Staff Council Elections Sept. 29 - Oct. 13

As a staff member within the JCCS (Job Classification & Compensation System), you are eligible to vote in the Staff Council elections. This year, there are a total of eight open Staff Council seats within five categories. You may vote for up to:

  • 4 staff members in Administrative and Professional (4 open seats)
  • 3 staff member in Skilled Trade (3 open seats)
  • 0 staff member in Development (0 open seats)
  • 1 staff members in Information Technology (1 open seat)
  • 0 staff member in Scientific and Research (0 open seat)

The bios, including photos provided by the candidates, are listed alphabetically within each category. Review all bios prior to submitting your votes for Staff Council election.

VOTE HERE!

 

Administrative & Professional - 4 Seats Available

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Gary LaRue

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Gary LaRue
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

I have the pleasure to work side by side with a tremendously talented team of accountants that provide creation to close-out support to the GTRO Project Directors. We are a service oriented department that provides needed accounting and financial services to sponsored programs. I have over 40 years of finncial experience and leadership of support teams. I believe my experience and skills will be a great benefit to the staff council and to Georgia Tech.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

GTRI does not participate on a broad scale across all of GIT campus activities. We need to work closely and coolaborately to use the best experience learned to serve in our staff roles. I want to help guide and direct the staff counsel to improve staff position communication and work-life balance accross GIT.

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Ronald Wormley

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Ronald Wormley
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

I have work on campus for 10+plus years, started in building service as a custodian I promoted-II promoted-III, promoted into a maintenance I, I would love to service as a voice on campus to give knowledge in area of concern within the campus.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

To give awareness of events that gone on around the campus , to work regularly with the others and contribute to ongoing communication.

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Turq Daniels

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Turq Daniels
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

For the past 10 years of my career, I've worked at several colleges and universities as well as at large healthcare organizations serving as a director and above leading large teams in food and nutrition, environmental services, facility services as well as parking and valet.

I served on various committees throughout my career from sustainability to hazmat coordinator. I have a passion for the students, faculty, and staff dining serves on campus and it is my ultimate commitment to see Ga Tech shine not only in food services but in all facets of the organization.

I've been on campus since May of 2019 when I started as the General Manager for Aramark with full responsibility for the operational needs of the dining program. When Tech decided to go self-operated in dining I was the only member of the Aramark team that was asked to stay and I contribute this to my hard work and dedication to Georgia Tech.

With my diverse background, I think my experience will make me a prime candidate to serve on Staff Council.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

As the director of retail operations, my role allows me to interact with many departments on campus as my operations are not limited to the dining halls. I manage operations in the John Lewis Student Center, Tech Green, Clough, and Bradley Building, and these are just a few.
I want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council because being an advocate for the many areas I come in contact with on campus would give this committee more dept to build relationships throughout campus.

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Shamecia Powers

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Shamecia Powers
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

I have served on the Staff Council Compensation and Benefits Committee for over three years now. I believe that my communication skills, my organizational skills, and my passion have been a great asset to the committee and those will also be of great service to Staff Council as a whole.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

I want to serve on the Staff Council in order to be an advocate for my colleagues. I treasure my Georgia Tech Staff family and want to do all that I can to help make Georgia Tech an even better place for our family to be.

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Kerrie Ward

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Kerrie Ward
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

Working with the Controller's office, Police Department and now at Scheller - I have a good sense of how many of the operating units on campus work. I have served in several volunteer and committee roles both on and off campus. I have a high level of initiative, strong organizational skills and I am a solid teammate.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

I serve on the Scheller Staff Enrichment Council and I am the Administrative Chairperson at my church - I approach this opportunity with the same servant's heart. I care about the Georgia Tech community and I want to give my best for my fellow co-workers across the Institute.

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Olga Kotlyar

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Olga Kotlyar
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

I am a passionate, organized, positive individual, with excellent communication skills and a can-do attitude. I think outside the box, always trying to find efficient and effective ways to complete a task or a process. I thrive on making new connections and collaborating with other campus partners.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

The Staff Council's mission pillars are values I live by every day. Engaging with the GT community (internally and externally), advocating for staff needs with the multitude of systematic changes we are currently experiencing in HR and Finance meetings, and being an agent of change and communicating with other staff, sharing the knowledge.
I believe I will be a good representative of the GT staff and our needs to thrive in this Institute.

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Shaun Ashley

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Shaun Ashley
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

I believe my experience and commitment to community outreach at Georgia Tech and my proven ability to successfully work with culturally diverse staff will be a plus to this team. Highlighting staff engagement is key to the success of higher education initiatives. In addition, my communication and marketing skills will be a useful in promoting the staff council’s vision.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

I would like to serve on the Georgia Tech staff council to be advocate for the staff and to work closely with the team to positively impact and create a truly holistic work life balance for our staff, the institute and beyond. I am honored and excited to be nominated to be a part of such a powerful initiative.

