SVC STAR Award

Inspiration and achievement come from all levels of our organization. With great PRIDE, every year we honor up to four Senior Vice Chancellor STAR Awardees for their contributions to the FAS True North and the Chancellor’s Goals, and for enhancing our culture by demonstrating PRIDE Values in their daily interactions. In support of the UCSF mission, awardees embrace their roles to create an environment where people can do their best to help staff learn and grow, focus on continuous improvement, and to be good stewards of our resources. 

The Staff Appreciation and Recognition Program (“STAR Program”) is a recognition program to recognize and reward excellence in University service, significant achievements and contributions, and/or outstanding individual and team performance.

Meet the 2025 SVC STAR Awardees

Gail Lee 
Campus Life Services
Sustainability Director 

Gail Lee is responsible for conceptualizing and setting up UCSF’s first Office of Sustainability. She was into sustainability before it became mainstream, with no staff, no money, no office, no fellows, no committee structure, no attention, and no understanding of the future. Gail carried UCSF forward person-by-person, step-by-step, and inch-by-inch. She met with faculty, staff, students, administrators – anyone who would listen and had an interest. She persevered through the beginning to help us achieve and get to where we are today. She has helped us get to the point where we have a real study and building blocks for a plan to decarbonize UCSF, something that was only a pipedream many years ago. Through Gail’s dedication and commitment to the details – water conservation, improved refrigeration usage, recycling acceptance, lab plastics and hospital waste stream alternatives, and so many other fine points – UCSF can be proud of its current positioning in the field of environmental sustainability and the advancement of a fossil-free future.

The sustainability team has engaged over 14,300 staff through in-person events, had 850,700 webpage hits, and on-average reached over 3,000 annual newsletter subscribers. UCSF's Sustainability Certification Program has awarded 200 certifications across offices, labs, clinics, and medical units. The certification program reflects a collective effort of the community to go beyond business as usual to reduce emissions, save energy, conserve water, and minimize waste in workspaces. Partnerships have expanded, along with collective efforts. These include collaborations across the campus and health system, with the City of San Francisco Department of the Environment, and with various organizations. Over 17 different partnerships of substantial collaboration exist now. Under Gail’s leadership this past decade, UCSF has emerged as a leader in sustainability, deeply embedding and evolving our sustainability practices across the campus and health systems.

From the selection committee: 
 
“Gail's dedicated her career to Sustainability efforts before it was a 'thing,' and she has been pivotal in our efforts to lay the groundwork. She’s produced amazing work that not only affects UCSF, but impacts the world.”  

Stephanie Shang 
Card Programs and Payment Supervisor
Supply Chain Management, Finance

Stephanie Shang, a Card Programs and Payment Supervisor in Supply Chain Management (SCM) provided outstanding leadership in managing the Payment Plus virtual credit card payment program, particularly during challenging pandemic times when the program was experiencing a decline. Stephanie enhanced this vital payment method, leading to substantial financial growth and operational improvements, aligning with the Chancellor’s strategic goals and the FAS True North pillars. Stephanie partnered with US Bank to create a campaign strategy to recruit new suppliers to increase spending through the program, immersing herself in learning effective communication strategies, consulting with peers across other UC Campuses to learn best practices, and dedicating countless extra hours to the initiative all the while still ensuring the continuation of daily operations.

Under her guidance, the number of suppliers participating in Payment Plus soared from 1,044 in 2022 to 3,255 in 2024, marking a staggering 212% increase. Financially, the program saw a growth in spending from $64 million in 2022 to a projected $115 million in 2024—a 78% increase over two years. The annual incentives from US Bank saw nearly a 50% increase from 2022 to 2023 from $1,481 to $2,217 million, significantly enhancing the funds coming into the University with potentially more this year. Stephanie’s strategic partnership with US Bank redefined UCSF’s payments and set a model that other UC Campuses now seek to replicate. Last year, the UC Office of the President (UCOP) recognized her tremendous work and is tapping her for her expertise. Among all UC Campuses and US National Labs using Payment Plus, Stephanie is set to be recognized by UCOP as having the best-in-class Payment Plus program in the UC System due to her efforts.

From the selection committee:

“Stephanie saw a problem brought on by the pandemic and boldly and proactively took the initiative. She’s a great example of how one person made an impressive overall impact to UCSF and, more broadly, to the University of California.”   

