Harvard Honors LMA Heroes

2019 program celebrates 12 for employee excellence

Harvard Medical School awardees at the 2019 Harvard Heroes ceremony

Harvard Medical School awardees at the 2019 Harvard Heroes ceremony

Evan Sanders, associate director of curriculum services at HMS, fondly remembers the day he found out he’d been named a Harvard Hero.

“My supervisor invited everyone from the office to a lunch that was supposedly to thank us for our efforts related to the LCME site visit,” Sanders said. “When I arrived, I learned it was all a ruse meant to surprise me with the announcement.”

Get more HMS news here

Sanders was among 12 members of the Harvard Longwood community named Harvard Heroes this spring. The program recognizes high-performing staff from across every Harvard school and the central administration. Only one half of one percent of all Harvard employees earn the distinction. This year’s 61 Harvard Heroes were honored at a ceremony on June 13 in Sanders Theatre.

HMS Harvard Heroes
HMS heroes pictured clockwise from upper left: Deborah Corwin Scott, Rainelle Walker-White, Mirta Tejeda, Laurie O’Connor, Margaret Ivins, Mary Walsh and Evan Sanders. Image: Lisa Muto

Seven HMS employees were honored: Mirta Guerrero Tejeda, custodian; Margaret Ivins, manager of academic affairs at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering; Laurie O’Connor, administrative manager in faculty affairs; Evan Sanders, associate director of curriculum services; Deborah Corwin Scott, chief information officer; Rainelle Walker-White, Family Van assistant director; and Mary Walsh, chief scientific investigator.

Mary E. Anderson, senior human resources coordinator at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, was also honored, along with the following four employees from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: Emily Coles, senior program coordinator for the Takemi Program in International Health; Hilary Farmer, academic coordinator in the Department of Nutrition; Jennifer Ford, research nurse manager in the Environment and Reproductive Health Study; and Brian Frederick, research operations manager in the Department of Genetic and Complex Diseases.

Staff members are nominated by their peers and their departments in early spring. Nominees are evaluated on 11 criteria, including embracing change, fostering an environment of inclusion and belonging, leadership and management, sustainability, teamwork, and mission and values. The 61 Harvard Hero honorees were announced in April.

“The most amazing part of the experience was reading the nomination letters from my colleagues,” said Sanders. “I’m just so grateful that people would take the time to write such thoughtful words about me.”

Honorees, family, friends and guests were treated to a reception with dessert pops, a photo booth and a performance from Boston’s own Keytar Bear.

University President Larry Bacow offered remarks to all 61 honorees, commending them for their extraordinary contributions to the Harvard community and beyond.

“This is the most robust, top-down employee recognition program I’ve ever seen,” said Corwin Scott, citing her 36 years of professional experience across seven employers, three of them in higher education. “To have the president of the university stand there reading for an hour and a half, to recognize each person individually, was just wonderful.”

Walker-White’s work with the Family Van earned special mention in a video showed during the awards ceremony.

“I love this job because I feel this is my calling,” Walker-White said in the video. “And when you work in a place that you feel is your calling, it’s not like you’re working at all.”

Asked how being named a Harvard Hero made her feel, Walker-White replied, “Humbled. It makes me feel that the work I’ve done these 25 years really makes a difference.”

A call for nominations for 2020 Harvard Heroes will go out early next spring. More details can be found on the Harvard Heroes webpage.