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Mariabelen Romero

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Mariabelen Romero
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

I am happiest when working on tasks to better the lives of those around me. Although we obviously receive a salary for our work, I always try to look for ways to make things easier, more efficient, less confusing, more sustainable. Organizing is my passion, and customer service is my super power. I think I bring new points of view, new ideas, and new approaches to dealing with the goals the Staff Council is trying to accomplish.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

Over the years I have seen how the Staff Council strives to push that needed, to benefit everyone. Yes, we are Staff members volunteering out time to help other Staff members, but we also collaborate with Faculty and Student facing groups. The Staff Council and all those who volunteer to participate, know that change can only happen, when we all pitch in. I want a chance to push some of those goals forward. The exposure we get to all sorts of meaningful projects, work with all sorts of talented people, is only possible in a group like the Staff Council.

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Kimberly Goler-Stubbs

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Kimberly Goler-Stubbs
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

Some experience that I will bring is my ability to connect with staff across campus and have meaningful conversation about concerns and/or issues. I am also very action oriented and have brought issues to light or found results from those conversations. Some additional skills I will bring are eager and willing to engage will my colleagues across campus, organized, positive attitude, detailed oriented, strong communicator, active listener, responsive and dependable. I also have several years of event management experiences and a creative outlook on programs to enhance the staff engagement at Ga Tech. I am actively involved in the Staff Council Employee Engagement Committee and Event Coordinators Network in which I have enhanced my leadership skills through holding leadership position in both organizations.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

I want to serve on GT Staff Council because as a committee member for the past two years I have seen the impact they have made in the GT community as well as partake in new initiatives. If elected to Staff Council I know I can bring more awareness of staff concerns to leadership as well as make more of an impact on improving change for staff at Ga Tech.

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Cedric Franklin

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Cedric Franklin
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

I've had an opportunity to work in higher education for the last 13 years as a staff member, working in a variety of positions ranging from custodial team member to my current position. Over the course of this time I've amassed a unique set of skills and experience that covers a multitude of administrative functions at the institution.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

Very simply, there is work to be done, and I'd like to do my part in continuing to push the needle forward on a variety of opportunities for the staff of Georgia Tech.

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Lindsey Fenton

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Lindsey Fenton
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

As an organizational effectiveness professional, I have extensive experience creating, implementing, and improving programs and initiatives that create engaging and fulfilling workplaces. I am also highly skilled at building bridges between executive leaders and staff.
A highlight of my experiences that I can draw upon while serving on the Staff Council include:
• Created and implemented a 3-month intensive professional development program for all focused on developing leadership skills and enhancing well-being
• Developed and led a 12-month peer coaching program for senior and executive leaders
• Part of the team that created and produced five “Make You Matter Week” initiatives – a week of learning, inspiration, wellness, and exploration for 13,000 global employees
• Designed and launched websites with tools and resources for employees to navigate ongoing change

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

I am a GT alumna who joined GTHR in March 2020 to contribute my professional expertise to an institution that helped me become the person I am today. My purpose is to help others become the best version of themselves. I believe people are the most valuable asset in an organization and that they key to making student’s our first priority is investing, developing and growing our people.

Serving on GT staff council will be an opportunity to partner with other passionate staff members to create and enhance a fulfilling, purpose-driven, values-based workplace for ALL staff members. I want to contribute my unique talents to help GT be the best version of itself by empowering our employees to be the best version of themselves.

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Miriam Jackson

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Miriam Jackson
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

While I have never worked on an advisory council, I work very well in a collaborative environment when goals and objectives are clearly defined. I am a great listener and gather as much information as possible before making decisions. As a middle child, I'm naturally a mediator so I tend to always work towards determining the best outcome for all stakeholders.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

I would like the opporutnity to serve on Staff Council to further engage with the Georgia Tech community and help make a difference in the workplace experience.

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Twyla Moore

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Twyla Moore
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

I possess strong communication skills, flexibility, a strong understanding of the importance of advocacy, and the ability to collaborate well with others.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

Staff council is a great way to serve but also stay connected to campus and bring forth communication. I wish to continue to serve on staff council to allow more opportunities for the involvement in decisions that impact Georgia Tech staff. I also enjoy opportunities to meet and engage with individual from campus that I might not otherwise has opportunities to interact.

