Our staff work tirelessly to support our students, faculty and programs in service to advancing the health of all New Mexicans. Their critical contributions deserve to be celebrated and recognized. Created by Dean Emeritus, Paul B. Roth, MD, MS, the UNM School of Medicine Dean's Staff Award program has been highlighting their outstanding work and invaluable contributions for more than 25 years.
The deadline for nominations is October 24th, 2025 at 11:59pm.
The Dean's Staff Awards Committee is comprised of seven staff members, including a recent award recipient and representatives from various School of Medicine departments.
A call for nominations is sent out throughout the UNM School of Medicine each autumn. Nominees are graded by each committee member and ranked collectively by the committee to determine each year’s recipients.
The committee looks particularly closely for staff who exemplify the School of Medicine's core values of excellence and accountability, compassion, diversity, integrity, professionalism and ethical behavior, social responsibility, creativity and innovation.
Historically, our DSA winners are our higher grade individuals, so in an effort to reward superstars of all grades, we will be awarding 5 awards for grades 5-12 and 5 awards for grades 13-20 and that will give us our 10 winners!
The School of Medicine dean's office hosts an awards event attended by all nominees. Award recipients receive a trophy and $1,000.
| Department at time of winning | First Name | Last Name | Full Name | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Molecular Genetics Microbiology | Li | Chen | Li Chen | Sci Research Manager |
| OB GYN Administration | Katelynd | Faler | Katelynd Faler | Genetic Counselor |
| Cell Biology and Physiology | Audrea | Winslow | Audrea Winslow | Dept Administrator R2 |
| Psych Community Behavioral Health | Flor | Cano-Soto | Flor Cano-Soto | Program Manager |
| Division of Molecular Medicine | Amanda | Earnest | Amanda Earnest | Mgr,Administrative Opns |
| Neurosciences General Admin | Selah | Flint | Selah Flint | Admin Assistant 2 |
| School of Medicine Development | Sarah | Hosford | Sarah Hosford | Admin Assistant 2 |
| Peds Prvn and Population Sciences | Amy | Pierce | Amy Pierce | Program Specialist |
| UME Teacher Development | Christopher | Gallegos | Christopher Gallegos | Coord,Education Support |
| OB GYN Administration | Ericka | Romero | Ericka Romero | Admin Assistant 3 |
| Nominee First Name | Nominee Last Name | Nominee's Title | Department/Office/Division |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jezebel | Aragon | Faculty Services Rep | Anesthesiology Administration |
| Madelyn | Averill | Program Coordinator | Psych Community Behavioral Health |
| Celia | Baca | Medical Education Prog Splst | Ophthalmology Administration |
| Michelle | Baca | Unit Administrator 3 | IM Hospital Medicine |
| Brian | Baldonado | Counselor/Social Worker,Sr | FCM/Adobe |
| Erin | Bolden Dabney | Accountant 2 | Neurosciences General Admin |
| Elvine | Bologa | Unit Administrator 1 | Pediatrics Occupational Therapy |
| Lori | Callison | Mgr,Administrative Opns | Senior Associate Dean Operations |
| Michael | Capps | Clinical Research Supervisor | Radiology Research |
| Misty | Carpenter | Dept Administrator C3 | SOM Surgery Administration |
| Alexandria | Chang | Dept Administrator C2 | Department of Dental Medicine |
| Jonathon | Cordova | Technical Analyst 1 | Dental Services |
| Taylor | Croteau | Unit Administrator 2 | IM Epi |
| Lisa | Daly | Operations Specialist | Emerg Med Peds Emerg Med |
| Averi | Easley | Medical Education Prog Coord | IM Pulm/Sleep/CC/Allergy |
| Tiffany | Enriquez | Coord,Clinic | Surgery Pediatric |
| Amalia | Estanislao | Med Lab Teaching Asst | Pathology Medical Lab Sciences |
