Pinnacle Awards at UT Southwestern

UT Southwestern’s strength is rooted in its people – individuals who embody our core values of excellence, innovation, teamwork, and compassion and make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. The first annual UT Southwestern Pinnacle Awards recognize and celebrate staff who exemplify these characteristics.

Awards Ceremony

The entire UT Southwestern community is invited to join us at 4:30 p.m. on June 17 for the inaugural UT Southwestern Pinnacle Awards, hosted by UT Southwestern President Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D. The ceremony will be held in person in the Tom and Lula Gooch Auditorium on South Campus, with a reception to follow.

To ensure there is enough food and drink for all attendees, we are asking you to complete registration. You can also show your support by tuning in to a livestream of the ceremony, which will be recorded for later viewing.

2025 Award Recipients

Our 2025 award recipients embody the highest standards of excellence, innovation, teamwork, and compassion, making a meaningful impact across all areas of our mission: education, research, and clinical care.

Distinguished Service Award

The award honors an outstanding individual who has built a distinguished track record of success throughout their career at UTSW by consistently going above and beyond to further our mission to educate, discover, and heal by living out the UT Southwestern core values in their everyday work.

Award Eligibility Criteria: Full-time or part-time Classified or Administrative and Professional (A&P) employee with a minimum of 10 years of UT Southwestern service.

• Hugo Pons
  Supervisor, Television Maintenance Engineer – IR Media Tech and Audio Visual

Spirit of UT Southwestern Award

Recognizes an employee who serves as a role model and brand ambassador for UT Southwestern through their loyalty, advocacy, service, mentorship, enthusiasm, and camaraderie, both within the UTSW internal community and beyond.

Award Eligibility Criteria: Full-time or part-time Classified or A&P employee with a minimum of five years of UT Southwestern service.

• Lauren Smith
  Senior Organizational Development Consultant – HR Talent Development

Pinnacle Award for Excellence

Recognizes an employee who most contributes to UT Southwestern’s commitment to the highest standards of clinical excellence, educational distinction, research integrity, or administrative quality in all they do. They are unequivocal in their commitment to ongoing improvement through a project or initiative that has a positive and significant impact on their function, department, or the institution overall.

Value-based Award Eligibility Criteria: Full-time or part-time Classified or A&P employee with a minimum of two years of UT Southwestern service.

• Thuong "Trizzy" Bui
  Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Technical Supervisor – Imaging Services

Pinnacle Award for Innovation

Recognizes an employee or team who created or contributed to development of a new technology, scientific discovery, launched or improved products or services, simplified complex tasks and processes, or creatively solved problems in service of our mission.

Value-based Award Eligibility Criteria: Full-time or part-time Classified or A&P employee with a minimum of two years of UT Southwestern service.

• Amber Gemmell, M.S.
  Senior Genetic Counselor – Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center
  Adjunct Instructor – School of Health Professions

Pinnacle Award for Teamwork

Recognizes an employee or team who work collaboratively and promote teamwork to gather input from colleagues and stakeholders across functions and groups to solve problems, improve processes, and provide excellent service.

Value-based Award Eligibility Criteria: Full-time or part-time Classified or A&P employee with a minimum of two years of UT Southwestern service.

• Jose Rene Macias
  Clinical Staff Assistant II – UTSW Primary Care and Family Medicine at Texas Health Dallas

Pinnacle Award for Compassion

Recognizes an employee who embodies the values of UT Southwestern and has gone above and beyond to foster an environment of exemplary service in which internal colleagues or patients are treated with respect, dignity, and kindness in every encounter, every day.

Value-based Award Eligibility Criteria: Full-time or part-time Classified or A&P employee with a minimum of two years of UT Southwestern service.

• Kaylee Suarez
  Risk and Insurance Specialist – Safety and Business Continuity

Contact Us

Please contact Suzanne J. Farmer, Ph.D., or Talent Development team by hr@utsouthwestern.edu.