myHR: February 21, 2024

2024 Models of Excellence Award Program Honorees

Since 1999, Penn’s Models of Excellence program has recognized over 1,800 staff members. Now in its 25th year, Models of Excellence continues to support the University’s principles by honoring the people who are the foundation of all we do.

The University is pleased to announce the honorees for the 2024 Models of Excellence Program. This year, we are thrilled to recognize 54 staff members from across Penn’s schools and centers. They were nominated for their outstanding work in three award categories: Models of Excellence, Pillars of Excellence, and Model Supervisor. The 2024 Selection Committee worked diligently and objectively to review and rate all the submitted nominations and select this year’s honorees.

Each Models of Excellence, Pillars of Excellence, and Model Supervisor award winner will receive $500 and a symbolic award.

The honorees’ achievements will be celebrated in person on April 9, 2024, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Harrison Auditorium at the Penn Museum. A reception will be held after the ceremony in the Penn Museum’s Chinese Rotunda.

At this Penn community celebration of distinguished staff, Interim President J. Larry Jameson, Provost John L. Jackson, Jr., Senior Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli, and Senior Vice President of Human Resources Jack Heuer will present Models of Excellence Awards on the Harrison Auditorium stage.

Learn about the 2024 honorees’ amazing work at www.hr.upenn.edu/models, where you can download the 2024 Models of Excellence Honoree list.

Model Supervisors

Erin Brown, Division of Human Resources

Sharon Fleshman, Student Services

Jane Holahan, Student Services

Adam Roth-Saks, School of Social Policy and Practice

Pillars of Excellence

Bill Dickson, Facilities and Real Estate Services

Mary Marcopul, School of Arts and Sciences

Leslie Vallhonrat, University Library

Janell Wiseley, Development and Alumni Relations

Models of Excellence Award

Kayla Clark, Perelman School of Medicine

DEEPenn STEM Organizing Team

• Annie Jeong, School of Engineering and Applied Science
• Patricia Rea, School of Arts and Sciences
• Ashley J. Wallace, Provost Interdisciplinary Programs
• Abreeotta J. Williams-Jones, School of Engineering and Applied Science

Abigail Kalkstein, School of Social Policy and Practice

Let’s Talk Team

• William Atkins, Student Services
• Zaida Bryant, Provost’s Center
• Batsirai Bvunzawabaya, Health and Wellness
• Mary Kate Coghlan, Health and Wellness
• Krista Cortes, Student Services
• Valerie De Cruz, Student Services
• Benoit Dubé, Health and Wellness
• Bramble Heidt, Health and Wellness
• Jane Holahan, Student Services
• Jasmine R. Johnson, Health and Wellness
• Tex Kang, University Library
• Steve Kocher, Provost’s Center
• Marc A. Lo, Provost’s Center
• Chelsea Minsky, Health and Wellness
• Kaden Moriarty, Health and Wellness
• Malik Muhammad, Student Services
• Nicole Nardone, Health and Wellness
• Brian Peterson , Student Services
• Marian Reiff, Health and Wellness
• Morgen Rosen, Division of Recreation & Intercollegiate Athletics
• Julia Saul, Health and Wellness
• Steve Scaduto, University Library
• Alaina Spiegel, Health and Wellness
• Yacob Tekie, Health and Wellness
• Miao Tian, Health and Wellness
• Meredith Wooten, Provost’s Center
• Derik Yager-Elorriaga, Health and Wellness
• Tianhong “Jojo” Yao, Health and Wellness

Penn Cooks

• Kristin Cummings, Residential and Hospitality Services
• Pamela Lampitt, Residential and Hospitality Services
• Barbara Lea-Kruger, Business Services
• Thomas MacDonald, Residential and Hospitality Services
• Ted Morrin, Residential and Hospitality Services

PVP Consent Circles Team

• Reema Malhotra Phillips, Student Services
• Julie Millisky, Student Services
• Tyler Rizzo, Student Services
• Elise Scioscia, Student Services

Lauren Rudick, Student Services

Teri Scott, Morris Arboretum & Gardens

If you have any questions about the program or the awards ceremony, visit www.hr.upenn.edu/models or contact Karen Kille, Manager, Quality of Work-Life Programs, Human Resources at karener@upenn.edu or (215) 898-7729.

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Feeding Your Heart

Your heart health is impacted by what you eat. Healthy eating starts with making healthy food choices. By learning the basics of good nutrition and making small, simple changes to your overall eating and drinking habits you can strengthen and protect the organ that beats over 100,000 times per day. The American Heart Association offers 10 ways to keep your heart performing well. 

1. Balance calories eaten with physical activity
2. Reach for a variety of fruits and vegetables
3. Choose whole grains
4. Include healthy protein sources, mostly plants and seafood 
5. Use liquid non-tropical plant oils
6. Choose minimally processed foods
7. Subtract added sugars
8. Cut down on salt
9. Limit alcohol
10. Do all of the above wherever you eat. See www.heart.org for more healthy eating tips.
    

