University of Wisconsin–Madison
UW–‍Madison gold medal on a background of campus.

UW–‍Madison IT Recognition Awards

The IT Recognition Awards honor information technology professionals at UW–‍Madison who excel at their work and strengthen our community.

Nominations open each spring semester (typically in March or April). Honorees are nominated by their peers and selected by a committee of volunteers from the distributed IT community. The university honors IT Recognition Award winners during the IT Professionals Conference in the summer.

An annual tradition since 2020, the awards are part of the UW IT Connects initiative and sponsored by the Office of the Chief Information Officer.

On this page

2025 honorees

A group of approximately 20 professional colleagues pose together outdoors, with several holding red-framed certificates or awards, and a lake visible in the background.
2025 IT Recognition Awards honorees. (Photo by Bill Bellon / Space Science and Engineering Center)

Congratulations to the 2025 IT Recognition Award winners! The 6th annual awards were presented on May 29, 2025, at the Pyle Center on the UW–‍Madison campus as part of the IT Professionals Conference.

Watch the 2025 IT Recognition Awards ceremony video with audio descriptions.

Portrait of Mary Evansen

Mary Evansen

Director
DoIT Communications
Division of Information Technology
Lifetime Achievement Award

Portrait of Lisa Jansen

Lisa Jansen

IT Director
Media, Education Resources & Information Technology (MERIT)
School of Education
Lifetime Achievement Award

Portrait of Jackson Kestner

Jackson Kestner

Information Security Officer
School of Education
Rising Star Award

Portrait of José Medina-González

José Medina-González

Departmental Assistant
Internal Operations
Division of Information Technology
Janet E. Plato Award for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Portrait of Jim Porter

Jim Porter

Technical Integration Engineer III
Institute on Aging
School of Medicine and Public Health

Unsung Hero Award

Portrait of Todd Shechter

Todd Shechter

Chief Technology Officer
Division of Information Technology
Organizational Impact Award

Portrait of Garrett Smith

Garrett Smith

Software Developer
Teaching & Research Application Development (TRAD)
Division of Information Technology
Unsung Hero Award

Portrait of Ella Tschopik

Ella Tschopik

IT Help Desk Supervisor
Media, Education Resources & Information Technology (MERIT)
School of Education
Ellen La Luzerne Award for Community Engagement

Portrait of Weizhong Wang

Weizhong Wang

Software Engineer/Developer
Web Platforms & Services
Division of Information Technology
Transformational Achievement Award

Eight people pose for a group photo outdoors
Members of the DoIT Active Directory Migrations Project Team. Back row from left: Ben Pommerening, Crague Cook, Tiffany Thayer, Abrianna Barca, Joe Tarter. Front row from left: Richie Markiewicz, Max Yang, Tomomi Imamura. (Photo by Bill Bellon / Space Science and Engineering Center)

Active Directory Migrations Project Team

Division of Information Technology

Team members: Abrianna Barca, Tony Brzoskowski, Alison Caffrey, Crague Cook, Tomomi Imamura, Richie Markiewicz, Ben Pommerening, Joe Tarter, Tiffany Thayer, Max Yang

Team Achievement Award

About the awards

We work with excellent people who do awesome things. The IT Recognition Awards acknowledge and appreciate our UW–‍Madison information technology colleagues for their amazingness.

Below are the award categories and descriptions for the annual IT Recognition Awards. Visit our guide to writing an effective IT recognition award nomination for more details, including the scoring rubric the awards committee uses to determine the honorees.

Ellen La Luzerne Community Builder Award

This award recognizes an IT professional or initiative that excels in bringing people together through active volunteerism and professional service to the broader IT community.

Janet E. Plato Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award

This award recognizes and celebrates the exemplary leadership displayed by an IT staff member in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community.

Lifetime Achievement Award

This award recognizes the continued contributions of a community member whose body of work throughout their career has significantly impacted the success of the university. Emeritus and retired staff are eligible for this award.

Rising Star Award

This award recognizes a rising IT community member whose record reflects ongoing and exceptional growth in contribution to the profession.

Team Achievement Award

This award recognizes a single team of IT community members whose collective teamwork in creating or incorporating an information—or technical-based solution on one or more projects has significantly impacted the university.

Transformational Achievement Award

This award recognizes an IT community member who made a significant impact in transforming the university through their efforts on a specific major IT project or initiative beyond community events. The Transformational Achievement Award differs from other awards in that it is to recognize a specific initiative, project, or service where creating or incorporating an information or technical solution was essential to success.

Unsung Hero

This award recognizes a member of the IT community who is responsive and proactive, making a real difference to their co-workers by designing or implementing excellent technical solutions. Yet their contributions may be overlooked or receive little formal recognition.

Past honorees