Nominees

• Barry Hall, Senior Director of Charter Scholar 

• Gerry Cooke, Program Director of Mentorship and Co-Curricular Learning 

• Jayme Lesperance, Manager of Educator Development and Outreach 

• Brenda Tooley, Associate Director Undergraduate Scholar Engagement 

• Kate Harmon, Assistant Vice President Student Affairs, Well-being and Inclusion 

• Matthew Collver, Director of Operations 

This is the highest honor bestowed upon Administrative Professional staff at Grand Valley State University. The award recognizes the singularly outstanding contributions by a staff member to the University, professional field, and surrounding community. The recipient embodies the University's mission, vision, and values and bring distinction to GVSU through their work. 

Kate Harmon

Kate is the Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs, Well-being and Inclusion, and was nominated in recognition of her exceptional contributions to higher education, student affairs, well-being, and inclusion. With over 25 years of experience in higher education, she has consistently demonstrated visionary leadership, a deep commitment to diversity and inclusion, and a passion for advancing student success through health and wellness initiatives. Kate has demonstrated a rare ability to pair visionary strategy with disciplined execution. Her work routinely extends well beyond the scope of her position, resulting in sustained, university-wide impact.  

Some examples of her impact include in 2016, leading and completing the effort to reimagine the Recreation Center, resulting in a $20 million, 50,000-square-foot addition, chairing multiple student-centered committees, playing a central role in building institutional infrastructure that will benefit the university for years to come, and completing her doctorate dissertation on the experiences of low-income African American students with university recreation at a predominantly white institution.  

A defining feature of Kate’s leadership, and longtime benefit to Grand Valley, is her ability to drive large-scale change while empowering others.   

Nominees

• Bonnie Dykstra from the University Counseling Center 

• Barry Hall from Charter Through College Programs 

• Jessie Fousset from the Traverse City Regional Center 

• Stephanie Bilinovich from the Chemistry Department 

• Brandy Thompson from Fostering Laker Success 

• Anna Kristiniak from Adult and Continuing Studies 

• AJ Young from Tutoring and Reading Center 

• Laura Marsh from the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Legal Studies 

• Valerie Guzman from the Office of Student Life 

This award recognizes an individual AP staff member who shows a commitment to serve as a strong mentor to GVSU students beyond the person's normal professional responsibilities and regardless of their professional role. The nominee is a person who demonstrates trustworthiness and skills with students in the areas of advising, advocacy, referrals, listening, accessibility, and motivation. Nominations for this award must be either made or supported by at least one student.

Anna Krystiniak

Anna is an Adult Services Specialist in the Center for Adult and Continuing Studies, and her nomination for the Commitment to Students Award reflects the exceptional impact she makes every day at GVSU. 

Colleagues consistently describe Anna as a strong advocate for students. Someone with deep institutional knowledge and a genuine, unwavering commitment to student success and belonging. Students themselves speak just as highly of their experiences working with her. They share stories of Anna’s intentional care in getting to know them and their goals, her ability to instill confidence even in the face of challenges, and her consistent willingness to go above and beyond. 

Whether it’s extending her hours to accommodate busy schedules or personally hand‑delivering graduation cords, Anna’s dedication is evident in both big moments and small gestures. Her passion, care, and commitment have made an unforgettable difference in the lives of her students, and we are proud to celebrate her today. 

Nominees

• Jeremy Paul, Office of Student Life 

• Tiburcio Lince, Office of Multicultural Affairs 

Established to recognize an individual AP staff member who serves as an example to others through a commitment to diversity beyond the scope of their professional responsibilities. The nominee is a person who demonstrates through action the ideals of cultural diversity and interculturalism, and who helps others gain greater understanding of diversity and interculturalism.

Tiburcio Lince

Tiburcio is the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and has been a game changer since he began at GVSU a little less than two years ago. He envisions the strategic work of the Office of Multicultural Affairs centered on three pillars—support, empowerment, and community—guiding initiatives that foster belonging and opportunity for all. Through his leadership, he has empowered his staff to work collaboratively in support of all students, extending their efforts beyond their individual identity groups.  

One supporter of his nomination wrote, “He builds trust with authenticity, listens with empathy, and leads with compassion.”

Nominees

• Bri Slager, Asst Director of Student Organizations 

• Ty Cook,  Asst Dean for Budget, Finance and Operations 

• Mikaela Walburg, Mental Health Communications and Outreach Specialist 

• Mimi Sperl, Asst Director of the Center for Women and Gender Equity 

• AJ Young, Coordinator of Tutoring and Supplemental Instruction 

This award recognizes an individual AP staff member whose innovative ideas and practices benefit the University in a specific way. This could include methods to improve cost-efficiency, changes in procedures, creating new programs or services, or leading new initiatives.

