\n\tFor over 55 years, a central part of Staff Council\u2019s mission has been to support professional development and personal growth and celebrate curiosity, mentorship and service on campus and beyond.<\/p>\n
\n\tStaff Council is proud and thrilled to share this year\u2019s awardees for the Ronald W. Frisch Staff Professional Development Award, Staff Council Impact Awards, and a very special update to the Mentor Award.<\/p>\n
\tRonald W. Frisch Staff Professional Development Award\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Frisch Staff Professional Development Award is designed to assist eligible Pitt staff members in covering expenses related to approved professional development endeavors determined to benefit the staff member\u2019s career and advancement within the University.<\/p>\n
\n\tThis award supports Pitt staff in boosting their engagement and growth through professional development, including conferences, workshops or training while removing financial barriers through defraying costs such as tuition, conference\/workshop fees, travel and expenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThe 2026 award winners hail from five different divisions and span a variety of interests and professional development opportunities.<\/p>\n
\t\tKarl Zellars, Business, Hospitality, & Auxiliary Services \u2014 Karl will attend the University Surplus Property Association (USPA) Annual Conference, to benchmark Pitt Surplus operations against peer institutions and bring back ideas on revenue diversification and sustainability reporting.<\/p>\n
\t\tAnna Conboy, Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing \u2014 Anna is pursuing her Project Management Professional (PMP) and will use this award to fund her exam prep course and exam fee toward earning her PMP certification. This new certification will deepen her project management skills for managing multi-year National Institutes of Health research grants.<\/p>\n
\t\tKaitlyn Emile, Student Affairs \u2014 This award will support Kaitlyn\u2019s remaining consultation hours, continuing education, membership, and application fee to complete her Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) certification through the EMDR International Association, for trauma treatment work at the Counseling Center.<\/p>\n
\t\tMaria Huttner, Internal Audit \u2014 Maria will attend AuditCon 2026 to build peer networks and strengthen leadership and audit strategy skills to help her grow in her new role as internal audit director.<\/p>\n
\t\tErica Roberts, School of Education \u2014 Erica will attend the National College Attainment Network Conference and bring back national best practices in college access programming for the Justice Scholars Institute.<\/p>\n
\t\tCamille Velazquez, Student Affairs \u2014 Camille\u2019s award will be leverage for training costs and resources for a 30-hour virtual Complex Trauma certification course to strengthen trauma assessment and treatment skills for students at the University Counseling Center.<\/p>\n
\n\tView past awardees<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \tStaff Council Impact Awards<\/p>\n \n\tIn 2025, Staff Council launched two new Impact Awards to recognize the heart, creativity, service and dedication of members of Staff Council on behalf of all staff. These also serve as an opportunity to highlight the contributions to shared governance, by both individuals and teams, that help us grow stronger as a community.<\/p>\n \n\tIndividual Impact Award: Sarah McMullen<\/p>\n \n\tThe Individual Impact Award this year goes to Sarah McMullen, our vice president of public relations. When Sarah stepped into her officer role last July, she hit the ground running and quickly became the driving force behind our Staff Accolades program. The program exists to amplify all of the amazing things our staff members are doing, both at work and in their communities, and to make sure those contributions get the spotlight they deserve. What started as an initiative within Staff Council has grown into something far more visible across the University. We have seen several prominent offices either acknowledging accolades on their own platforms, creating their own programs, or submitting accolades directly to us. That kind of reach and influence does not happen by accident. Sarah, thank you for your dedication and for helping Staff Council make a broader impact than we ever have before.<\/p>\n \n\tGroup Impact Award: Pitt Day of Giving Committee<\/p>\n \n\tThe Group Impact Award goes to our Pitt Day of Giving Committee, led by Mary Ramsey and including Robin Leaf, Kristin Thomas and Jamie Brian. This team delivered results that speak for themselves. 126 total donors. A 31.25% increase over last year\u2019s 96 donors, which earned us second place on the Places, Experiences, + More \u201cRaise the Bar\u201d Leaderboard and a $6,000 bonus. We also placed 7th on the PEM Leaderboard for an additional $1,000 bonus, and secured another $1,000 from a generous matching donor. Across our three funds \u2014 the Frisch Staff Professional Development Award, the Employee Emergency Fund, and the Staff Council Endowed Book Fund \u2014 donors contributed $33,395. Add in the bonuses and this committee helped bring in $41,395 for our funds. That is extraordinary.<\/p>\n \n\tView past honorees\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \tStaff Council Mentor Award renamed in honor of Mark Burdsall<\/p>\n \n\tStaff Council is proud to announce that its Mentor Award has been renamed the Mark Burdsall Mentorship Award, honoring Mark\u2019s 28 years of service, staff advocacy and mentorship at the University of Pittsburgh. Known for his knowledge, steady presence in HR, and genuine investment in the people around him, Mark has helped shape the careers of countless colleagues across Pitt. Going forward, each recipient of this award will carry on the legacy Mark built: that the truest measure of impact isn\u2019t a title, but the people you lift up along the way. Congratulations on your retirement, Mark \u2014 and thank you for everything you\u2019ve given to Pitt staff. The inaugural Mark Burdsall Mentorship Award will be given in 2027.<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tStaff Council serves as a center for input and dissemination of information, provides a means of communication between staff and other members of the Pitt community, and provides opportunities for professional development.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tStaff Council has historically represented the interests of Pitt staff not covered under a collective bargaining agreement and continues to participate in shared governance on campus to advocate for the interests of staff members on issues not addressed by collective bargaining. Additionally, the Council continues its mission to advocate for unrepresented staff members.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tStay informed with the Staff Council Newsletter: \u00a0View past issues and subscribe<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tStay connected:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tInstagram: @upstaffcouncil\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tFacebook: @upstaffcouncil\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tLinkedIn: Pitt Staff Council\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tFor more information about Staff Council, visit the Staff Council website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n