Announcing UC Berkeley's 2025 L&S Staff Achievement Award recipients

2025 L&S Staff Achievement Award winners and L&S Deans (l-r): Diane Soper, Sara Guyer, Annie Viveier, Belinda White, Raka Ray, Joemari Cedro, Dewey St. Germaine, Jenna Johnson-Hanks, Richard Harland, Hermela Araya, Jade Lumada, Wanda Nieters, Veronica Padilla

November 7, 2025

The L&S Staff Achievement Awards, now in its second year, recognize and celebrate outstanding staff members in the College of Letters & Science. Awardees are selected for their exceptional commitment to the College’s shared mission of teaching, research, and public service. Each of these individuals has excelled in areas such as collaboration, goal accomplishment, inclusion & belonging, innovation, and mastery of their work.

We are deeply grateful to our 2025 recipients for their remarkable contributions to the College and to the University. Their exceptional dedication and hard work serve as an inspiration to us all.

- Deans, College of Letters & Science

The recipients for 2025 were honored at a private ceremony on Tuesday, November 4 with awards presented by each of the L&S Deans.

Hermela Araya

Clinic Administrator, Clinical Science Program, Psychology

"Hermela is patient, extremely kind, and always looking to serve as an inclusive, welcoming force. We have sought to expand our outreach to underserved communities, and Hermela has been vital with helping us increase the diversity of clients we have seen...She truly brings that bright Cal spirit to her work with enthusiasm, kindness, and smarts."

Awardee holding certificate and award next to the dean

Joemari Cedro

Financial Analyst, English

"Joemari has expanded his knowledge and the scope of his contributions steadily...there is no area of our shared work in which he does not consistently make positive contributions. He is endlessly generous with his time and expertise, is patient beyond measure, and sets the standard for collaboration among staff in Arts and Humanities."

Woman wearing black shirt and dark hair smiling

Carina Galicia

Director of Administration & Operations, Molecular & Cell Biology, Biosciences Divisional Services

"Carina should receive this award every year for all she does for our department. She has good judgment, a positive attitude, is competent, and a team builder. She is amazing in her role keeping our graduate program afloat...and a constant source of insight into how policies impact on students and the most effective means to an end. "

Jade Lumada

L&S Intake Adviser

"Jade is a true advocate for the Peer Advisers in our program, always ensuring they're treated with respect and getting the support they need during both in-person and virtual front desk services. Jade promotes inclusivity within her team, as she always strives to inlcude staff members in discussions and listens with genuine curiosity and empathy, in addition to her always welcoming and kind demeanor."

Veronica Padilla

Administrative Manager, Earth & Planetary Science and the Berkeley Seismology Lab

"Veronica is the finest department manager I've ever worked with. She is the master of all the tasks for which she is responsible...she is the rock-solid anchor for the consistently excellent management of the Department of Earth and Planetary Science, and uniformly admired and respected by our faculty, staff, and students."

Wanda Nieters

Assistant Dean for Finance & Administration, Mathematical & Physical Sciences

"Wanda is an exceptional leader, mentor, and asset to the college, the departments she supports, and her colleagues at every level. She strives to ensure our department's success and there are few programmatic actions that we take without consulting with Wanda to help ensure that we have the perspective to understand the benefits, opportunities, and risks of the decisions we make."

Diane Soper

Finance & Office Manager, Townsend Center for the Arts

"While Diane's record has been stellar every year, it was especially so during 2024-25...she provided vital support to a wholly separate organization, the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes. Her reliable support has been indispensable to CHCI's mission of fostering humanities research collaboration worldwide."

Dewey St. Germaine

Undergraduate Major Advisor, Ethnic Studies

"Dewey goes above and beyond, enabling the Department to offer unparalleled breadth and depth of educational experience in our fields. He assisted the Department in proposing new online versions of several summer course offerings - an area in high demand...the result is one of the highest summer session enrollments in years."

Annie Viveier

Assistant Dean of Academic Personnel, Social Sciences

"Annie has managed a high volume of detailed projects with a level of focus, organization, delegation and flexibility that allows our office to ensure priorities are handled with attention to detail and completed in a timely manner. She continually ensures that we are making progress on our team goals while making sure everyone has the support they need to be successful."

Belinda White

Director, Budget and Finance, Undergraduate Studies

"Belinda is sensitive to the needs of others and creates an inclusive environment in the otherwise intimidating sphere of Berkeley financials. She does this by creating tools, write ups and documentation that will serve us long into the future...Belinda's mastery of the job is unmatched yet she continuously strives to do things better."

Topics

Arts & Humanities topic page, Awards & Honors topic page, Biological Sciences topic page, L&S Staff Spotlight topic page, Mathematical & Physical Sciences topic page, Social Sciences topic page, Staff topic page, Undergraduate Studies topic page