Award Recipients

Lorimer Award celebrates outstanding Yale staff contributions

November 11, 2025

President Maurie McInnis recognized 35 Yale staff members with the Linda Lorimer Award for Distinguished Service in a ceremony at the Schwarzman Center on November 11.

Now in its twelfth year, the award celebrates staff who embody Yale’s spirit of leadership, innovation, collaboration, and excellence. Nominated by their peers, this year’s honorees represent 13 key initiatives that advance Yale’s mission locally and globally. Their contributions have accelerated research, improved how we work, and enriched the fabric of our campus and community.

Learn more about the Linda Lorimer Award, including award eligibility, the nomination process, criteria, and past winners.

Linda K. Lorimer Award Ceremony photo gallery

2025 Award Recipients

Curating community and connection

Terry Dagradi, Yale School of Medicine

With creativity and care, Terry has reimagined the School of Medicine’s public spaces, creating a welcoming, inclusive environment that invites connection and discovery. Her exhibits and tours open doors for the community to engage with the people and stories that bring the school’s mission to life.

LKL award ceremony. — Terry Dagradi with President McInnis and Linda Lorimer

Serving up inspiration

Michael DiVincenzo, Yale Hospitality

Blending classic techniques with global flair, Chef Mike crafts innovative menus that transform every dining experience, from daily meals to themed events, with distinctive dishes that leave a lasting impression. He invests that same care in his team, fostering talent and creating space for culinary creativity to thrive.

Strengthening our civic spirit

Nina Fattore, Office of the Secretary

Nina reimagined what civic engagement looks like at Yale and inspired others to join in. By establishing new channels to reach students and enhancing existing voter registration resources and outreach, her work set a new standard for non-partisan engagement, gained national recognition, and empowered more students to make their voices count.

Championing operational excellence

Alfonsina Fraschilla, Yale School of Medicine

With exceptional leadership and vision, Alfonsina implemented operational improvements that transformed her division and enhanced patient care, financial practices, and faculty engagement. Her exemplary financial stewardship and collaborative approach have empowered innovations in care delivery, inspired creative problem-solving, and united others around a shared commitment to excellence.

Advancing research through innovation

Joshua Kenney, Yale School of Medicine

Joshua developed new software that strengthened data collection, storage, and analysis for multisite clinical research within the psychiatry department. By enabling critical research to move forward—even during the pandemic—his work plays an integral role in advancing grants in psychiatry, bioinformatics, and data science for researchers at Yale and other institutions.

Creating space for research to flourish

Martin Matthews, Yale School of Medicine

Fueled by a steadfast commitment to scientific excellence, Martin spearheaded improvements to the hematology research lab: leading a major revamp of the team’s biorepository, streamlining core procedures, and expanding training initiatives. His vision has resulted in lasting improvements that accelerate research, establishing a model of excellence and efficiency.

Mapping success

Miriam Olivares, Yale University Library

Miriam has been instrumental in helping students, staff, and faculty across Yale confidently apply geospatial concepts and tools to their work. Through personalized consultations, immersive training programs, and support for the new Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions, she’s built a thriving geospatial community whose impact extends across campus and beyond.

Cultivating connections

Aaron Zainc, Yale Public Safety

Through teamwork and steady leadership, Sergeant Zainc has strengthened Public Safety’s relationships with the City of New Haven and departments across Yale, ensuring that events are safe, seamless, and successful. The engagement and care he brings to every event exemplify the best of public safety collaboration at Yale.

Elevating innovation

Team of four from Yale Ventures

This team expanded the Yale Innovation Summit into the Northeast’s premier event for innovation and entrepreneurship, creating opportunities to turn big ideas into real-world solutions. Their dedication to this event drove record attendance, strengthening connections between innovators at Yale, across the state, and around the globe.

Advancing AI solutions

Team of five from Finance and Information Technology Services

This team’s pioneering use of AI has helped optimize financial operations while sparking campus-wide conversations about this technology’s potential. Developing practical AI solutions that address real challenges, their contributions have strengthened financial processes, improved efficiency, and helped others see AI’s power to transform how we work.

Charting a clear course to campus

Team of five from the Office of International Students and Scholars

Demonstrating exemplary leadership and tireless dedication, this team ensures that Yale’s international students and scholars feel welcome and connected. With clear communications and comprehensive resources, the Office of International Students and Scholars smooths the path to campus, acting as an essential resource for Yale’s global and campus communities.

Building platforms for breakthrough discoveries

Team of six from Information Technology Services, the Yale Center for Research Computing, and Yale School of Medicine

Driven by a shared purpose, this team created the groundbreaking Hopper and SpinupPlus software platforms, enabling researchers to pursue breakthrough discoveries with sensitive data, securely and confidently. Their work has transformed how Yale approaches complex IT projects, serving as a model for large-scale collaboration across schools and departments.

Paving the way

Team of seven from Yale School of Medicine

This team worked tirelessly to provide the financial and operational expertise needed to launch the new Yale Biomedical Imaging Institute, a major milestone in innovation and research at Yale. Expertly navigating complex planning and implementation challenges, they meticulously guided this transformative initiative from concept to reality.