The Department of Human Resources would like to congratulate Kim Meyers and Jess Holte on receiving this honor.
Kimberly Meyers, Administrative Assistant II in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Orientation, has been selected as the Nonexempt Employee of the Quarter for July-September of 2023. Kim began her career at UMBC in March 2019 as an Administrative Assistant I. She was promoted to her current position in 2021.
Kim was nominated by Dale Bittinger, Assistant Vice Provost. Dale says, “In her four years at UMBC and in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Orientation, it is readily apparent to anyone who contacts the office that Kim is the epitome of a customer service professional. She warmly welcomes guests, has a thorough understanding of the university and effectively communicates accurate information in an easily understood way, and is extremely empathetic. Kim can listen to a student or family’s concern, even when the issue may not be for our office, and the guest will leave feeling that they have been heard and thus had a positive experience. In fact, when it is not the right office that a student or family has contacted her, which often happens in Admissions, Kim will make sure they are personally connected with whom they need to reach. She is the backbone of the Undergraduate Admissions and Orientation public contact area.
“More recently, Kim also had to step up to assist during some staff transitions and vacancies. Her immediate supervisor and an administrative colleague accepted positions at other universities. This required Kim to assume additional responsibility and she readily handled the task at hand. Quite simply, Kim helps whenever needed and for the good of the team.
“Kim is always looking to provide the best, possible guest experience for our visitors to the office. Whether it is suggesting the use of recyclable water bottles to promote UMBC’s green efforts, to having an inventory of rain ponchos for guests on rainy days, to simply making sure the office looks good, Kim is always trying to improve our offerings. Over the past year, Kim also took the reorganization and tracking of our inventory processing to a whole new level. She revised the process for the requesting and reporting of materials which allowed the office to save money by minimizing waste. Yet another example of Kim’s commitment to the delivery of our services was during the pandemic, she came into the office multiple times each week to make sure that any mail that was received, for others who did not realize the campus was working remotely, was scanned and entered into the appropriate system. Some of this work, such as bill payments with the P-card, has now been incorporated into our standard operating procedures. “
Kevin Mitchell, Senior Manager of Enrollment Management Business Services, stated, “Kim has been a pivotal member of our Enrollment Management Community Cares Committee for several years and has been instrumental in the planning and execution of the Maryland Charity Campaign, yearly Baltimore Zoo volunteer event, and countless others volunteer opportunities. Her passion for community service always shines and the committee would not be that same without her.”
Dale adds, “Beyond this committee, Kim is on the Enrollment Management Staff Development Committee and works closely with our Cristo Rey Jesuit High School student intern. From making sure all staff connect with our intern, to checking in with them on personal matters, to bringing them in lunch on busy days, Kim takes on this additional role that is not part of her job responsibilities with joy and commitment. She is the go to person whom our student employees rely upon and is one who always looking out and nurturing them to provide the guidance that college students need. Kim truly represents what makes UMBC a special place.”
Kim was presented her award by Gina King on August 1st. She received congratulations and well wishes from her Admissions and Orientation colleagues.
Jessica Holte, Grants and Contracts Manager in the Office of Sponsored Programs has been selected as the Exempt Employee of the Quarter for July-September of 2023.
Jessica was nominated by Michael Walsh, Director of Sponsored Programs. In describing her work Michael Walsh says, “Jessica (who goes by Jess) has demonstrated remarkable leadership and supervisory traits while working within an office with multiple vacancies and extended absences. In true team spirit, she managed her workload while covering for absent co-workers. During this period, she successfully negotiated a complex, multi-million-dollar contract that required coordination with multiple offices across campus, the research involved, and the federal sponsor. Jess represented OSP and UMBC on a regional level when she formally presented at the NCURA Region II Meeting, which gathers research administrators from MD, DC, DE, PA, and NJ.
“Jess started at UMBC in OSP as a Grants & Contracts Specialist (Nov. 2017). In less than two years (July 2019), she qualified as a Sr. Specialist, and was able to take over what is often the managerial responsibility for supporting a research unit. One of her notable accomplishments was working with UMBC’s subrecipients of sponsored awards. During a 2018 NSF Desk Review, Jessica participated in a team that successfully demonstrated OSP’s subrecipient monitoring processes and procedures. During the exit interview the Associate VP of Research commented that he had never heard a sponsor reviewer say such positive things…NSF stated we articulated fantastic procedures, commented on how much they liked our spreadsheet as a “best practice,” and made several other positive comments and accolades. Then, in Nov. 2020, Jess was promoted to Grants & Contracts Manager, where she has shined and has continued to excel in the duties of her position.
“Jess took the lead in developing a master small business contracting plan that will be used as a template for future plans. She has taken an active role in training two new staff members hired within the past six months. As a manager, Jess actively develops, drafts, and implements new procedures within OSP that support the research enterprise, which led to UMBC being designated as an R1 institution. Besides subrecipient monitoring, examples include reporting automation, and improvements to Kuali (the electronic system of record), and developing reference materials for contract negotiation.
“On average, Jess’s annual portfolio includes submitting approximately 100 proposals totaling $24 million and award actions totaling $46 million. However, this past year, Jess was part of the team that led to NASA rewarding a $100+ million cooperative agreement to UMBC for the Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research II program.”
Jess is the Grants & Contracts Manager supporting activity with UMBC’s various NASA research centers managed by the Earth & Space Research Administration (ESRA). Margo Young, the Director of ESRA, Margo provided effusive praise from herself, her team, and ESRA faulty, in support of Jess’s nomination states, “ESRA uses MS Teams as a collaborative software – we had been using it since the first month of the pandemic so when UMBC finally turned officially to Webex we already had more than a year into a software that worked and felt there was no need to change over – Jessica is on our Teams thread. She keeps it open and she is always there for a quick chat or video call. This leads to efficiency on both sides as emails are the worst ways to ask a quick question. Many UMBC administrators would just have us switch into Webex if we have a question but Jessica automatically just rolled with our normal way of doing business. Jessica has even modified budgets or narratives when the modifications are minor or obvious in order to save time getting something turned around. I can’t explain how helpful this is. She just makes the change, sends it to us and asks for confirmation that it is OK. No other OSP manager has ever done this. We recognize it is not part of their job but it is really a win-win that she does it when she can.”
Jess obtained a Graduate Certificate in Research Administration from the University of Maryland, Baltimore in May 2022. She followed this up by becoming a Certified Research Administrator (CRA) in December 2022. The CRA is a nationally recognized professional certification and requires passing a lengthy exam.
Jess was delighted to learn that she had been selected as Employee of the Quarter.
Recipients receive $500, a special parking space, one day of administrative leave, a certificate, his/her/their name on the Employee of the Quarter plaque and an invitation to the annual Service Award Ceremony.
Human Resources offers special thanks to everyone that nominated an employee for the award. Previous nominations received will be eligible for consideration for one year from the date received. The next Employee of the Quarter recipients will be selected in October.