The Department of Medicine is delighted to announce the winners of our 2023 Administrative Awards. Please join us in thanking them for their hard work this year and for demonstrating Duke's values of respect, trust, inclusion, discovery and excellence.
The winners are Christy Dixon, administrative manager, Rising Star for Administrative Excellence Award; Chris Weymouth, director of finance, Distinguished Achievement in Administrative Service Award; and The DOMRA Effort Management Team: Denise Wynn, MBA, Berlin Bermudez, D. Ed. and Darcy Lewis, Team Award for Administrative Excellence.
Their hard work and dedication to the department – especially, during the transition to DHIP - has not gone unnoticed, said Amy Porter-Tacoronte, MBA, chief administrative officer. They are true advocates for faculty and staff, and they have earned the trust and respect of so many, said Porter-Tacoronte, adding that we are very grateful to have them as a part of the Medicine family.
Rising Star for Administrative Excellence Award
Recipient: Christy Dixon, Administrative Manager, Division of Infectious Diseases
The Rising Star Award for Administrative Excellence recognizes an emerging faculty and/or staff member in administration whose record reflects ongoing and exceptional growth in contribution to the profession and increased levels of leadership, responsibility, and sphere of impact within the Department of Medicine. While eligible nominees have not yet reached a director-level position, their track-record reflects a strong career trajectory with the possibility of forward advancement and potential for appointment at the highest levels of the profession.
Not only has Dixon consistently, demonstrated a clear talent for managing multiple projects and juggling challenges as they come, she has been an essential administrative partner in managing human resources, operations and finance issues. Her energy and passion for learning has fostered the development of extraordinary problem-solving skills – resulting in greater efficiency and effectiveness within the division, Porter-Tacoronte noted.
Distinguished Achievement in Administrative Service Award
Recipient: Chris Weymouth, Director of Finance
The Distinguished Achievement in Administrative Service Award recognizes a faculty and/or staff member who has made significant contributions toward the mission of the department by providing exceptional and continuous service to our faculty, staff, and students. In being chosen for this award, Weymouth has demonstrated an excellent work ethic and had an extraordinary impact within the department as a role model. Weymouth is not only known as our financial content expert but considered a true advocate for faculty and staff resources, Porter-Tacoronte said.
Team Award for Administrative Excellence, DOMRA Effort Management Team
Recipients: Denise Wynn, MBA, Director, Basic Research Administration
Berlin Bermudez, D.Ed., Senior Associate Director, Office of Research
Darcy Lewis, Associate Director, Research Administration
The Team Award for Administrative Excellence recognizes teams working in partnership with DOM Divisions and institutional (DUHS, SOM, and PDC) central offices to develop and implement effective and efficient operational and financial planning, reporting, human capital management, communication processes and resources, and performance monitoring systems that support the department of medicine faculty and staff achieve their research, clinical, clinical research, and educational objectives.
The team’s work and approach to implementing a new appointment calendar model focusing on the validation and allocation of effort was exceptionally done, Porter-Tacoronte said. Not only did they develop a useful, simple, validation tool for reviewing and considering different effort scenarios, but each made significant time to meet with faculty members across the all divisions.
Through their leadership, this difficult change was managed in a way that effectively engaged key stakeholders while ensuring they had the information and tools to comply with Duke and federal policy.