The Vice-President of People Strategy, Equity & Culture established the People Strategy, Equity & Culture (PSEC) Awards of Distinction in 2018 to acknowledge and celebrate exceptional contributions that support the Division and the broader University.
The program provides faculty members, librarians, and staff across the institution with an opportunity to recognize individuals or teams from both the Division of People Strategy, Equity & Culture and the Divisional HR Offices who exemplify the principles and practices of the Division of People Strategy, Equity & Culture and perform outstanding work throughout the year.
The program is held annually in the fall. The 2025 PSEC Awards of Distinction will consider the nominee(s) efforts and accomplishments up to September 30, 2025.
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Four categories of achievement-based awards are available to recognize individuals and teams within our community.
Individual Awards:
Living Our Values Award
Presented to an individual contributor who exemplifies the principles and practices of the Division of People Strategy, Equity & Culture in their daily work or interactions with internal clients and who serves as a model and mentor for others within the Division and/or Divisional HR Offices. Recipients embody collegiality and are well-respected for their efforts to foster a sense of belonging within the University community.
Emerging Leader Award
Presented to an individual who has demonstrated leadership potential (not necessarily as part of a formal leadership role). Recipients will have actively sought opportunities to learn and develop leadership principles and practices and/or moved into progressively more responsible roles.
Distinguished Contribution Award
Presented to an individual who demonstrates excellence and leadership and whose work has advanced the principles and practices of the Division of People Strategy, Equity & Culture or their Division while positively influencing those around them. Successful candidates will traditionally have been a mentor to junior staff and/or team members.
Group Award:
Distinguished Contribution – Team of the Year Award
The Team of the Year Award is open to Divisional HR Office teams/groups or institutional PSEC teams/groups and recognizes exemplary contributions in the following areas:
- Delivering superior client services to the faculty members, librarians, and staff within their division and improved the value, efficiency, and/or sustainability of the services they provide, OR
- Achieving outstanding results launching a project, initiative, or process improvement within the Division of PSEC or their Divisional HR Office.
Successful teams/groups will embed equity and inclusion into their practices and demonstrate exceptional collaboration with other units. They will also have positively impacted HR service delivery for the division(s) they support and/or the broader University.
Assessment Criteria:
The Selection Committee will look for examples of sustained excellence and strong performance when reviewing nominations. The Committee will consider nominees who have made significant contributions and/or possess some (or all) of the unique qualities and attributes outlined as follows:
- Intentionally advanced and integrated the University’s principles of equity, diversity and inclusion through their work and/or their contributions to the University community,
- Are exceptionally service-oriented,
- Possess a collaborative work ethic (within their unit and/or with other units/divisions),
- Demonstrate initiative and inclusive practices,
- Use innovative approaches to find solutions (improving work processes, financial efficiencies, etc.),
- Display a strong work ethic (dependability, commitment) and/or
- Served as a role model through positive interactions.
The Selection Committee reserves the right to move nominations to a different category if they believe another category more accurately reflects a nominee’s contributions.
The Selection Committee will review the recipients based on the information in the nomination package.
The 2025 PSEC Awards of Distinction will consider the nominee’s(s’) efforts and accomplishments until September 30, 2025.
In addition to the criteria above, the Selection Committee will look for examples of how the Divisional HR Office team, Institutional PSEC team, or group has:
- Actively pooled skills, talents, and knowledge to form a high-functioning unit,
- Created an environment of mutual support and respect for team members that values each team member’s contributions,
- Support the completion of a project or an assignment that is beyond the scope of team members’ individual job descriptions and / or
- Stood out among their peers to achieve an outstanding, positive impact on the division(s) they support or the broader University community.
When nominating a client service team, nominations should reflect the contributions and roles of each team member included in the submission and indicate their individual and collective impact.
When nominating a project or assignment-based nomination, nominators should only include individuals who made a demonstrable impact on the project or assignment as team/group members for this award.
Eligibility:
Any staff, faculty member, or librarian can nominate staff members for a PSEC Award of Distinction. Self-nominations are not accepted, nor can nominators include themselves as a member of a team/group nomination.
All nominees must be in good standing at the University and be in active status when the nominations close.
Individual Award Nominees
Nominees for individual awards can be from the University of Toronto St. George, the University of Toronto Mississauga, and the University of Toronto Scarborough campuses. They must be administrative staff (unionized or non-unionized) who work in the following:
- A Divisional HR Office or
- The Division of People Strategy, Equity & Culture.
Casual staff, librarians, and faculty members are not eligible for consideration.
Please note that nominees are only eligible to receive each category of the Individual Award once in their career.
Team Award Nominees
Individuals nominated as part of the team/group for a Divisional HR or institutional PSEC team award can be from the University of Toronto St. George, the University of Toronto Mississauga, and the University of Toronto Scarborough campuses. Nominees must be administrative staff (unionized or non-unionized) who work in the following:
- A Divisional HR Office,
- The Division of People Strategy, Equity & Culture, or
- Any other unit, provided they are a member of a team/group led by and that includes staff from a Divisional HR Office and/or the Division of PSEC, and the work accomplished pertains to a Divisional HR Office or Division of PSEC objective.
