The fifth annual People Strategy, Equity & Culture (PSEC) Awards of Distinction Luncheon took place on January 10, 2023.  

Heather Boon, Acting Vice-President of PSEC, welcomed staff from across the tri-campus who were nominated for exemplifying the Division’s strategic values and performing outstanding work. 

Boon noted, “This reception is particularly special. It’s an opportunity to celebrate exceptional work being done by administrative staff in PSEC and Divisional HR Offices across our three campuses.” 

Tom Spence, Employee Recognition & Engagement Advisor, assisted in presenting the awards. To the gathered award recipients, he said, “At U of T, our people are our greatest strength. Your work is essential to achieving the mission and vision of the teams you work in, the Division, and ultimately the University. Know that you are important members of our PSEC community, and your abilities and contributions are vital to our continued success.” 

Recipients enjoyed a delicious meal at the prestigious Massey College on the St. George Campus. After lunch, the three awards were presented. 

The first was the Emerging Leader Award. “This award is presented to an administrative staff member who demonstrates remarkable leadership potential and seeks opportunities for learning and development while moving into progressively more responsible roles,” said Boon. 

The award was presented to So-Kit Kwan, Senior HR Consultant from U of T Scarborough, who was recognized for her innovative thinking, ability to balance departmental and employee needs, and reputation for providing fair, equitable and inclusive advice. 

Next were the Distinguished Contribution – Team of the Year Awards. This award category acknowledges teams who exhibit exceptional teamwork and cooperation with other units, maintain an inclusive and fair approach, and achieve exceptional results on initiatives that have a significant impact on HR services for the divisions they support and the University as a whole. This year, there were two recipients. 

The first was the Employment Equity Report Redesign Project Team, led by Cherilyn Nobleza, which worked to develop an interactive employment equity dashboard that was made available to the public, in addition to a streamlined report highlighting the key changes from the previous year. Boon dubbed their work “ground-breaking and important” and noted it will “serves as the basis for other University units seeking to leverage the dashboard server to share their analyses broadly.” This initiative was the first time that the University made this type of data publicly available in a digital format. 

The Employment Equity Report Redesign Project Team members include Jodie Glean, Lesa Holmes, Jason Lee, Clark Miller, Timur Ozbilir and Pari Tsoukalas.  

The second recipient of the Distinguished Contribution – Team of the Year Award was the Central Administrative HR Services (CAHRS) Office.  

“CAHRS staff are considered to be the most experienced at the University,” Spence said. “The work done by your team demonstrates exceptional professionalism and dedication to serving and supporting our divisional clients and people leaders with a collaborative and innovative approach to delivering HR services.”  

Sean Suleman, Executive Director, CAHRS, joined Boon in presenting the award to the team that consisted of Alycia Bromley, Anita Chooraman, Blanche Douglas, Charlene Faulkner, Natalia Kinal, Van Nguyen, Erin Noble, Ralle Rivera, Magdalena Rydzy, and Tania Thompson. 

Before closing, Boon noted, “Each year, the PSEC Awards of Distinction recipients demonstrate why PSEC and staff in Divisional HR Offices have earned a reputation for their hard work, their creativity, and their responsiveness to our community.” 

Congratulations to all the award recipients and thank you for all your hard work advancing the mission, vision, and values of the Division of People Strategy, Equity & Culture.