Caltech Staff Honored at 70th Annual Staff Service & Impact Awards

Julia McCallin, associate vice president for human resources and chief human resources officer, served as emcee for the event, which honored staff members for their contributions to Caltech’s research and education mission. McCallin began the program welcoming all awardees, but especially the 15-year awardees, who had not been able to walk across the Beckman stage when they were honored for a decade of service in 2020; the Institute held a virtual event that year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Thank you to all of you who define Caltech and the human spirit that makes us so unique,” she said.

Charlie Lane, vice president and chief operating officer, served as keynote speaker. Lane drew on his lifelong love of baseball, and the legends of the diamond, to honor Caltech’s legends on the campus, comparing ballplayers who makes incredible catches to the incredible accomplishments of Caltech staff members. “That’s what I want us all to remember,” Lane said. “We can try and try and sometimes we can catch that ball, sometimes we can make that accomplishment. But we’ve got to celebrate, folks. There’s a lot to celebrate.”

The ceremony honored Institute staff members who have served Caltech for 10 years or more, including the three staffers who have served for 45 years: Cara Stemen, event operations manager; custodian Esthela Jalabert; and Walter Cook, senior research scientist in the Space Radiation Laboratory.

Lane introduced 16 winners of the Spot Award, a program that recognizes individuals on an impromptu basis for their special effort to their department or the Institute. True to the theme of his presentation, the staffers each received a baseball signed by Caltech President Thomas F. Rosenbaum, the Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair and professor of physics.

Sabine Brinkmann-Chen, lab manager in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, received this year’s Thomas W. Schmitt Annual Staff Prize, named for former associate vice president for human resources Tom Schmitt and endowed by trustee Ted Jenkins (BS ’65, MS ’66). The Schmitt Prize recognizes staff members who “embody the values and spirit that enable the Institute to achieve excellence in research and education.”

In the words of one of Brinkmann-Chen’s nominators: “[She] embodies the very spirit of service, leadership, and integrity that the Thomas W. Schmitt Prize seeks to recognize. Her impact on Caltech is profound, far-reaching, and enduring. I can think of no one more deserving of this honor, and it is a privilege to submit her nomination.”

The Team Impact Award went to the Emergency Housing Working Group, whose 17 members from across the Institute assisted community members affected by the devastating wildfires of January 2025. “As soon as this group was formed, they strategized and worked tirelessly to house Caltech and JPL community members affected by the devastating Eaton fire,” the nomination letter stated. “Some of the staff on this team were themselves displaced and put the needs of their community before their own.”

The fifth-annual Associated Students of the California Institute of Technology (ASCIT) Staff Appreciation Award recognizes the exceptional contributions of Caltech staff members on behalf of the undergraduate community. For 2025, the ASCIT Staff Prize went to Vincent Ton, program manager for Student-Faculty Programs; Andy Brabson, head coach, Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving; and Dining Services cook Jesus Valladares.

Additionally, several individuals were honored for their contributions to the inaugural Student Life and Experience Conference, the first time ASCIT has given this award. These honorees included Hillary Tribbs, director of inclusion and belonging; Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux, associate vice president for campus climate, engagement, and success; Joe Ramirez, institutional research and assessment associate; and Jaime Reyes, director of Dining Services.

Rosenbaum, in his closing remarks, came back to the theme of baseball and, in particular, Willie Mays’s legendary catch in the 1954 World Series. “It’s that extra effort that we’re celebrating today,” Rosenbaum said. “We just so appreciate the fact that you take the job so remarkably seriously and that you do everything that makes Caltech such a special place.”