The University of Missouri-Kansas City recognized staff across all academic units and various programs and departments at the 2026 Staff Awards ceremony.

More than 200 employees were honored for their accomplishments as well as their contributions to the growth and success of º£½ÇÂÛ̳.

“When people talk about º£½ÇÂÛ̳’s progress, they often point to the visible milestones: new buildings, new programs, research growth, higher rankings and enrollment,” Chancellor Mauli Agrawal said. “But what those milestones don’t always show is the steady daily work behind them – the conversations, the problem-solving, the planning, the long hours and the consistent care that staff across this campus bring to their roles every single day. You are the people who turn ideas into action.”

University Staff Awards

Excellence in Student Success Staff Award
Recognizes a º£½ÇÂÛ̳ staff member who has made significant contributions to the academic, social emotional and/or overall wellness of students
Todd Wells, Dean of Students, Student Affairs

Excellence in Research and Creative Works Staff Award
Recognizes a º£½ÇÂÛ̳ staff member who has made significant contributions to the university’s research creativity and innovation efforts
Michael R. Sprague, Digital and Public Humanities Coordinator, School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Excellence in Engagement and Outreach Staff Award
Recognizes a º£½ÇÂÛ̳ staff member who has made significant contributions to the university’s engagement and outreach efforts
Jeffrey D. Blackwood, Director, Office of Commercialization, º£½ÇÂÛ̳ Innovation Center

Excellence in Planning, Operations and Stewardship Staff Award
Recognizes a º£½ÇÂÛ̳ staff member who has made significant contributions to solve long-standing problems and found new ways to collaborate across departments, develop revenue and increase enrollment
Cory Kinder, Associate Director, HR Operations, Human Resources

Rising Star Award
Recognizes a º£½ÇÂÛ̳ staff member who, in their first five years of continuous service, has made significant contributions to their area of the university community
Sarah Siebert, Professional Development Advisor, Henry W. Bloch School of Management

Never Choose the Norm Staff Award
Recognizes a º£½ÇÂÛ̳ staff member who dares to be innovative and push boundaries to help the university achieve even greater success in its mission of serving students and our community
Melvin J. Tanner, Director of University Analytics and Institutional Effectiveness, Institutional Research

Chancellor’s Staff Award for Extraordinary Contributions
Recognizes a high-performing º£½ÇÂÛ̳ staff member who demonstrates an exceptional ability to foster collaboration, communication and cooperation among colleagues and university constituents and relates their work to the mission and values of the university
Mousami Mohanty, Senior Human Resources Business Partner and Instructor, Human Resources

Living the Values Award

Recognizes staff members who best exemplify excellence in demonstrating the university's key values.

Conservatory
Katie Motter, Event Scheduling Coordinator

External Relations and Constituent Engagement
Joe A. Constantino, Director of Program/Project Operations

Faculty Affairs & Faculty Support
Alexis Petri, Director of the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE)

Finance and Administration
Wade Williamson, Maintenance Supervisor

Henry W. Bloch School of Management
Daniel Folk, Director of Career Services

Information Services
James Schonemann II, Director Network Architecture

Institute for Human Development
Janelle Andrus, Early Childhood Team Lead

Intercollegiate Athletics
Jerod Fox, Strategic Communications Consultant Senior

KCUR
Ron Jones, Director of Programming and Community Engagement

Office of Research Services
Melissa Hirt, Compliance Manager Sr

Office of Strategic Initiatives
Spencer On, Engineer I

School of Dentistry
Tara Lane, Dental Services Supervisor

School of Education, Social Work and Psychological Sciences
Amanda Caruso-Yahne, Program/Project Support Coordinator Sr

School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Rachel L.R. Forester, Office Support Assistant IV

School of Law
Nancy Kunkel, Student Service Coordinator II

School of Medicine
Connor Fender, Manager II Student Support Services

School of Nursing and Health Studies
D. Ashley, Executive Assistant Senior

School of Pharmacy
Jane Poe, Executive Assistant Senior

School of Science and Engineering
Sarah Beth Schulz, Executive Assistant to the Dean

Strategic Marketing and Communications
Anthony Pellettiere, Academic Web Editor

Student Affairs
Harvey Phillips, Manager II CSM Operations

Student Success and Academic Assurance
Daniel K. McDonald II, Senior Enrollment Advisor-Admissions Processing Center

º£½ÇÂÛ̳ Innovation Center
Jen Spilker, Program Support Coordinator

University Libraries
Chayanne Sandoval-Williams, Library Information Specialist Senior

Staff Council Dedication Award

Recognizes a staff member who has made significant contributions to the Staff Council and its initiatives by enhancing communication, volunteering service to the university and community and providing opportunities to develop staff professionally and personally.

Amanda Campbell, Senior Student Services Coordinator, School of Law

Administrative Leadership Development Program Graduates

Recognizes staff members who have successfully completed the Dr. Elson S. Floyd Administrative Leadership Development Program, a UM System course where emerging and current leaders expand and refine their leadership skills.

James Bradley
Roland Hemmings Jr.
Laura King
Michele Logue
Hannah Martin
Jessica Pearson
Rachel Waller
Robert Wren

Series on Leadership Essentials Graduates

Recognizes staff members who have successfully completed the Series on Leadership Essentials Program, a UM System course where employees can develop their skills in the areas of communication, engagement, giving and receiving feedback and navigating change.

