Super Stars

2024

Elizabeth Baquero, Research Administrator, General Internal Medicine, believed in my ability to succeed in my first research role. As my manager, she is one of the best teachers I've had in my professional career!

Alan Chan, Senior Budget Analyst, Administration, has given a stellar performance since joining our team. He's a quick learner and always willing to jump into new projects.

Aisha Farris-Scott, Patient Access Coordinator, Cardiology, is easy to work with and a fantastic worker all around! 

Juana Disla, Senior Patient Coordinator, Infectious Diseases, is a wonderful part of the team, always willing to help.

Danielle (DeeDee) Maisez, Research Coordinator, Cardiology, is a mega supernova Big Bang performer, and I cannot imagine anyone more embodying the Weill Cornell's mission-driven values. She is guided by the goals of excellence in education, patient care, and biomedical research.

Maritza Negron-Mercado, Customer Service Representative II, Gastroenterology & Hepatology), is always pleasant and very efficient. She listened to me about anxiety I had and was very efficient in helping me schedule my procedure. I am very grateful.

Jhumpa Sarkar, Regulatory Assistant, Infectious Diseases, goes above and beyond. She is organized and engaged with the work we do. Even when she is working on other projects, she find time to help out and make things run smoothly.

Ashley Soliwoda, Assistant Research Coordinator, Infectious Diseases, is extremely organized. She is great at managing stressful situations with ease.

2023

Elias Baez, Senior Coordinator, Faculty Support, is a wealth of knowledge. He is a great team player and contributor. He provides timely weekly communications on the senior promotions that we work on for my division, and he is always available to assist troubleshoot unfamiliar scenarios.

Giavanna (Gigi) Castro-Plewa, Administrative Specialist, Pulmonary, is the epitome of an organized, hardworking individual who exemplifies tremendous potential. She is impeccable at keeping track of things and making sure everyone is on the same page.

Abishek Chittathoor, Medical Assistant, Pulmonary, consistently goes above and beyond to assist patients and clinicians. He is the first to volunteer when needed and often completes tasks that are not his responsibility just to help the patient! He has made a significant impact on our practice since he started his role with us.

Cisco Espinosa, Research Assistant, General Internal Medicine, is always front and center for programs and activities that are important to faculty, including Grand Rounds and conferences. It’s always impressive to see staff not only integrating themselves into their divisions, but also leading by example.

Diahann Everard, Practice Specialist, Hematology & Medical Oncology, is patient and dedicated to ensuring our clinic runs smoothly, particularly as our office goes through a transition. Diahann graciously took on this responsibility without complaint.

Souhila Hamlat, Medical Assistant, Pulmonary, is very pleasant and medically knowledgeable. During a time when the team was understaffed, Souhila served three to five providers at a time, managing vitals, scheduling Bronchoscopies, and more. The doctors were very pleased. She is an excellent and hard-working employee.

Catherine Jerry, Clinical Laboratory Specialist (Infectious Diseases), is a stellar lab technician for the Infectious Diseases - Cornell Clinical Trials Unit. She commutes every morning from Connecticut, and even did so at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is meticulous about her work and always strives to improve operational workflows. Our entire unit would not be able to be as effective without her.

Caroline Lillicraf, Registered Nurse (RN) (Cardiology), gives her all to her patients and team every day and has gone above and beyond recently, after some departures and leaves have left us short staffed. She has been a constant support throughout this difficult time, maintaining an extraordinary workload without ever letting her high level of patient care suffer. Throughout this time, she is also spearheading our patient counsel, helping to optimize the experience of our Adult Congenital Cardiology patients and orienting the newest member of the Congenital Cardiology team.

Natika Martin, Senior Medical Secretary (Pulmonary), is phenomenal with patients over the phone. During call reviews, she lovingly calls patients her friends, which they enjoy. She is thorough in her chart review and is careful to schedule patients accordingly. When she hears someone is sick, she springs into action to make sure she gets them everything quickly, and taps into leadership as needed. As a fully remote employee, we feel her presence greatly on Teams and she routinely calls out her colleagues for doing great things.

Natalie Olivero, Patient Access Coordinator (Cardiology), consistently goes above and beyond to ensure patients feel safe, are informed, cared for, and heard. She also makes sure the doctors and supporting staff are aware of the patient's concerns or questions every step of the way. 

Daisy Orellana, Patient Access Coordinator (Cardiology), goes above and beyond to help both staff and patients. She is very diligent, easy to work with, and attentive. 

Tracy Preston-Brown, Account Administrator, Revenue Cycle, Hematology & Oncology, is an excellent colleague who has excelled in taking on a larger role in credentialing while also keeping up with her daily tasks. She maintains a stellar relationship with her coworkers, managers, senior leadership and all medical staff.

Melissa Rivera, Patient Coordinator, Endocrinology, always goes above and beyond to provide patients with exceptional care and support, always with a kind and compassionate demeanor. Even in the face of challenging patient cases, she remains calm and handles each situation with grace. Her performance exceeds expectations.

Nadine Sylvain, Accountant I, Administration, is always terrific, helpful, super-competent and friendly. She has been particularly helpful with the roll out of the new HR system. In short, Nadine is a bright star in the Department of Medicine’s constellation!

DeJonay Thomas, Senior Medical Secretary, Pulmonary, came to our office as a temporary worker and immediately impressed all of us with her dedication and work ethic. She was so amazing, leadership asked her to be a permanent member of our team. DeJonay brings inexhaustible joie de vivre that was missing from our office. We are lucky to have her.

Cheryl Watson-Haskell, Senior Patient Coordinator, Cardiology, is exceptional working with patients. A patient reported her efforts as "unforgettable," an experience "forever engraved" in the patient's mind and heart.

Kasey Woodin, Nurse Practitioner, Pulmonary, is wonderful with patients, extremely caring, and always goes above and beyond. She is an asset to the division, patient, empathetic and knowledgeable. 

Daisy Yeung, Administrative Specialist, Pulmonary, is constantly thinking about solutions and improvements to processes. When she unsure of something, she doesn’t give up until she finds an answer. She is very efficient and a great role model for her peers.