everyone else at Sloan who has stepped up to guide us with wisdom and compassion through this surreal chapter. Your communication has been timely and open, and we feel supported in every way. Special thanks to Action Learning Director Urmi Samadar, who's worked tirelessly to facilitate the massive adjustments required of Action Learning students, faculty and staff. We could not ask for a better leader! #onemit #onesloan
Laura Koller, MIT Sloan Action Learning
David Randall, Kate McCarthy, Jimmy Doane, Jag Patel, CARE Team, SFS,S3 and Blanche Staton, Surayia Baluch, OVC and OGE friends
This team is ever steady and compassionate, even in the face of a crisis such as this. This group reviewed 700 undergraduate student petitions to remain in emergency housing (in two days), and also reviewed around 1800 graduate student forms in three days to learn who was remaining in graduate housing. They have responded with care to countless requests for support and comfort. They are truly remarkable!
Suzy Nelson, DSL
David Friedrich, Dennis Collins, Rich Hilton, Tasha Coppett, Sean Durst, Milo & Housing Managers, and the entire HRS enterprise!
This amazing group of people has moved out almost 5,000 people in 10 days or less, they have turned over our buildings and prepared them for emergency housing, and checked in around 200 undergrads to emergency housing. They are simply the most remarkable staff I have EVER worked with. I am so grateful and so impressed with this team!
Suzy Nelson, DSL
Mechanical Engineering IT group
This compact team has had a huge impact on MechE's ability to work from home on short notice. Not only have I witnessed them put in long hours and respond to every request for help promptly, they continue to maintain their usual level of kindness, humor, and cheer. Thank you so much Peter, Adam, Norlan, and Emerson!
Ariel Ackermann, Mechanical Engineering
David Capodilupo and Tara Waller
Both have gone out of their way to be helpful. Volunteering and providing important information.
Alan F. White, Sloan
Ollie Gelmont
Ollie is Resource Development's Operations Assistant. He has been in W98 each day providing building oversight and handling mail and deliveries with special attention to any mail addressed to the Recording Secretary's Office and Alumni Records. He has gone above and beyond, tending to our plants, cleaning out refrigerators, and sending us photos of our building and uplifting and funny messages to help make working from home more familiar.
Dawn Adelson, Office of Leadership Giving, Resource Development
Ramesh Raskar, Lisa Breede
These people have been a tremendous support, helping me out in this difficult situation, in ways I could not imagine. Prioritizing employee's health over everything else is something the MIT community is teaching us today. Proud to be a part of such an organization!
Lagnojita, Media Lab
DMSE Headquarters
The DMSE Headquarters team has been working tirelessly and with much good cheer to make our department functional online and to keep our spirits up! Thank you so much, we are very lucky to work with you.
Pamela Slavsky, DMSE
Rob Bessell
I want to thank Rob for mobilizing our group 72 team of planners so quickly. Over a two day period he updated and deployed laptops to allow the entire team to work remotely and his support has been outstanding. We appreciate his help, especially since he was dealing with a flood of such requests.
Louise Dows, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Fabrication Engineering Planning Supervisor
VPF's Strategic Sourcing and Contracts team
To the entire Strategic Sourcing and Contracts team at VPF who have worked quietly, behind the scenes, yet tirelessly and with dedication, to secure critically needed supplies and services for the entire Institute during this difficult and strange time. From contracts for IT solutions like Zoom and Slack, to assisting students with travel challenges, and securing urgently needed medical and personal protection equipment - the list goes on. Your dedication and support for the work of MIT allows the institute to continue fulfilling its mission. THANK YOU!
Christina Lo, VPF
Williams Adams
I support 4 groups at RLE and have three offices. A year ago with the help of RLE-IT we set up one of my computers in bldg 26 so I could connect remotely from my Mac. In order to have a back-up plan I wanted to enable another PC (in bldg 36) and this required getting a static IP address. I got that and thought everything was good until I got an error message on this second machine about my certificate. Bill's help was prompt - he phoned me at home, logged onto my computer which was remotely connected and saw to it that everything was in order. And he did this all remotely from his home on a day that was supposed to be a vacation day for him. He went above and beyond!!!
Dianne Lior, RLE
Myriam Joseph
Myriam's energy and positive outlook have been instrumental in keeping spirits high. She reaches out with a video call nearly every day that she can. She has done everything in her power to normalize the current situation, despite having overwhelming responsibilities and 5 children at home. I feel completely supported during this unprecedented time. Thank you Myriam!
Courtney Burt, MIT Professional Education
David Elwell
Since the first email went out to the students and MIT community, David Elwell has been working around the clock printing documents and mailing out letters (express mail) while answering questions, both in person and online as well as on the phone. Meeting after meeting, two hundred students later, everyone in the office is exhausted with nothing left to give, but David is still going strong, helping students and staff at all hours of the night, getting everyone all of the latest information from the government for the Office of the General Council and for the international students. Thank you David for all your hard work.
Antoinette Browne, International students office
Michel Goemans
Thank you, Michel, as Department Head, for keeping us all informed, keeping the community alive through virtual teas and lunches, and keeping your sense of humor! While at the same time calmly handling thousands of individual requests and problems.
Haynes Miller, Mathematics
MIT Police
Thank you MIT Police for keeping our campus safe in these troubled times. When many people can work from home, you still have to work in person, and with an empty campus, your work to keep the campus safe and secure has become more challenging, not less. Thank you for showing up for us every day, and thank you to MIT Police leadership for continuing to provide guidance and a feeling of safety and security during this crazy time.
The entire MIT community
Jackie Sherry
Jackie, the occupational health NP on site at MIT Medical, has by far taken this challenge with huge responsibility to get her staff and the MIT community ready for Covid-19. She is incredible.
Allie Sherwood , MIT Medical