Kayla Channell
Jacqueline Eiben
Drew Hemeyer-Johnson
Shelly Janasz
Melissa Johnson
Solveig Klarin
Alisha Langham
Danielle Marx
Ashley Morency
Emily Newton
Drake Summers
Mercedes Tillman
Molly Tugushi
Tabitha Varvil

Organizational Perspectives and Leadership

Shaun Bernardon 
Krystal Brier 
Kenneth Brooks 
Elizabeth Case 
Jordan Davis 
Katheryn Diemler 
Megan Dougherty 
Sarah Dresslaer 
Robert Durham 
Natasha El-Scari 
Tanna Engle 
Scott Ezzell 
Connor Fender 
Jennifer Frenzel 
Chante Green 
Kathryn Grindstaff 
Jill Grotzinger  
Sydney Hamilton 
Michelle Heiman 
Phillip Humphrey 
Michelle Kroner 
Tara Lane 
Nathan Lonngren 
Sarah Major 
Krista Markley 
Steven McDonald 
Sharlyn Mills 
Mousami Mohanty 
Laura Moore 
Latoya Muhammad 
Cassandra Nedblake 
Lauren Nelson 
Corynne Nixon 
Amelia Reighard 
Brandy Roberts 
Melinda Rose 
Carrie Schmalz 
Janelle Sjue 
Ashley Swanson-Hoye 
Linda Thornburgh 
Elizabeth Valle 
Jacob Vollertsen 
Natalie Ward  
Melissa Wharton 
Shannon Wheeler 
Wade Williamson 

º£½ÇÂÛ̳ Graduates

Recognizes staff members who have graduated with a º£½ÇÂÛ̳ degree in Spring 2025, Summer 2025 or Fall 2025.

Jaylen Cook-Gibson
Keichanda Dees-Burnett
Rebecca Hartman
Haley Herzberg
Bridget Jones
Kimberley Kushner
Grace Lotz
Lyndsey Magrone
Julia Merino
Curby Piehl
Christiana Rangel
Sarah Richardson
Glen Vaughn-Petersen

Service Milestones

Recognizes staff members who have given five or more years of service to º£½ÇÂÛ̳ and are celebrating a milestone in fiscal year 2026.

5 Years

Sarah Adams
Puja Adhikari
Ricardo Agrela Moniz
Amber Andrews
William Angles
William Burns
Karen Campbell
Austin Carter
Jordan Davis
Elizabeth De La Rosa
Megan Dougherty
Carl Drowns
Herman Duckworth
Emma Fahrlander
Sean Firulli
Jennifer Frenzel
Valerie Gonzalez-Cordova
Manon Halliburton
Meri Janssen-Bond
Bridget Jones
Lorena Juanez
Brian Kanoy
Stephen Koranda II
Noah Kramer
Kelly Larson
Byron Love
Traci McDonald
Tamara McMahon
Carlos Moreno
Serra Morgan
Latoya Muhammad
Hannah Pham
Denise Phelan
Deqelidi Pointer
Christi Rice
Brizhana Ricks
Dana Roberts
Shannon Roberts
Gabriel Rosenberg
Rayna Rucker
Elizabeth Savidge
Karl Schneider
Sarah Schulz
Benaud Shirley
Eric Van Horn
Layne Viets
Gary Wesche
Gregory Williams
Zachary Wilson
Hilary Yager
Anna Zimmerman

10 Years

Charles Bradford
Maury Brown
Andrea Carr
Johanna Comes
Diana Delaney
Marjory Eisenman
Shaun Ferguson
Megan Gonzalez
Scott Guerrero
Phyllis Gunnels
Monica Johnson
Kimberlee Kalaiwaa
Kathleen Moburg
Jayasheela Perumalla
Laura Peterson
Lisa Rodriguez
Emerald Scott
Alexandria Spenner
Suman Suman
Ashley Swanson-Hoye
Alexa Troyer
Stan Viebrock
Robert Williams
Alane Wilson
Tammy Woods

15 Years

Philip Albert
Amy Anderson
Gerald Blanton
Belkis Cabrera Rodriguez
Amy Carlson
Katey Collins
Christopher Crowell
Christina Davis
Sheri Gormley
Sharon Lindenbaum
Deanna Marx
David Murray
Christine Popoola
Christia Posey
Lauren Ragan
Steven Siegel
Jodi Troup
Marilyn Turbush

20 Years

Arminta Brown
Amy Cole
Sally Daily
Amber Daugherty
Chante Green
Shawn Harrel
Diana Jones
Donald Ledford
Sarah Linder
Valorie Moore-Porter
Denise Owen
Jameson Rinehart
Jennifer Roberts
Jeremy Schliesman
Carol Sholy
Stella Szymanski
Erin Williams

25 Years

Christopher Boyce
Kimberly Johnson
Suzette Marchbanks
Adam Shoemaker
Janet Stebbins
Daniel Stegner

30 Years

Janet Dexter
Tanya Henderson
Christopher Hickman
Kathryn Houston
Dennis Nedblake

35 Years

Linda Fox
Danita Johnson
Julia Moore
Roy Potter

45 Years

Leisha Manning