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Staff Honored for Professional Development Excellence

Nearly 50 employees receive certificates at L&OD ceremony

Learning & Organization Development celebrated 48 employees who received certificates of excellence for completing professional development tracks.
Learning & Organization Development celebrated 48 employees who received certificates of excellence for completing professional development tracks.

Learning & Organization Development (L&OD) recognized dozens of Duke staff last week as part of the department’s inaugural certificate awards ceremony at the Nasher Museum of Art.

The event, which highlighted those who successfully completed different professional development tracks, celebrated 48 employees who took a variety of courses to earn marks of excellence in customer service, technical leadership, training and supervisory roles. This is the first class of certificate earners of 2,461 Duke employees currently pursuing professional development certificates through L&OD.

“The investment that’s being placed in our employees to grow, to stretch and to learn is here and ever so present,” said Keisha Williams, assistant vice president of L&OD. “It’s an investment to grow in an intentional way.”

To reach a level of excellence, employees must complete a set number of required and elective courses in each track. For example, to earn a certificate in leadership excellence, employees take classes like “Leading with Emotional Intelligence” and “Dimensions of Management for Successful Leaders,” while customer service track staff take classes such as “Conflict Resolution” and “Communicating with Diplomacy & Tact.”

“When people interact with me, I want to make sure they have the most positive interaction that shows our organization in a good light,” said Karem Jackson, a workshop specialist with the Department of Statistics who earned a Customer Service Excellence certificate. “I hope I’m exhibiting behaviors that others want to mimic so they see I’m doing the best I can and they think it’s worth modeling.”

Jackson, who has worked at Duke since 2008, noted that setting an example for others is the best way to help Duke serve its mission.

“When you want to see more positive things in the world, you’ve got to gain the skills to make it happen,” she said.

With 37,000 employees across the university and health system, Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for administration, said programs through L&OD are pivotal for the continued development of Duke’s workforce to learn skillsets of the future.

“No matter where you are and no matter what age you are, you’re taking time on a regular basis to improve yourself,” Cavanaugh said during the Oct. 27 ceremony. “We as an organization will benefit from what you’ve achieved.”

Here’s a list of this year’s certificate recipients:

Supervisory Excellence

  • Kimberlee Beasley
  • Donna Blalock
  • Martha Brauer
  • Pratik Gandhi
  • Heather Genini
  • Deborah Hendrick
  • Gloria Hodges
  • Regina Leak
  • Anna Mazur
  • Sophia McKinnon
  • Laura Webb

Technical Excellence

  • Patricia Bryan
  • Rebecca Crutchley
  • Sherry Earp
  • Terry Hales
  • Khalil Itani
  • Anna Kourouniotis
  • Melisa Lemmons
  • Tracey Madrid
  • Shatanya McClure
  • Amy McKee
  • Susan Nagorski
  • Bill Newsome
  • Audrey Perry
  • Jeverra Thomas
  • Karen Whitesell

Customer Service Excellence

  • Lamont Burt
  • Sherry Earp
  • William Falls Jr.
  • Nicole Fleming
  • Tempie Fuller
  • LeAnn Fulton
  • Latishia Futrell
  • Heather Genini
  • Karem Jackson
  • Lindsay Johnson
  • Martha Grace Orman
  • Crystal Patterson
  • Cynthia Smith
  • Rometa Summerlin
  • Yolonda Wilder

Leadership Excellence

  • Ariel Fielding
  • Andrew George
  • Michelle Maynard
  • Dione Rivers
  • Ann Thurston

Training Excellence

  • Justin Travis
  • Natalie Turner