2025 honorees
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.
Mary Evansen
- Title:
- Director
- Department:
- DoIT Communications
- Division:
- Division of Information Technology
- Award:
- Lifetime Achievement Award
José Medina-González
- Title:
- Departmental Assistant
- Department:
- Internal Operations
- Division:
- Division of Information Technology
- Award:
- Janet E. Plato Award for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Garrett Smith
- Title:
- Software Developer
- Department:
- Teaching & Research Application Development (TRAD)
- Division:
- Division of Information Technology
- Award:
- Unsung Hero Award
Lisa Jansen
- Title:
- IT Director
- Department:
- Media, Education Resources & Information Technology (MERIT)
- Division:
- School of Education
- Award:
- Lifetime Achievement Award
Jim Porter
- Title:
- Technical Integration Engineer III
- Department:
- Institute on Aging
- Division:
- School of Medicine and Public Health
- Award:
- Unsung Hero Award
Ella Tschopik
- Title:
- IT Help Desk Supervisor
- Department:
- Media, Education Resources & Information Technology (MERIT)
- Division:
- School of Education
- Award:
- Ellen La Luzerne Award for Community Engagement
Jackson Kestner
- Title:
- Information Security Officer
- Department:
- Media, Education Resources & Information Technology (MERIT)
- Division:
- School of Education
- Award:
- Rising Star Award
Todd Shechter
- Title:
- Chief Technology Officer
- Division:
- Division of Information Technology
- Award:
- Organizational Impact Award
Weizhong Wang
- Title:
- Software Engineer/Developer
- Department:
- Web Platforms & Services
- Division:
- Division of Information Technology
- Award:
- Transformational Achievement Award
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.
Rising Star Award
This award recognizes a rising IT community member whose record reflects ongoing and exceptional growth in contribution to the profession.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Past honorees
- Ellen La Luzerne Award for Community Engagement
- Ella Tschopik
Media, Education Resources & Information Technology (MERIT), School of Education - Janet E. Plato Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
- José Medina-González
User Services, Division of Information Technology - Lifetime Achievement Award
- Lisa Jansen
Media, Education Resources & Information Technology (MERIT), School of Education - Lifetime Achievement Award
- Mary Evansen
Communications, Division of Information Technology - Rising Star Award
- Jackson Kestner
Media, Education Resources & Information Technology, School of Education - Team Achievement Award
- Active Directory Migrations Project Team
(Abrianna Barca, Tony Brzoskowski, Alison Caffrey, Crague Cook, Tomomi Imamura, Richie Markiewicz, Ben Pommerening, Joe Tarter, Tiffany Thayer, Max Yang)
Division of Information Technology - Transformational Achievement Award
- Weizhong Wang
Application Infrastructure Services, Division of Information Technology - Unsung Hero
- Garrett Smith
Teaching & Research Application Development (TRAD), Division of Information Technology - Unsung Hero
- Jim Porter
Institute on Aging, School of Medicine and Public Health
Congratulations to the 2024 IT Recognition Award Winners! The 5th annual awards were presented on May 30, 2024, as part of the IT Professionals Conference. Check back later for more information about this year’s honorees and to watch the awards ceremony.
- Ellen La Luzerne Award for Community Engagement
- Mehrnaz Ahmadi Joobaneh
Data, Academic Planning and Institutional Research - Janet E. Plato Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
- Rob Kohlhepp
College of Engineering – Computer-Aided Engineering - Lifetime Achievement Award
- Greg Johll
Division of Extension — Educational Tech Support - Rising Star Award
- Amy Diestler
School of Medicine and Public Health - Team Achievement Award
- Hybrid Meeting Room Team
(Brad Graham, Chance Homme, Shawn Thiele and Bill Tishler)
Division of Information Technology - Transformational Achievement Award
- Tyler Schultz
School of Medicine and Public Health — Shared Services IT - Unsung Hero
- Paul Miller
College of Engineering – Interdisciplinary Professional Programs - Unsung Hero
- Jenna Klinner
Division of Information Technology – Web Platforms and Services - IT Connects Impact Award
- Jason Pursian
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Meet the 2023 IT Recognition Awards winners
- Ellen La Luzerne Award for Community Engagement
- Sara Tate-Pederson
College of Engineering – Computer-Aided Engineering - Janet E. Plato Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
- Derrian Jones
Division of Information Technology – User Services - Lifetime Achievement Award
- Michael Pitterle
School of Pharmacy – Information Technology - Rising Star Award
- Laurel Belman
Division of Information Technology – Communications - Team Achievement Award
- Helen C. White IT User Support Team (led by Will Maybock, User Support Supervisor)
- Transformational Achievement Award
- Will Kraus
Division of Information Technology – Application Infrastructure Services - Unsung Hero
- Mark Abramson
College of Agriculture and Life Science – Life Sciences Communication - Unsung Hero
- Vladimir Brik
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research – Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
Meet the 2022 IT Recognition Award winners
- Ellen La Luzerne Award for Community Engagement
- Leah Meicher
Office of the Registrar - Janet E. Plato Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
- Lauranne Bailey
College of Engineering - Lifetime Achievement Award
- Paul Oliphant
Wisconsin School of Business - Rising Star Award
- Ellie Kachel
University Health Services - Team Achievement Award
- Software Training for Students – Pete Valeo, STS Service Leader, and Natalia Aguirre Villalobos, Operations Coordinator
- Transformational Achievement Award
- Peter Doksus
School of Social Work - Transformational Achievement Award
- Michael Zenz
College of Letters & Science - Unsung Hero
- Brendan Day
UW Survey Center - Unsung Hero
- Dawn Duren
College of Letters & Science - Unsung Hero
- Erik Geiger
Division of Information Technology
Meet the 2021 IT Recognition Award winners
- Ellen La Luzerne Award for Community Engagement
- Susan Weier
College of Letters & Science – Learning Support Services - Janet E. Plato Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
- Jay Ray
General Library System - Lifetime Achievement Award
- Brenda Spychalla
School of Education – MERIT - Rising Star Award
- Naomi Bernstein
Division of Information Technology – Academic Technology - Team Achievement Award
- Learn@UW–Madison Team
Division of Information Technology – Academic Technology - Transformational Achievement Award
- Eric Gentz
Office of Student Financial Aid - Unsung Hero
- James Lloyd
Populations Health Institute
Meet the 2020 IT Recognition Award winners
- Ellen La Luzerne Award for Community Engagement
- Amanda Thornton
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research – Space Science and Engineering Center - Janet E. Plato Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
- Christopher Kilgour
Division of Information Technology – Information Technology Academy - Lifetime Achievement Award
- Bob Mayville
Division of Information Technology - Rising Star Award
- Nathan Fetter
School of Education – Office of Communications and Advancement - Team Achievement Award
- University Health Services
Megan Crass, Primary Care; Kelly Bauman, Administrative Information Management Services; and Ellie Kachel, University Health Services – Informatics - Transformational Achievement Award
- Greg Konop
Continuity of Instruction project