| Katie | Fletcher | Mgr,Administrative Opns | Family Community Medicine FCM |
| Bess | Friedman | Program Manager | Psych Community Behavioral Health |
| Bethany | Gallegos | Program Coordinator | SOM Wellness Office |
| Lauren | Garcia | Contract & Grant Administrator | Research Administration |
| Ana | Grimaldo | Dept Human Resources Rep | School of Medicine Administration |
| Candice | Gurule | Medical Education Prog Coord | Anesthesiology Administration |
| Amy | Herrera | Medical Practice Specialist,Sr | OB GYN Administration |
| Bobbi | Jaramillo | Dept Administrator C3 | Pediatrics Administration Division |
| Debbie | Jennings | Supv,Fiscal Services | Psychiatry Administration |
| Anabel | Johnson | Medical Practice Specialist,Sr | Family Community Medicine FCM |
| Bettie | Kaehele | Supv,Fiscal Services | Family Community Medicine FCM |
| Chelsea | Kies | Medical Education Prog Splst | OB GYN Administration |
| Riel | Killer | IT Support Tech 3 | UME-ETS Educational Tech Support |
| Raquel | Lujan | Supv,Fiscal Services | Pediatrics Center for Development |
| Luisa | Mariscal | Medical Education Prog Mgr | SOM Neurosurgery |
| kirsten | marr | Financial Analyst | Pediatrics Administration Division |
| Melissa | McDonald | Education Consultant | FCM/Adobe |
| Kim | Mora | Operations Specialist | Preceptorship |
| Michael | Morris | Medical Education Prog Mgr | Orthopaedics Administration |
| Yesenia | Nunez Romero | Admin Assistant 3 | Family Community Medicine FCM |
| Erika | Partridge | Clinical Research Mgr | NM Center for Memory and Aging |
| Samantha | Ragan | Operations Manager | Anesthesiology Administration |
| Alysha | Rangel | Program Coordinator | Anesthesiology Administration |
| Katharine | Rebolledo | Dept Administrator C3 | Family Community Medicine FCM |
| Stacey | Rowe | Coord,Scheduling | Neurology Administration |
| Elizabeth | Sanchez | Operations Manager | Senior Associate Dean Operations |
| Ryan | Scarlett | Program Manager | Dental Services |
| Jack | Srouji | Dept Administrator C2 | Anesthesiology Administration |
| Sabra | Tierney | Admin Assistant 2 | IM Central Administration |
| Tyler | Wysner | Administrative Coordinator | Pathology |
| Year Won | Department at time of winning | First Name | Last Name | Full Name | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Molecular Genetics Microbiology | Li | Chen | Li Chen | Sci Research Manager |
| 2025 | OB GYN Administration | Katelynd | Faler | Katelynd Faler | Genetic Counselor |
| 2025 | Cell Biology and Physiology | Audrea | Winslow | Audrea Winslow | Dept Administrator R2 |
| 2025 | Psych Community Behavioral Health | Flor | Cano-Soto | Flor Cano-Soto | Program Manager |
| 2025 | Division of Molecular Medicine | Amanda | Earnest | Amanda Earnest | Mgr,Administrative Opns |
| 2025 | Neurosciences General Admin | Selah | Flint | Selah Flint | Admin Assistant 2 |
| 2025 | School of Medicine Development | Sarah | Hosford | Sarah Hosford | Admin Assistant 2 |
| 2025 | Peds Prvn and Population Sciences | Amy | Pierce | Amy Pierce | Program Specialist |
| 2025 | UME Teacher Development | Christopher | Gallegos | Christopher Gallegos | Coord,Education Support |
| 2025 | OB GYN Administration | Ericka | Romero | Ericka Romero | Admin Assistant 3 |
| 2024 | Biochemistry Molecular Biology | Heather | Armstrong | Heather Armstrong | Dept Administrator R2 |
| 2024 | IM Translations Informatics | Tonya | Morgan | Tonya Morgan | Unit Administrator 3 |
| 2024 | Pediatrics Center for Development | Ann Marie | Parmenter | Ann Marie Parmenter | Program Operations Director |
| 2024 | Pediatrics Center for Development | Sylvia | Sarmiento | Sylvia Sarmiento | Speech-Lang Pathologist |
| 2024 | SR ASSOC DEANS OFFICE | Cassandra | Misenar | Cassandra Misenar | Operations Manager |