For more healthy eating recommendations, attend the virtual Eating for Heart Health workshop on February 28 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. RAMP Health will help you discover foods that contribute to heart health and those that you can enjoy in moderation. Register today.

Drinks and Heart Health

In addition to food intake, Dr. Ming Wang, Medical Director at Caron Treatment Centers, says you should also monitor your alcohol consumption. While a glass of wine with dinner or drinks to toast at a celebratory event may pose little risk to your heart’s health, overindulgence can cause serious issues.

“Alcohol used in excess can cause heart dysfunction such as alcoholic cardiomyopathy, a-fib (Holiday Heart Syndrome) or high or low blood pressure, just to name a few,” Dr. Wang says.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, alcohol misuse for adults is:

• more than four drinks per day for men and more than three drinks per day for women,
• or excess total consumption of more than 14 drinks per week for men and more than seven drinks per week for women.

Experts recommend choosing not to drink alcohol or practicing moderation by limiting intake to no more than two drinks per day for men and no more than one drink per day for women.

“Staying under these guidelines,” Wang says, “will likely not cause any long-term effects in general except if a person already has underlying heart issues.”

Caron, known as a Center of Excellence for substance abuse treatment, offers additional recovery resources for continued education and healing. Caron is part of all Penn health plan networks.

For more information about alcohol and the impact on heart health, visit the American Heart Association website.

Eating Concerns and Your Heart

According to the National Eating Disorders Association, 9% of the U.S. population, or 28.8 million Americans will have an eating disorder in their lifetime. Eating disorders don’t discriminate between age, gender, or sex. While eating disorders are more prevalent in adolescence and young adults, men and women at mid-life and beyond may be treated for eating disorders. Eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder (BED). Deborah Westerling, Student Health and Counseling Nutritionist, says eating disorders impact not only your heart, but also your overall physical and mental well-being.

In fact, eating disorders have the second highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness. Potential physical health consequences include heart attack, kidney failure, osteoporosis, and electrolyte imbalances. These may lead to structural changes of the heart and decreased cardiac function or arrhythmias.

“Eating disorders impact your overall health – both physical and mental. For anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and BED, behavioral modifications are key to improving your general health, especially your heart health,” says Vanessa Stoloff, Medical Director, Student Health and Counseling.

“People who struggle with eating disorders may also have emotional distress. This can interfere with daily functioning and impact quality of life,” Westerling says.

Help is available if you are struggling with an eating disorder.

“Treatment of eating disorders involves an experienced interdisciplinary team. Patients often require care from medical providers, dietitians, and counseling professionals. Treatment recommendations are based on the severity of illness as well as underlying or concurrent medical and psychiatric disorders,” Stoloff says.

Westerling adds that “Nutritional counseling along with other treatment modalities are used to address weight concerns, support behavioral modification, and improve an individual’s relationship with food leading to decreased symptoms of restricting, bingeing, and purging.”

Eating Disorders Awareness Week is February 26 through March 3. Take time to research and know the warning signs and steps you can take to recover from this illness.

If you have questions or concerns about eating disorders, visit MindWell at Penn for the Employee Assistance Program and the University’s behavioral health care benefit contacts.

For more information about eating disorders, visit the National Eating Disorders Association website.

Become a Versatile Leader

Do you know what your leadership style is? Have you assessed what approach works best for the success of your team? Whether you supervise a small or large department, you want to lead in ways that best meet your goals and the needs of your direct reports. Find a method that works for you at the Adapting Your Leadership Style virtual workshop on March 13 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Join Talent and Organizational Development Consultant Sarah Joseph and other Penn staff members for a discussion that will help you learn to recognize style differences and develop motivation approaches for a variety of employees and organizational needs.

“I think the most underrated part of the workshop has to do with understanding just how important it is to get to know your team on a deeper level to make the nuanced shifts to meet their needs. It takes work. Recognizing that and committing to flexing your leadership style when needed can go a long way.” says Joseph.

“Strive to be the versatile leader—adapting your style to the unique needs of your team. When you’re flexible, it fosters collaboration and empowers diverse strengths,” she adds.

Learning how to apply different leadership styles doesn’t mean changing who you are. The Adapting Your Leadership Style workshop invites participants to assess what works best for them, while understanding that leadership styles operate differently within different contexts. This nimble and responsive leadership approach allows you to relate to others and guide them more effectively. It gives you flexibility to successfully evolve.

Register for Adapting Your Leadership Style and discover how to keep your group productive and engaged in ever-changing environments.

For more professional development opportunities, visit the Learn and Grow section of the Human Resources website.

