Health and Well-being Award Spotlight
UC Davis Staff Assembly’s annual Citations of Excellence awards program provides recognition for non-represented UC Davis and UC Davis Health individual staff and staff teams, who have demonstrated outstanding achievement.
In 2024, a health and well-being category was introduced for both Citations of Excellence and staff scholarships. The Health and Well-being Citations of Excellence awards aim to recognize individuals and teams of staff who positively affect their workplace community and environment by:
- Identifying innovative ways to integrate and promote well-being in the workplace
- Demonstrating their knowledge of health and well-being resources on campus
- Integrating their knowledge of and approaches to well-being into their work, leadership, and activities on campus
- Supporting access to and engagement in workplace health and well-being programs, services, and events
- Connecting with others and helping educate their co-workers about health and well-being program offerings
- Supporting a healthy, inclusive, and engaging culture of well-being in their department.
“We are thrilled to celebrate our Citations of Excellence awardees who go above and beyond to cultivate a healthy workplace culture and exemplify successful integration of well-being into the framework of their work at UC Davis,” said Stacey Brezing, Director of Staff and Faculty Health and Well-being. “These types of grassroots champions support and engage their colleagues in wellness messaging, which helps promote our programs, activities and resources. This is something that our team relies on to increase our reach and program participation,” Brezing continued.
The scholarships provide career staff with funding to pursue professional certificates and personal/professional development as well as continue their education in the field of health and well-being.
Seven nominations were submitted for the individual awards and one for the team award. The Staff Awards and Recognition ceremony was held on Wednesday, September 11 at the Chancellor’s residence. There were 42 applicants for the Health and Well-being scholarship.
Congratulations to our winners:
Citations of Excellence Individual Winners
- Colleen Anthonisen, Clinical Research Supervisor I; Obstetrics and Gynecology. A Wellness Ambassador for seven years, Colleen has successfully applied for and received several mini grant awards to support her colleagues’ health and well-being. She has created wellness libraries for two departments, led a passion planning project and purchased supplies for team building events and prizes for wellness challenges.
- Donna Gutierrez, Assistant Director, Prospect Research; Development & Alumni Relations. Serving as a Wellness Ambassador for the past four years, Donna has hosted an array of activities encompassing physical, emotional and nutritional wellness for her colleagues, including a very popular pumpkin succulent planting event.
Citations of Excellence Team Winners: Pharmacy Wellness Committee
- Dominique (Nikki) Cargill, Project Policy Analyst 4; Pharmacy
- Heather Martin, Manager; Pharmacy
Nikki and Heather are both Wellness Ambassadors and they co-lead the Pharmacy Wellness Committee, which was established to organize resources, build representation, promote wellness and encourage engagement for the 650+ staff members in Pharmacy. Heather and Nikki have creatively used new and existing technologies, improved staff engagement in wellness resources and led 33 well-being focused events over the past four years.
Health and Well-Being Scholarship Winners
- Christine Haider-Winnett, Palliative Care & Hospice Chaplain, Palliative Care. Seeking certification in Essentials of Palliative Care Chaplaincy
- Cassidy Kays, Health Professions Education Specialist 3, Office of Medical Education. Pursuing a Master of Public Health from Sacramento State University