About the recipients

While working on UT Works, I have witnessed Kati make countless suggestions to improve the usability of the customer intake forms available in the ReADY interface. In fact, she’s made so many suggestions that none of them particularly stand out. Instead, what stands out is that she’s always looking for ways to improve a process.

She has also managed the complex evolution of INDEX with impressive grace. As the program expanded beyond its eBITS roots, Kati thoughtfully adjusted processes and expectations to support a much larger and more diverse group of participants. It can be difficult to allow something you helped build to change and grow in unexpected ways, but Kati approached these shifts openly and pragmatically, always centering the success and sustainability of the program.

Rowan has significantly improved long‑standing processes and built entirely new ones that have greatly reduced manual workload for SAR staff…  Rowan partners closely and effectively with business clients, delivering solutions that improve accuracy, efficiency, and timeliness in Centralized Receivables operations…  Rowan’s strong grasp of data handling and manipulation…was critical to the success of both the AFR and 1098‑T projects…  I could not be more impressed with the support she’s provided to our office and the major impact she’s had in such a short timeframe.

Rowan partners closely and effectively with business clients, delivering solutions that improve accuracy, efficiency, and timeliness in Centralized Receivables operations…  Rowan’s strong grasp of data handling and manipulation…was critical to the success of both the AFR and 1098‑T projects…  I could not be more impressed with the support she’s provided to our office and the major impact she’s had in such a short timeframe.

Tiffany Elliott, Darren Holm, Marta Lang, Shelley Powers, Larry Yang

And those who were nominated for this year’s Rising Star award.

Justin Esposito, Chris Long, Holly Weir

Tiffany Elliott:

Her ability to bridge legacy systems and modern technologies has allowed her to recommend innovative yet practical enhancements that improve efficiency, reporting accuracy, and user experience. Rather than simply implementing requested changes, she evaluates upstream and downstream impacts, ensuring data integrity and long-term sustainability. Business clients rely on her judgment because she anticipates risks, proposes forward-thinking improvements, and delivers reliable solutions that strengthen the University’s charitable gift tracking and reporting capabilities.

Darren Holm:

Darren has shown remarkable initiative and ownership in building and evolving our cloud-based data platform from the ground up. He proactively introduced best practices and automated processes that have significantly improved operational efficiency and platform reliability. Despite having no prior experience with Postgres and AWS cloud at the time, Darren quickly ramped up and led the database transition effort.

Marta Lang:

She insists on doing things the right way, every time. From saving old code as both ‘institutional memory’ and a matter of data retention, to moving with deliberate speed as the built compute environment is improved, she ensures stakeholders are informed, policies are followed, and every little thing is attended to, all while not micromanaging.

Shelley Powers:

Her focus on designing with the client and students in mind is also a core principle she models: she insists that systems should not only function correctly, but be understandable and usable by the people who depend on them. This principled approach makes her a role model for others.

Larry Yang:

The Library Services Shop required a sophisticated understanding of accounts receivable processes, payment systems, UT Direct integration, and internal control considerations, while remaining simple enough for widespread daily use by non‑technical staff. Larry successfully built a solution capable of handling diverse transaction types and high‑volume activity, including all campus printing payments. Larry’s ability to translate complex requirements into an intuitive, reliable system reflects a deep understanding of both enterprise IT systems and the business processes they support.

Justin Esposito:

From the very beginning Justin has been generous with his time and knowledge. He is friendly, approachable, professional, and patient. He makes you feel like you belong here… treats knowledge sharing as a core responsibility and part of the job… he consistently delivers dependable, high quality results.

Chris Long:

Chris happily takes on increasingly difficult projects and responsibilities with ease and has become a reliable primary steward of several high-profile systems… Chris has quickly become a trusted technical partner to business and academic stakeholders… He proactively looks for opportunity to future proof our applications

Holly Weir:

Holly…has become an invaluable fount of knowledge, problem solver, and champion for both the technical teams and the business users she works with… She doesn’t just know the systems, she understands them well enough to think on her feet when things get complicated or unexpected… She has earned OSFA’s complete trust and confidence, and together they create effective solutions for highly complex federal, state and institutional needs.