March 2023
- Joanie Wiesman, Senior Finance and Accounting Professional, BioServe
Joanie, while being with the Center for slightly less than one year, has shown incredible dedication and commitment to supporting the Center and Bioastronautics faculty. While cliche, she frequently goes above and beyond to resolve issues that are complex in nature and often require Joanie tracking down the solutions. She continually takes on more responsibility in an effort to reduce other’s workloads. Her support has made the transition from our former financial administrator who had been with us for 8 years prior to her retirement, seamless. This is particularly worth noting, since many of the items Joanie addresses in her day to day work for us were new to her. Joanie is well liked by all Center personnel. She communicates well with everyone and supports everyone’s needs, no matter the size or importance. I, frankly, don’t know how we would function without her. We feel incredibly lucky to have her and she is an integral part of our team.
- Keiko Hunt, Finance Specialist, Sponsored Projects, IRISS and RECUV
Keiko is an exceptionally kind, diligent worker who makes it her priority to attend to the satisfaction and happiness of everyone she works with. During COVID, she was constantly and consistently in touch with all the office staff (not only in IRISS but throughout AES) and reached out to provide extra help and assistance to everyone who needed it. She has expanded her network outside of IRISS and has supported every research office in the Aerospace Department in some way. Like the rest of us, Keiko is sometimes overwhelmed, but even then, she is patient and helpful to everyone. She has taken it upon herself to train the students, communicate policy and process to anyone with questions, and be available to help with anything that arises. Without Keiko supporting the department, I and many of the other research/finance managers would have been unable to reach our own goals and perform our duties acceptably. She has consistently chosen to support us in advancing the department and our mission without hesitation.
- Julia Putt, Research Program Manager, SWx TREC
Julia has been key to the success of both Space Weather TREC and CAAMS due to her constant attention to detail and schedule in financial program management, planning, and reporting. For Space Weather TREC, she not only manages all aspects of the financial program, she consistently engages in proposal development efforts with researchers from the faculty level to post- doctoral associates. She also manages the office space, travel reimbursement, personnel on-boarding, and meeting arrangements. Julia is open, approachable, and engaging and our people know that they can turn to her for help in all matters: financial, logistical, or HR at the center, department, college, or University level. It is not an understatement to say that neither TREC nor CAAMs would be able to function without Julia’s steady hand, interpersonal skills, and program management guidance.
- America Palacios, Financial Services Manager, AES
Since coming to AES, America has gone above and beyond to change practices and set better standards throughout the department. She united the finance team throughout the department and continues to look out for the best interest of the whole department. Her efforts have made it easier for the finance staff to step in and help each other when the department has open finance positions. She is always checking to see if research centers need help, and what she can do to make their lives easier. America has been a vital asset to this department and has gone above and beyond to improve practices within the department.
