Brisa Arias-Leon is an Administrative Assistant III for Campus Life on the CSN Henderson Campus and she was nominated for Employee of the Month by Dr. Nadia Czesky. Arias-Leon is known for her attention to detail and her ability to provide exceptional assistance to a variety of internal stakeholders and students.  

She has a natural ability to make others feel welcomed and help students achieve, succeed and prosper by listening to their needs and providing expert guidance and support. Arias-Leon has a collaborative work style and has been instrumental in building stronger working relationships between her team and other departments. 

“Brisa is dedicated to empowering students by providing guidance and support,” wrote Dr. Czesky in her nomination. “She truly understands the importance of the Students First philosophy an always puts the needs of students above her own.” 

Arias-Leon frequently acts as a mentor for colleagues and students to develop their professional skills and demeanor. She is referred to as the “glue” that keeps her team together and her colleagues cannot imagine a more deserving recipient of this recognition.  Congratulations Brisa! 

If you would like to nominate someone for CEOM, please submit the Nomination Form to Connie Jo Harris. During telecommuting, please submit the Nomination Form to Connie.Harris@csn.edu. Do not send through interoffice mail.

The Classified Employee of the Month will receive $200, a certificate, a designated parking spot (when we return to campus) and be recognized on a plaque at all three campuses. 

The purpose of this award is to recognize exceptional classified employees who stand out among the many employees that consistently perform at a high level. Please nominate those individuals that are thriving in the work at home environment. 

Ranking and selection by the council members is “blind.” The employee name and work area on the nomination form will be hidden from the council, thus we are asking for the nominator’s cooperation in not mentioning names and work areas in the narrative, when possible. Nominees who are not selected as the CEOM, will be considered for two additional months.  

Ken has worked for the College of Southern Nevada for 18 years. He is currently a Specialist with the Auxiliary Services department. Ken enjoys working with and supporting all departments in the college, assisting staff, faculty, and students. In his spare time, he enjoys waterfowl hunting in Nevada marshes during the wintertime and fly-fishing for strip bass during warmer weather.

 The Administrative Faculty Assembly would like to help you recognize the contributions of administrative and professional faculty at the College of Southern Nevada. If you know any administrative or professional faculty that you feel deserves to be recognized, please take a moment to fill out a short online nomination form. Please direct any questions to the AFA Recognition Committee Chair, Leanita Hughes leanita.hughes@csn.edu.

More information about the AFA, the Administrative Faculty Employee of the Month, and a list of previous recipients can be found on our website: https://at.csn.edu/administrative-faculty-assembly-afa.

Nomination forms are due on the 15^th of each month. It takes just a moment; please help recognize a hard-working colleague today! Please use this link https://forms.office.com/r/5AJyL8EtRw to nominate. Thank you for helping to recognize the great work done by your friends and colleagues.

Cassandra Aguirre is an Administrative Assistant for the Office of Sponsored Projects on the Charleston campus. She is known for her can-do attitude and her ability to relate her work directly back to helping CSN students. Her knowledge and skill-level keep pace with the demanding and technical nature of her department and Aguirre frequently takes on assignments beyond the scope of her role.

“She never says something is beyond her, or I don’t know how,” wrote colleague Ruth Pe Palileo in her nomination. “Instead, she commits to trying and follows through.” Her team also notes that Aguirre is wise enough to know when to ask for help. “She continually sets the bar higher for herself and is always receptive to feedback as a pathway to improve her performance.”

Aguirre is a proud CSN alumna who understands first-hand the importance of living the CSN Students First philosophy. She advocates on behalf of students and can be found digging into technical literature to see if there are opportunities to help support students, faculty and staff be successful.

Aguirre embodies the concept of teamwork in her daily tasks by stepping up to field a wide variety of complex questions from faculty. Her natural curiosity and attention to detail are an asset to her team as she compiles and summarizes information and reports for her team. “She attends important trainings and webinars capturing notes and takeaways for the entire team,” wrote Pe Palileo. “She scrupulously updates reports to ensure the team has the most current information and does an excellent job identifying the most important information for our team to know to act as resource to others.”

Aguirre’s recent accomplishments include completion of coursework in grant-writing and countless CAPE workshops and webinars. She recently put that training to use in a grant submission and with support from colleagues, she managed the process from start to finish.

Congratulations Cassandra!