AJ Young

AJ, the Coordinator of Tutoring and Supplemental Instruction, has demonstrated innovative thinking by transforming Structured Learning Assistance (SLA) from a small, often overlooked program into a scalable, high-impact academic support initiative. When a two-year pilot was approved to expand SLA from 15 to 55 sections per semester, AJ reimagined the program’s structure, staffing model, and implementation strategy to support exponential growth while maintaining quality. 

 
Thinking beyond traditional program expansion, AJ strategically recruited and trained a highly skilled cohort of student facilitators, while simultaneously elevating the expertise of returning facilitators to create a sustainable leadership pipeline. AJ developed streamlined processes to increase efficiency and scalability, ensuring the program could grow without sacrificing effectiveness. Additionally, AJ partnered closely with faculty, leading thoughtful change-management efforts to build buy-in and designing dynamic training experiences that empowered instructors to integrate SLA meaningfully into their courses. Through this forward-thinking, systems-level approach, AJ transformed SLA into a dynamic, collaborative, and scalable model of student success. 

Nominees

• Dulcee Boehm – Department of Visual and Media Arts 

• Whitney Thomas - TRIO Upward Bound Detroit 

• DL McKinney – Milt Ford Legacy Collective: The Rainbow Resource Center 

This award recognizes an individual AP staff member who has gone above and beyond professional responsibilities in contributing their expertise and service to at least one of the following: (1) the GVSU community, (2) the professional organization of their discipline, or (3) the local/national/international community.

DL McKinney

DL serves as Director of the Milt Ford Legacy Collective: The Rainbow Resource Center at Grand Valley State University, where they lead inclusive, equity-centered programming that supports student success, belonging, and well-being across our campuses. DL also helps guide the work of the Social Justice Center Leadership Team, strengthening collaboration and impact across the university. 

Beyond campus, DL’s service reaches deeply into the community. As Co-Founder and Principal Consultant of Paradigm Shifts Consulting, they help organizations build policies and cultures that center the safety and inclusion of BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ communities. Locally, DL has also supported youth experiencing housing instability through leadership with AYA Youth Collective and Grand Rapids HQ, helping expand trauma-informed services and community partnerships. 

Through every role, DL leads with integrity, humility, and a deep commitment to community well-being—truly embodying the spirit of this award.

Nominees

• Brand Evolution Team  

• Stories Reimagined: Artistic Narrative in the Digital Age  

• Days of Giving 2025 - Louie Kart Team  

• Evolution of Convocation to Laker Kickoff  

• Enhancing International Learner I-20 Process  

• LAAN Career Pathways Committee  

• GVSU Economic Impact Report Project 

This award recognizes the work of an ad-hoc team of AP staff members from two or more departments that accomplish a project benefiting the University. While the nominated project may be ongoing or not yet complete, nominations should emphasize work of staff members across unit lines during the past year.

Award Winners

Team Members include:

• Breeann Mann, CECI Advising 

• Melanie Rabine Johnson, CECI Advising  

• Brenda Tooley, Center for Undergraduate Scholar Engagement  

• Mike Saldana, CHP Advising  

• Kailee McDonough, SCB Advising  

• Trenton Beamon, EXPL Advising  

• Emily Zeliasko, CoC Advising 

LAAN Career Pathways Committee

The team project consisted of a campus-wide team of administrative professionals that support the Laker Academic Advising Network at GVSU. The team developed a pathway to promotion for professional academic advisors and specialists, where prior to this effort, promotion for academic advising staff was based in each college which made expectations for promotion unclear with variance across the colleges. 

The team's goal was to create a standardized, competency-based recruitment and retention program for academic advisors and advising professionals to ensure high-quality academic advising instances and programs for students at GVSU.  

Specifically, the project goals were to: 
- To recruit and retain quality academic advising talent 
- To recognize and reward excellent advising professionals 
- To develop a corps of experienced advising professionals 
- To invest in resources that retain advising professionals 

To quote the nomination letter: “...Advisors benefit from equitable paths to promotion, but more importantly, students benefit from an advising community that is well-trained in current best practices and collaborative within, and across colleges."  

This model can be used in other departments across campus, and it will  "...clearly outline advancement opportunities, improve retention by helping individuals understand how to progress in their careers, and support internal equity by providing consistent criteria for advancement.”