For over 55 years, a central part of Staff Council’s mission has been to support professional development and personal growth and celebrate curiosity, mentorship and service on campus and beyond.
Staff Council is proud and thrilled to share this year’s awardees for the Ronald W. Frisch Staff Professional Development Award, Staff Council Impact Awards, and a very special update to the Mentor Award.
Ronald W. Frisch Staff Professional Development Award
The Frisch Staff Professional Development Award is designed to assist eligible Pitt staff members in covering expenses related to approved professional development endeavors determined to benefit the staff member’s career and advancement within the University.
This award supports Pitt staff in boosting their engagement and growth through professional development, including conferences, workshops or training while removing financial barriers through defraying costs such as tuition, conference/workshop fees, travel and expenses.
The 2026 award winners hail from five different divisions and span a variety of interests and professional development opportunities.
- Karl Zellars, Business, Hospitality, & Auxiliary Services — Karl will attend the University Surplus Property Association (USPA) Annual Conference, to benchmark Pitt Surplus operations against peer institutions and bring back ideas on revenue diversification and sustainability reporting.
- Anna Conboy, Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing — Anna is pursuing her Project Management Professional (PMP) and will use this award to fund her exam prep course and exam fee toward earning her PMP certification. This new certification will deepen her project management skills for managing multi-year National Institutes of Health research grants.
- Kaitlyn Emile, Student Affairs — This award will support Kaitlyn’s remaining consultation hours, continuing education, membership, and application fee to complete her Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) certification through the EMDR International Association, for trauma treatment work at the Counseling Center.
- Maria Huttner, Internal Audit — Maria will attend AuditCon 2026 to build peer networks and strengthen leadership and audit strategy skills to help her grow in her new role as internal audit director.
- Erica Roberts, School of Education — Erica will attend the National College Attainment Network Conference and bring back national best practices in college access programming for the Justice Scholars Institute.
- Camille Velazquez, Student Affairs — Camille’s award will be leverage for training costs and resources for a 30-hour virtual Complex Trauma certification course to strengthen trauma assessment and treatment skills for students at the University Counseling Center.
Staff Council Impact Awards
In 2025, Staff Council launched two new Impact Awards to recognize the heart, creativity, service and dedication of members of Staff Council on behalf of all staff. These also serve as an opportunity to highlight the contributions to shared governance, by both individuals and teams, that help us grow stronger as a community.
Individual Impact Award: Sarah McMullen
The Individual Impact Award this year goes to Sarah McMullen, our vice president of public relations. When Sarah stepped into her officer role last July, she hit the ground running and quickly became the driving force behind our Staff Accolades program. The program exists to amplify all of the amazing things our staff members are doing, both at work and in their communities, and to make sure those contributions get the spotlight they deserve. What started as an initiative within Staff Council has grown into something far more visible across the University. We have seen several prominent offices either acknowledging accolades on their own platforms, creating their own programs, or submitting accolades directly to us. That kind of reach and influence does not happen by accident. Sarah, thank you for your dedication and for helping Staff Council make a broader impact than we ever have before.
Group Impact Award: Pitt Day of Giving Committee
The Group Impact Award goes to our Pitt Day of Giving Committee, led by Mary Ramsey and including Robin Leaf, Kristin Thomas and Jamie Brian. This team delivered results that speak for themselves. 126 total donors. A 31.25% increase over last year’s 96 donors, which earned us second place on the Places, Experiences, + More “Raise the Bar” Leaderboard and a $6,000 bonus. We also placed 7th on the PEM Leaderboard for an additional $1,000 bonus, and secured another $1,000 from a generous matching donor. Across our three funds — the Frisch Staff Professional Development Award, the Employee Emergency Fund, and the Staff Council Endowed Book Fund — donors contributed $33,395. Add in the bonuses and this committee helped bring in $41,395 for our funds. That is extraordinary.
Staff Council Mentor Award renamed in honor of Mark Burdsall
Staff Council is proud to announce that its Mentor Award has been renamed the Mark Burdsall Mentorship Award, honoring Mark’s 28 years of service, staff advocacy and mentorship at the University of Pittsburgh. Known for his knowledge, steady presence in HR, and genuine investment in the people around him, Mark has helped shape the careers of countless colleagues across Pitt. Going forward, each recipient of this award will carry on the legacy Mark built: that the truest measure of impact isn’t a title, but the people you lift up along the way. Congratulations on your retirement, Mark — and thank you for everything you’ve given to Pitt staff. The inaugural Mark Burdsall Mentorship Award will be given in 2027.
Staff Council serves as a center for input and dissemination of information, provides a means of communication between staff and other members of the Pitt community, and provides opportunities for professional development.
Staff Council has historically represented the interests of Pitt staff not covered under a collective bargaining agreement and continues to participate in shared governance on campus to advocate for the interests of staff members on issues not addressed by collective bargaining. Additionally, the Council continues its mission to advocate for unrepresented staff members.
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This article was written by the officers of Staff Council. Please contact Staff Council with any questions: sc@pitt.edu.