Staff Spotlight

  1. April 18, 2011

    Geriatric nurse helps Haitian villagers access clean water

    Kim Smith went on a mission trip to Haiti 13 years ago to help build a school, church and medical clinic in a village called Seguin. As a registered nurse, she helped assess people from the surrounding area and provide much needed medial care. About 250 ill villagers lined up each day seeking care, including…
  2. April 11, 2011

    Medical assistant made transition from factory to clinic

    For 20 years, Gerald White worked at an Adrian plant that produced cooling systems for the auto industry. “I ran a press that made aluminum tubing for radiators,” he says. But when he heard the factory was likely to move operations to Mexico, the married father didn’t wait for the axe to fall. Photo by…
  3. April 4, 2011

    Executive secretary devotes nonwork time to teen girls

    Sonja Botes knows the impact a community can make. As a member of the youth leadership team at Crosswinds Church in Canton, Botes and other leaders meet weekly with junior high school and high school students to discuss faith, life and personal experiences. “It is of great value to see the kids grow in their…
  4. March 28, 2011

    Administrative assistant shows gratitude by helping dogs in need

    Cat Meyer’s husband, Earl, suffered a massive stroke 12 years ago that affected his memory. When Earl no longer could work as a mechanic, Meyer refused to see her husband lose hope dealing with health issues and unemployment at the same time. So she asked her husband what he loved to do, even with his…
  5. March 21, 2011

    Globetrotting project manager loves life on the road

    To celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary, international travel-lover Linnea Chervenak and husband, Andrew, entered a patisserie in Paris and bought a baguette, found cheese and olives at an open air market, purchased a bottle of wine, and had a picnic right outside the Eiffel Tower. But that memory — and others of travel to Africa,…
  6. March 7, 2011

    The art of cooking, graphic design and painting inspire U-M operations analyst

    Judy Dooley is a true artist at heart. “I find serenity in the act of creating art,” says Dooley, an operations analyst for the Stephen M. Ross School of Business Division of Executive Education. “I enjoy film and digital photography, jewelry-making, sculpting and fiber arts, and graphic design.” Photo by Scott Soderberg, U-M Photo Services.…
  7. February 21, 2011

    Arts curator reconnects to college town through art

    Amanda Krugliak stood in a wing of the Detroit Institute of Arts in November 2009 to perform a monologue from her collection “Swoon and Drench.” The piece was an autobiographical account of her return to Ann Arbor after 12 years away. Surrounded by abstract expressionist paintings and standing before the crowd, Krugliak recounted how it…
  8. January 31, 2011

    Administrative assistant dreams of owning fitness studio

    Emily Manship is a fitness buff. When she’s not working as an administrative assistant at UM-Flint’s Psychology Department or spending time with family, she stays active doing yoga, training with kettlebell weights or hiking. “In time I’ve become more and more interested in physical fitness and found what I really enjoy. It doesn’t seem like…
  9. January 10, 2011

    Toney finds perfect recipe for work, life balance

    Sherry Toney has a gift for crafting recipes. She is a self-taught baker who honed her own recipe for sweet potato pies that she has sold in the Kerrytown farmers market for almost 30 years. Her renowned pie recipe has drawn her local fame and the nickname “The Pie Lady,” which she gladly accepts. Toney…
  10. December 13, 2010

    Dentistry registrar shaped by trips to Soviet Union

    Barrie Vorobiev spent time at a Black Sea resort in Bulgaria a few weeks after the devastating nuclear accident at Chernobyl, Ukraine, in April 1986, and while at the resort met people from the Soviet Union who had not heard of the accident. This experience motivated Vorobiev to learn Russian, and she returned to U-M…