Vishal Sharma has been the Manager of Student Recruitment and College Connections since July 2019 and has been operating in dual roles as the acting Director of Student Recruitment as well since August 2020. Vishal has been in the Admissions and Student Recruitment world for 7 years and has experience with enrollment services for both small private and large public institutions.

Sharma has been in Las Vegas for nearly five years, after being raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He looks forward to continuing to modernize our recruitment approach and marketing efforts to better connect with Millennial and Gen Z students.

The Administrative Faculty Assembly would like to help you recognize the contributions of administrative and professional faculty at the College of Southern Nevada. If you know any administrative or professional faculty that you feel deserves to be recognized, please take a moment to fill out a short online nomination form. Please direct any questions to the AFA Recognition Committee Chair, Leanita Hughes leanita.hughes@csn.edu.

More information about the AFA, the Administrative Faculty Employee of the Month, and a list of previous recipients can be found on our website: https://at.csn.edu/administrative-faculty-assembly-afa.

Nomination forms are due on the 15^th of each month. It takes just a moment; please help recognize a hard-working colleague today! Please use this link https://forms.office.com/r/5AJyL8EtRw to nominate. Thank you for helping to recognize the great work done by your friends and colleagues.

Dr. Karen Violanti is the current Director for First Year Experience (FYE) & Student Success Initiatives, the Interim Director for the Career & Transfer Services Office, and works with the GEAR UP and Full STEM Ahead Award Program grants.

Karen has been in the FYE field since early 2000 with the launch of multiple FYE programs throughout the country. Karen was born and raised in Buffalo, NY and moved to Las Vegas in June of 2019. Karen is excited to be a part of the CSN community and continuing to build and grow the “FYE” for new to CSN students!

The Administrative Faculty Assembly would like to help you recognize the contributions of administrative and professional faculty at the College of Southern Nevada. If you know any administrative or professional faculty that you feel deserves to be recognized, please take a moment to fill out a short online nomination form.

Please direct any questions to the AFA Recognition Committee Chair, Leanita Hughes leanita.hughes@csn.edu.

More information about the AFA, the Administrative Faculty Employee of the Month, and a list of previous recipients can be found on our website: https://at.csn.edu/administrative-faculty-assembly-afa.

Nomination forms are due on the 15th of each month. It takes just a moment; please help recognize a hard-working colleague today! Please use this link https://forms.office.com/r/5AJyL8EtRw to nominate. Thank you for helping to recognize the great work done by your friends and colleagues.

Amanda Mack is a Custodial Specialist in the Facilities department on the North Las Vegas campus. Mack embodies the CSN Students First philosophy in her role by continually developing her knowledge and skills to become an expert in her role. She is known for a positive attitude and infectious enthusiasm for a job well done.  

“Over the years, Amanda Mack has worked very hard to understand our department rules, guidelines and equipment to get all the necessary training needed to be successful,” wrote Daniel Gonzalez. “Appreciation for her work extends well beyond our department and her team has absolute confidence in her abilities.”  

Mack has been a part of the CSN family for 14 years and is known for her professionalism and her colleagues describe her as exceptionally reliable. “Amanda consistently follows department rules and policies all the while prioritizing tasks and helping teammates,” wrote Gonzalez.  

Mack has amassed a collection of letters of gratitude for such events as CSN Connections, Graduation, CSN Technology expositions and numerous galas. “We are proud to have Amanda on this team,” wrote Gonzalez.  

If you would like to nominate someone for CEOM, please submit the Nomination Form to Connie Jo Harris by JANUARY 24. During telecommuting, please submit the Nomination Form to Connie.Harris@csn.edu. Do not send through interoffice mail. Thank you. 

Connie.Harris@csn.edu.  

The Classified Employee of the Month will receive $200, a certificate, a designated parking spot (when we return to campus) and be recognized on a plaque at all three campuses. 

The purpose of this award is to recognize exceptional classified employees who stand out among the many employees that consistently perform at a high level. Please nominate those individuals that are thriving in the work at home environment. 

Ranking and selection by the council members is “blind.” The employee name and work area on the nomination form will be hidden from the council, thus we are asking for the nominator’s cooperation in not mentioning names and work areas in the narrative, when possible. Nominees who are not selected as the CEOM, will be considered for two additional months. As the recipient of the nomination forms, I do not participate in the rating of nominees.