UW–Madison gold medal on a background of campus.

UW–‍Madison IT Recognition Awards

The IT Recognition Awards honor information technology professionals at UW–‍Madison who excel at their work and strengthen our community. Nominations open each spring semester (typically in March or April). Honorees are nominated by their peers and selected by a committee of volunteers from the distributed IT community. The university honors IT Recognition Award winners during the IT Professionals Conference in the summer. An annual tradition since 2020, the awards are part of the UW IT Connects initiative and sponsored by the Office of the Chief Information Officer.

In this page:

Meet the winners of the 2025 IT Recognition Awards

2025 honorees

A group of approximately 20 professional colleagues pose together outdoors, with several holding red-framed certificates or awards, and a lake visible in the background.

2025 IT Recognition Awards honorees. (Photo by Bill Bellon / Space Science and Engineering Center)

Congratulations to the 2025 IT Recognition Award winners! The 6th annual awards were presented on May 29, 2025, at the Pyle Center on the UW–‍Madison campus as part of the IT Professionals Conference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6630Ti7N_I&list=PL4ciwWR1qRC-B0Tj_nLoixB30TEpIhafG&index=50

Watch the 2025 IT Recognition Awards ceremony video with audio descriptions.

Mary Evansen

Title:: Director
Department:: DoIT Communications
Division:: Division of Information Technology
Award:: Lifetime Achievement Award

José Medina-González

Title:: Departmental Assistant
Department:: Internal Operations
Division:: Division of Information Technology
Award:: Janet E. Plato Award for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Garrett Smith

Title:: Software Developer
Department:: Teaching & Research Application Development (TRAD)
Division:: Division of Information Technology
Award:: Unsung Hero Award

Lisa Jansen

Title:: IT Director
Department:: Media, Education Resources & Information Technology (MERIT)
Division:: School of Education
Award:: Lifetime Achievement Award

Jim Porter

Title:: Technical Integration Engineer III
Department:: Institute on Aging
Division:: School of Medicine and Public Health
Award:: Unsung Hero Award

Ella Tschopik

Title:: IT Help Desk Supervisor
Department:: Media, Education Resources & Information Technology (MERIT)
Division:: School of Education
Award:: Ellen La Luzerne Award for Community Engagement

Jackson Kestner

Title:: Information Security Officer
Department:: Media, Education Resources & Information Technology (MERIT)
Division:: School of Education
Award:: Rising Star Award

Todd Shechter

Title:: Chief Technology Officer
Division:: Division of Information Technology
Award:: Organizational Impact Award

Weizhong Wang

Title:: Software Engineer/Developer
Department:: Web Platforms & Services
Division:: Division of Information Technology
Award:: Transformational Achievement Award

Eight people pose for a group photo outdoors

Members of the DoIT Active Directory Migrations Project Team. Back row from left: Ben Pommerening, Crague Cook, Tiffany Thayer, Abrianna Barca, Joe Tarter. Front row from left: Richie Markiewicz, Max Yang, Tomomi Imamura. (Photo by Bill Bellon / Space Science and Engineering Center)

Active Directory Migrations Project Team

Division of Information Technology Team members: Abrianna Barca, Tony Brzoskowski, Alison Caffrey, Crague Cook, Tomomi Imamura, Richie Markiewicz, Ben Pommerening, Joe Tarter, Tiffany Thayer, Max Yang Team Achievement Award

About the awards

We work with excellent people who do awesome things. The IT Recognition Awards acknowledge and appreciate our UW–‍Madison information technology colleagues for their amazingness. Below are the award categories and descriptions for the annual IT Recognition Awards. Visit our guide to writing an effective IT recognition award nomination for more details, including the scoring rubric the awards committee uses to determine the honorees.

Ellen La Luzerne Community Builder Award

This award recognizes an IT professional or initiative that excels in bringing people together through active volunteerism and professional service to the broader IT community.

Rising Star Award

This award recognizes a rising IT community member whose record reflects ongoing and exceptional growth in contribution to the profession.

Unsung Hero

This award recognizes a member of the IT community who is responsive and proactive, making a real difference to their co-workers by designing or implementing excellent technical solutions. Yet their contributions may be overlooked or receive little formal recognition.

Janet E. Plato Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award

This award recognizes and celebrates the exemplary leadership displayed by an IT staff member in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community.

Team Achievement Award

This award recognizes a single team of IT community members whose collective teamwork in creating or incorporating an information—or technical-based solution on one or more projects has significantly impacted the university.

Lifetime Achievement Award

This award recognizes the continued contributions of a community member whose body of work throughout their career has significantly impacted the success of the university. Emeritus and retired staff are eligible for this award.

Transformational Achievement Award

This award recognizes an IT community member who made a significant impact in transforming the university through their efforts on a specific major IT project or initiative beyond community events. The Transformational Achievement Award differs from other awards in that it is to recognize a specific initiative, project, or service where creating or incorporating an information or technical solution was essential to success.