Teams/groups must consist of two or more individuals.
Previous team/group recipients are eligible to receive the Team of the Year Award in a subsequent year, provided the nomination for the 2025 awards demonstrates recent and new impact.
Casual staff, librarians, and faculty members are not eligible for consideration.
The Nomination Process:
Nominations for the 2025 PSEC Awards of Distinction opened on September 8, 2025.
Nominations should describe in detail the specific contribution(s) that an individual or project team/group has made in relation to one or more of the assessment criteria listed above. Successful nomination packages will typically focus on the objectives and criteria that the nominee(s) best meets or exceeds rather than attempt to address all of the objectives listed above.
Nomination letters should not exceed three pages in length. Nominators should provide examples of the nominee’s demonstrated impact across multiple portfolios in their letters where applicable.
The Selection Committee will review all submitted nominations and can then ask for further details. All nomination materials will remain confidential.
Nominators are encouraged to inform their unit head prior to submitting a nomination.
A complete nomination package for the PSEC Awards of Distinction consists of the following:
- A nomination letter from the lead nominator providing the rationale for the nomination and a description of the nominee(s) contribution(s).
- An executive summary highlighting the nominee’s(s’) most significant contributions, accomplishments, and impact related to the award criteria (minimum 200 words, maximum 300 words).
- The University may publish the summary of successful nominees.
- An editor will review and revise your submitted text to ensure consistency among recipients.
- The nominee or project/team lead will have the opportunity to review and approve the final text before publication.
Submission Guidelines:
Nomination Deadline: 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 7, 2025.
Submit nomination packages electronically through the True Blue Recognition Platform.
Two buttons for the PSEC Awards of Distinction will appear when “Nominate” is selected under the “Recognize” header, one for individual nominations and one for project team/group nominations.
Upload the nomination letter and enter the executive summary into the appropriate text field using the online form.
Do not submit more than the required summary and nomination letter. The Selection Committee will not consider additional documents as part of the nomination package.
Should you require assistance with your submission, please contact the Recognition & Engagement Team.
Tips for Completing the Nomination Form:
In completing the nomination submission:
- Be specific by giving examples and the details of what your nominee has done that meets the selection criteria.
- Be intentional in how you frame your nomination. Not every nominee will demonstrate achievements in all award criteria. Use your nomination to intentionally identify the criteria where your nominee has made a demonstrable impact and provide evidence to support your nomination.
- Avoid general statements such as: “the nominee has a pleasant personality,” “the nominee is a seasoned professional,” or “the nominee is always helpful” in your submission.
- Include as much qualitative and quantitative information as you can about the nominee’s work and contributions.
- Avoid the use of uncommon or undefined acronyms or initialisms in the description of your nominee’s work and contributions.
Refer to the guide on, “How to Write an Impactful Award Nomination,” for additional details.
Adjudication:
The Assistant Vice-President, University Human Resources will chair the Selection Committee. The Committee will consist of at least two divisional HR Managers / Directors or their designate, two Institutional PSEC Directors or their designate, and one client manager from any University department or division.
The Chair will serve as the final decision-maker should members of the Committee not agree.
The Selection Committee will meet in December 2025 to select the 2025 PSEC Awards of Distinction recipients.
We expect to inform all nominators and successful nominees of the adjudication results in December 2025.
The Selection Committee is empowered to recognize multiple recipients in any award category, including the Team of the Year Award. Successful recipients will be chosen based on the application and the demonstrated impact of the nominee. The Selection Committee can also choose not to present an award.
Award Prizing:
Each winner shall receive the following:
- A PSEC Awards of Distinction Certificate,
- 750 True Blue points redeemable for prizes on the True Blue Recognition Platform.
Individuals can be nominated and recognized for more than one accomplishment per year. However, only one prize will be awarded annually.
Further Information:
Please contact the Employee Recognition & Engagement Team if you have questions about the program or need assistance developing or submitting your nomination.
2025 Recipients
Emerging Leader Award
- Jessica Eylon, Manager, Special Projects & Governance, People Strategy, Equity & Culture
Distinguished Contribution Award
- Chris Sabatinos, Web Accessibility Specialist (AODA) Institutional Equity Office, People Strategy, Equity & Culture
Distinguished Contribution – Team of the Year Award
The Centre for Learning, Leadership & Culture (LLC)
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- Alexandra Jotevski Borges, Learning Advisor, Centre for Learning, Leadership & Culture, People Strategy, Equity & Culture
- Andrea Piscione, Career Pathways Coordinator, Centre for Learning, Leadership & Culture, People Strategy, Equity & Culture
- Bill Brennan, Assistant Director, Learning & Leadership Development, Centre for Learning, Leadership & Culture, People Strategy, Equity & Culture
- Emily Heinecke, Learning Consultant, Centre for Learning, Leadership & Culture, People Strategy, Equity & Culture