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Getting Good Sleep

Are you tired of not getting enough sleep? If so, you’re not alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 3 adults in the United States report not getting enough rest or sleep every day. Nearly 40% of adults report falling asleep unintentionally during the day at least once a month. With our busy lives at work and home, it can be tough to get enough rest, but not impossible.

To help you get quality sleep that will have you feeling energized, refreshed, and ready to tackle your day, participate in the Ready for Sleep Healthy Habit Challenge and the Rest and Recharge Penn Challenge. Both are offered through the 2023-2024 Be in the Know wellness campaign on the Virgin Pulse platform. Here’s what you need to know about each challenge and how to get started.

Ready for Sleep Healthy Habit Challenge

Sleep is as important to our health as eating, drinking, and breathing. It allows our bodies to repair themselves and our brains to consolidate our memories and process information. When you don’t get enough sleep, you can experience physical problems such as a weakened immune system and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.

To help you get more winks, you can participate in the Ready for Sleep Healthy Habit Challenge from February 26 through March 1. During the week-long challenge you will receive tips on how to get your best sleep. The tips will serve as important reminders that making simple adjustments to your daily routine can lead to better sleep each day.

Registration for the Ready for Sleep challenge begins on Friday, February 23. To register, log onto the Virgin Pulse platform and take this opportunity to work on your best sleep this week.

Rest and Recharge Penn Challenge

Studies have shown that getting enough sleep produces many benefits. Sufficient sleep is linked to getting sick less often, staying at a healthy weight, lowering your risk for health problems like diabetes and heart disease, reducing stress, and improving your mood. Continue your sleep improvement journey by participating in the Rest and Recharge Penn Challenge. This two-week challenge runs from Monday, March 4 to Sunday, March 17, and will allow you to create a bedtime routine that helps you disconnect and calm your body and mind. Registration opens on Monday, February 26 and is available to all Be in the Know participants who are enrolled on the Virgin Pulse platform.

Participating in the Penn Challenge is easy. First, set a goal for how many hours of sleep you want to get each day. Once the challenge begins, start tracking your hours, check your progress, and earn points toward Be in the Know rewards. Although this is an individual challenge and not a team-based challenge, you will see “collective goal” progress tracked for all Penn participants. Individual rankings are based on each participant’s percentage of progress toward their goal.

You have until March 19 to track your sleep on the Virgin Pulse platform. Anything tracked after this date won’t be counted in the Penn Challenge final results. (Note: the platform will only allow you to enter sleep for the previous 14 days. For example, sleep for Monday, March 4 must be uploaded by Monday, March 18).

The Virgin Pulse platform offers additional tools and resources to enhance your sleep, including their Sleep Guide, Journeys, personal challenges, sleep trackers, and daily cards. When registration becomes available, sign up for the upcoming Ready for Sleep challenge and Rest and Recharge Penn Challenge and get the rest you’ve been dreaming of.

Healthy Meals: Sausage Gumbo

Chock-full of Italian turkey sausage, okra, and tomatoes, this EatingWell recipe is a lighter take on a beloved Louisiana staple. Unlike traditional gumbo, this recipe uses turkey sausage, but contains the same traditional heartiness. Flavorful and low-calorie, this recipe makes for a special weekend dinner.

Click here to send us your healthy recipes and tips.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces hot Italian turkey sausage links, removed from casings
  
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
  
• 1 large onion, diced
  
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  
• 4 cups chopped tomatoes
  
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
  
• 2 ½ cups frozen chopped okra
  
• 3/4 cup instant brown rice
  
• 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and sliced (optional)
  

Directions

1. Cook sausage in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl lined with paper towels.
   
2. Return the pan to medium-high heat and add oil. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and Cajun seasoning and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add flour and cook, stirring to coat the vegetables, until the flour browns, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to release their juices, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth, cover, increase heat to high and bring to a boil.
   
3. Return the sausage to the pan, along with okra and rice; reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the okra is heated through, and the rice is tender, about 10 minutes. Serve sprinkled with sliced scallions, if using.
   

Meet With a Registered Dietitian Today!

• One-on-One, virtual sessions you can schedule at any time that works for you
• 100% covered under many insurance plans
• Available to spouses and dependents
  

Fill out the Ramp Health Nutrition Counseling Sign Up Form or call 800-484-7720.

Did You Know: Penn Bus Now Serving Three Routes

Penn Bus now has three routes: East, West, and North. Penn Bus runs every 20 minutes within defined service boundaries Monday – Friday, 4 p.m. - 12 a.m. with the last run starting at 11 p.m. You can track your bus in real-time via PennTransit Mobile’s Trip Planner feature. Penn Bus service is offered at no cost to PennCard holders, so make sure to have your PennCard available when boarding. Visit www.upenn.edu/transportation for information about Penn Bus and other transit services.