Sophia Labeko
Communications Specialist
Campus Life Services 

In every word she writes and in every event at which she volunteers, Sophia Labeko does so with one hundred percent commitment to providing a thoughtful and quality experience for everyone. Sophia is the spirit, voice, passion and curiosity of CLS, all woven into a superb colleague and collaborator.

From behind the scenes and in front of it, Sophia finds the golden nugget. She is a storyteller, a video producer, and a copywriter with a distinct and approachable voice. She's authored over a dozen articles on Sustainability, profiles of CLS Staff, back stories about our Retail Vendors, and most recently, the annual Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim challenge. Sophia developed, named, and published the first-ever Documents and Media monthly e-news, The Scroll, with over 2,000 subscribers and produced and script-wrote the Jamie Eats video series to promote on-campus food vendors, which continues to get rave reviews and visibility in the UCSF Town Hall and UCSF social media channels. Her involvement this past year in the CLS Leadership Development Program’s focus on “Staff Recognition” has led to creative and innovative snippets of showcasing CLS staff and their worthy contributions. She has lent her marketing talents and passion for storytelling to elevate recent recognition efforts and make it fun, meaningful, and visible. Sophia is on everyone's speed dial, and her CLS colleagues are thankful to call her and have her answer with an enthusiastic, “How can I help?”

From the selection committee:

“Sophia has innovative and creative ideas to amplify CLS and build the UCSF brand. She’s led great work highlighting retailers to help boost sales, and is passionate about building community.”  

Long Tran
IT Security Analyst
Police Department 

IT Security Analyst Long Tran is an invaluable member of the UCSF Police Department. His can-do attitude and positive outlook are some of the reasons he is a pleasure to work with. Long’s technical acumen and public safety experience are evident in his work. He assisted every division of the department, and his projects included MDC replacement, CAD configuration, server and switch replacement and AXON camera rollout. He can handle complex technical projects and still have the patience to help someone troubleshoot an email or phone problem. Long is PD's resident expert for information systems and technology. His role encompasses all facets of the police department, from the technology in police vehicles to medical center communications systems to helping with Zoom meetings to setting up laptops for large trainings.

He also supports PD’s space needs, such as securing report-writing rooms and communication tech specialists work stations. He recently helped find report-writing rooms for all officers at two new hospitals, St. Francis and St. Mary’s, as well as 654 Minnesota Street. He identified secure rooms for officers and worked outside his job description to ensure the space was ready for officers, with furniture and equipment. And he did this all single-handedly and within a very short timeframe. Long is very positive and caring, looking out for folks when they need support. He always has a helpful demeanor and is always willing to step in when needed.

From the selection committee:

“Long exemplifies a role model for a positive, caring community member. He is an incredible team player, always looking for ways to help people and make genuine connections.”  

Previous SVC STAR Awardees  

2024 - Bianca Nunez Human Resources, Autumn Huffman Human Resources, Tom Johnson Police Department, Paul Sullivan Program Management Office 

2023 - John Rosendo Campus Life Services, Gina Curiel UCSF Police Department, Ed Shelton UCSF Police Department, Debra Roche Mathau, UCSF Real Estate

2022 - Kathleen Yumul Campus Life Services, Sarah Fidelibus Program Management Office, Jeff Jang Controllers Office

2021 – CeeCee Shin Campus Life Services, Dean Shehu UCSF Finance, Kim Woo Real Estate 

2020 – Esther Carmona Human Resources, Adam Schnirel Campus Life Services, Mono Simeone Real Estate  

2019 – Jenn Chan Program Management Office, Elicia Rozic Campus Life Services, Audrey Yu Finance  

2018- Emmy Chico Real Estate, Art Gong UCSF Finance, César Sanchez Campus Life Services

2017 – Aron Lewis Human Resources, Eli Perszyk Campus Life Services, Nisa Sampior Real Estate  

Each FAS department (FET level) can nominate up to two employees, preferably in each category (P3 and below and CX; and P4 and above). 

Departments should consider all levels of staff and are encouraged to submit at least one nomination in recognition of an individual contributor (P3 or below and CX). FY25 SVC STAR Awards is closed. Nominations are vetted by the SVC STAR Committee and a recommendation will be sent to FET via email.    

See the SVC STAR Award nomination page to see criteria, key dates and committee members.