Spotlight Awards

Overview

As part of promoting our strategic objective of mitigating and managing risk to protect the University's resources, the Chief Risk Officer has established a recognition program to spotlight the achievements of our risk and safety professionals systemwide for exceptional projects and engagements that contribute to advancing our core mission.

Awards are presented in six program areas:

• Continuity of Operations
• Employment Practices Liability
• Environment, Health & Safety
• General Liability/Auto
• Professional Liability
• Workers' Compensation

Each program presents awards based on two criteria:

• Innovation – Awarded to risk and safety professional(s) who develop successful and lasting strategies for minimizing the impact of risk to the University
• Collaboration – Awarded to risk and safety professional(s) for achievements that exemplify campus or system-wide collaboration

Awards are presented at Risk Summit.

Spotlight Award Winners

• 2025 Spotlight on Collaboration Award – Continuity of Operations: Jim Caesar and Michael Brindle, UC Santa Barbara – Developed & conducted continuity tabletop training exercises
• 2025 Spotlight on Collaboration Award – Employment Practices Liability: Adrienne Malka, UC Los Angeles – Launched disability discrimination outreach program
• 2025 Spotlight on Collaboration Award – Environment, Health & Safety: Safe Patient Handling Workgroup, UC Davis Health, UCI Health, UCLA Health, UC San Diego Health, UCSF Health – Ceiling lifts in healthcare operations
• 2025 Spotlight on Collaboration Award – Environment, Health & Safety: Belinda-Joy Manalac, Daniel Paek, and Eric Allton, UC Irvine – Streamlined & enhanced training offerings
• 2025 Spotlight on Collaboration Award – General Liability: Julie Pollard, UC Education Abroad Program – Elevated systemwide global risk management
• 2025 Spotlight on Collaboration Award – Professional Liability: UCLA Health Risk Team, UCLA Health – Annual health risk management forum
• 2025 Spotlight on Innovation Award – Professional Liability: UCI Health Risk Team, UC Irvine Health – Fire safety risk assessment project
• 2025 Spotlight on Collaboration Award – Workers' Compensation: Michelle Sohnlein, UC Santa Cruz – Streamlined processes to improve collaboration and outcomes