UC Spotlight: 30+ staff who inspired us this month

Join us in celebrating UC staff who are making a difference for our university and California communities — whether working on the front lines or behind the scenes!

Staff stories: Insights into working at UC

• From airlifting acutely ill babies to adult diabetes education, UCSF clinical nurses — Charles Hood, Maria Yefimova, Sandra Staveski, Esther Rov-lkpah and Elena Flowers — are advancing innovations in care based on rigorous scientific research.
• Several members of the UC Riverside School of Medicine (SOM) community — Tracy Bereal, Grace Nyanzwii, Teresa Cofield, Nnennaya Akabogu, Mario Sims, Devon Jones, Rachel Cage, and Aya Soler — shared reflections on Black History Month and how those perspectives inform their UC experience.
• Anya Grossmann, UC Law SF’s new director of alumni engagement, shared her vision of expanding opportunities for meaningful alumni involvement
• Lawrence Furnstahl shared that his background in higher-ed finance, which began as an undergrad, will inform his work as UC San Diego’s new vice chancellor for finance and administration.
• Paul Franke, principal planner in UCSF Real Estate, shared his passion for building the future of UCSF and his creative work designing large wooden Burning Man art installations.
• Kathryn Kanjo, the new CEO and director of the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art, spoke with Culture OC about her vision for the museum, which recently merged with the UC Irvine Langson Institute and Museum of California Art.
•  Ross French, associate director of communications on the UC Riverside SOM Strategic Initiatives team, shared his philosophy on sharing the SOM’s story with the world.
• Valerie Jones, director of data and information management at UC Irvine, shared her perspective on emerging tech in higher ed.

Staff awards and milestones

• Brian Light, chief operations manager of the Social Sciences Division Libraries at UC Berkeley, is the Council of UC Staff Assemblies’ new chair-elect.
• UCLA Strategic Communications won two gold AVA Digital Awards for outstanding achievement in the single digital ad and animation categories for “Everyday Miracles,” an animated short video highlighting the importance of federally funded research. 
• The Center for Excellence in Faculty Advancement team, based at UC Merced, learned that their research paper — which identified persistent disparities in promotion and tenure outcomes for Black and Hispanic faculty, as well as solutions to improve equity — was published in Nature Communications. 
• Cheryl Love, arts, humanities, education and public policy career specialist at UC Riverside, was awarded the Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers Diversity and Inclusion Award.
• UC Davis staff members Henri Teixeira, Carlee Gnos and Jordon Nakada were honored with 2026 FOA Excellence Awards for initiatives that increased efficiency, reduced friction and improved service at UC Davis and Davis Health.
• UC San Diego Psychologist Lucinda Miranda was among those honored with a 2025 Student Centeredness Award for creating a holistic, trauma-informed support program for students navigating mental health challenges. 
• Chad T. Lefteris, president and CEO of UC Irvine Health, was appointed as a California state delegate to the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board 9, where he will advise on national health policy development and advocate for patients and the community.
• The UC Riverside School of Medicine hosted its first-ever Lunar New Year celebration and second annual Community Iftar Potluck.
• The UC Davis Health’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) received a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence — a recognition of unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ Healthy Work Environment Standards. 

Submit your achievements!

UC Spotlight honors workplaces, teams and individual staff members that make UC a great place to work. To send a recognition or achievement for consideration, email the relevant URL and information to the UCnetwork editorial team or complete this form. Your story may also be featured on our new @ucnet_work Instagram page!

Please note that UC Spotlight is intended to reflect staff-specific achievements; to that end, we do not accept recognitions that are student, faculty or alumni-focused. Submissions are chosen for publication at the editor’s discretion. Funding and promotion/hiring announcements are not appropriate for this feature.