| 2024 | FCM/Adobe | Jennifer | Daniels | Jennifer Daniels | Program Coordinator |
| 2024 | SOM Diversity Office | Rene' | Smith | Rene' Smith | Admin Assistant 3 |
| 2024 | Pediatrics Center for Development | Aaron | Lee | Aaron Lee | Education Specialist |
| 2024 | Neurosciences | Christopher | Mazon | Christopher Mazon | HS Research Tech 1 |
| 2024 | Biomedical Rsrch Edu Prog | Francesca | De Leon | Francesca De Leon | Program Specialist |
| 2023 | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Galen | Billings | Galen Billings | Admin Assistant 3 |
| 2023 | Peds Prvn and Population Sciences | Ksenia | Bosina | Ksenia Bosina | Unit Administrator 1 |
| 2023 | Molecular Genetics Microbiology | Susan | Core | Susan Core | HS Sr Research Specialist |
| 2023 | Pediatrics Administration Division | LaTomia | French | LaTomia French | Administrative Officer (Div) |
| 2023 | DFCM | Dolores | Garcia | Dolores Garcia | Residency Program Manager |
| 2023 | Pathology | Ruth | Kief | Ruth Kief | Operations Manager |
| 2023 | Neurosciences | Lu | Li | Lu Li | HS Associate Scientist 3 |
| 2023 | Pediatrics Center for Development | Felicia | Nevarez | Felicia Nevarez | Education Consultant |
| 2023 | Pediatrics Center for Development | Allison | Salazar | Allison Salazar | Education Specialist |
| 2023 | IM Clinical Trials Unit CTU | Natalie | Weiss | Natalie Weiss | Nurse/Clinical Research Coord |
| 2023 | Pediatrics Center for Development | Lovena | Willoughby | Lovena Willoughby | Dept Human Resources Rep |
| 2023 | Psych Community Behavioral Health | Xiaoya | Wu | Xiaoya Wu | Data Manager |
| 2022 | Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations | Erika | Anderson | Erika Anderson | Program Manager |
| 2022 | FCM Physician Assistant Program | Christina | Anthony | Christina Anthony | Operations Manager |
| 2022 | Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences | Josh | Corbin | Josh Corbin | Department Administrator |
| 2022 | Neurosciences | Suzy | Davies | Suzy Davies | HS / Associate Scientist 2 |
| 2022 | Molecular Genetics and Microbiology/AIM Center | Sharina | Desai | Sharina Desai | Sr Research Scientist 1 |
| 2022 | Dermatology | Kathy | Freise | Kathy Freise | Medical Education Program Specialist |
| 2022 | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Tyler | Humble | Tyler Humble | Accountant 2 |
| 2022 | Pediatrics Administration | Cynthia | Layton | Cynthia Layton | Operations Manager |
| 2022 | Internal Medicine, Center for Global Health | Robert | Nofchissey | Robert Nofchissey | Research Scientist 3 |
| 2022 | UME / Academic Multimedia Services | Paul | Perea | Paul Perea | Program Operations Director |
| 2022 | Cell Biology and Physiology | Amy | Rosenbaum | Amy Rosenbaum | Education & Outreach Mgr |
| 2022 | Radiology | Linda | Schenkel | Linda Schenkel | Operations Manager |
| 2022 | Research Education Office | Virginia | Villegas | Virginia Villegas | Program Specialist |
| 2021 | Psychiatry: Division of Community Behavioral Health | Tara | Biehl | Tara Biehl | |
| 2021 | Obstetrics & Gynecology | Emily | Gibbons | Emily Gibbons | |
| 2021 | Pediatrics: Prevention and Population Sciences | Karen | Lopez | Karen Lopez | |
| 2021 | Office of the Medical Investigator | Aidan | Martinez | Aidan Martinez | |
| 2021 | Orthopedics: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Division | Dyanna | Monahan | Dyanna Monahan | |
| 2021 | Radiology | Rebecca | Panaccione | Rebecca Panaccione | |
| 2021 | Pathology | Nancy | Risenhoover | Nancy Risenhoover | |
| 2021 | Pediatrics: Center for Development and Disability | Naomi | Roibal | Naomi Roibal | |
| 2021 | Office of the Medical Investigator | Rebecca | Romans | Rebecca Romans | |
| 2021 |
Internal Medicine: Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Preventive Medicine |
Katherine |
Wagner |
Katherine Wagner |