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Diana Sutton-Fernández

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Diana Sutton-Fernández
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

I am organized, have strong communication skills and able to balance competing priorities. I am currently serving on Staff Council and am the the Chair of the Employee Health and Wellbeing Committee. Above all, I am deeply committed to working on behalf of my fellow staff.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

Throughout my career in higher ed, I have worked in different spaces, in fact, I’ve experienced my own career lattice. It includes roles as a support staff member, administrative staff and executive level and throughout that time there has always been one common denominator- no matter how integral staff are to colleges and universities we are the unsung heroes and I want to continue working in service of my colleagues and sharing their diverse concerns, voices and perspectives to our leadership.

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Elizabeth Miller

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Elizabeth Miller
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

I have 19 proud years of experience as a staff member which provides me with a wealth of knowledge about many aspects of campus and the staff experience. I have served in a variety of leadership roles both on and off campus and pride myself as someone "who gets things done". I have a passion for creativity and problem solving. And I am a true believer in what can be achieved with good organization, teamwork, and communication.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

I am always looking for ways to serve my community and if I genuinely feel I can be a positive force for change, then I want to volunteer to serve. I am excited about the possibilities of what I am capable of contributing to the Staff Council and the opportunity to champion and support our amazing staff at Georgia Tech!

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Tia Stegall

Candidate: Q&A

Administrative & Professional
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Tia Stegall
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

As a Human Resources Consultant for Scheller College of Business, I utilize my skills in communication, leadership, and customer service and my experience daily when collaborating with colleagues to meet their goals for the college. My past experiences with GT have led me to communicate effectively with each classification of the Institute, ranging from students, faculty, staff, executive, leadership, and affiliates. My knowledge of Human Resources practices coupled with my foundation in Public Relations allows me to view this opportunity not only as one to support my fellow staff but to have a part in solving their challenges.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

Being an advocate and representing our staff to GT's leadership allows me to make an impact that surpasses a personal goal of mine to make a difference.

I am honored to be nominated, and gladly accept a position on the staff council.

Information Technology - 1 Seat Available

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Kyle Richardson

Candidate: Q&A

Information Technology
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Kyle Richardson
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

I previously served on the Staff Council for three years with two serving as chair of the Campus Physical Environment Committee. I previously worked for the Parking and Transportation Services department. I have an in depth understanding of parking on campus and at least two viable solutions to lower the permit costs.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

Frankly I would love to actually get something done about parking permit costs. With the Comprehensive Campus Plan being updated, now is the time to address the fact that permit holders have been footing the bill for new deck construction to replace existing parking places that get eliminated to get repurposed. In effect, every permit holder is helping pay for recent projects such as the Exhibition Hall, Eco Commons, and Kendeda building. I believe this is unfair and NOW is the time to make our voices heard that we should not have to foot the bill while we lose parking options while also getting lousy and expensive parking options like the Dalney deck.

Skilled Trades - 3 Seats Available

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John F. Cook

Candidate: Q&A

Skilled Trades
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John F. Cook
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

I am a Natural Leader, I love listening to People and by nature I love Conversations. I like hearing various viewpoints and I respect other peoples opinions. And I’m always looking for a better way of getting goals accomplished.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

I would like to give a voice to the people on campus that think that there opinions don’t matter.

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Maria Idalia Dorantes

Candidate: Q&A

Skilled Trades
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Maria Idalia Dorantes
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

Passion, Inspiration , Nurturing development helping to succeed and thrive , Georgia Tech Core values , vision and mission for and within the staff community .

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

I believe on service and it will be a great honor to collaborate.

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Eric Williams

Candidate: Q&A

Skilled Trades
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Eric Williams
What experience, skills, or abilities will you bring to the Staff Council to best represent Georgia Tech staff?

I am Eric Williams, and I would love to represent you on the incoming Staff Council. I have 14 years in Facilities, 11 at GSU and the last 3 have been here at Ga Tech. I have been active on Staff Council committees during my time here. I have served on the Employee Engagement Committee. I have participated in Employee Appreciation events. I particularly enjoyed serving on the Gifts and Recognition area of the Employee Engagement Committee. It gave me a chance to meet my peers and especially those within Facilities. Not only does my experience on Staff Council committees make me a great representative for my peers, but my position does also. My position in Facilities allows me to excel at multitasking and communicating with several levels of employees here at Tech.

Why do you want to serve on the Georgia Tech Staff Council?

I’d like to serve on Staff Council to share my pillars of my Life: People – Passion – Purpose
People - People are instrumental for any system to function properly. I value people and strive to provide great customer service to people. By taking care of the people, we take care of the institution.
Passion – I, not only, have passion for people, but I have passion for what I do. I bring all of myself to any situation. I give 100% and more to anything I am involved in.
Purpose – We must always know the “why”, the purpose. We must always have a purpose. By having a guiding light, like purpose, it helps get the job done and understand why it is important.
By utilizing my love of people, use of passion and sense of purpose, I hope to represent my fellow Staff members respectfully and wholeheartedly.