15 staff members honored with Emory’s Award of Distinction

For three decades, Kelly Callahan has dedicated her career to advancing global public health and eliminating neglected tropical diseases. As director of the Trachoma Control Program at The Carter Center, she leads one of the world’s most impactful efforts to prevent blindness in marginalized communities. Her career began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Côte d’Ivoire, where she supported water and sanitation initiatives, and with the Guinea Worm Eradication Program, which shaped her lifelong commitment to disease control and health equity. She later coordinated eradication efforts in Sudan before transitioning to The Carter Center’s headquarters in Atlanta to support global health initiatives. Since becoming director in 2014, Callahan has provided technical and strategic leadership across multiple African nations. Under her guidance, Mali was validated by the World Health Organization in 2024 as eliminating trachoma as a public health problem, with Niger, Nigeria, and Uganda nearing that milestone. Over the past 12 years, the program has delivered more than 143 million antibiotic doses and supported more than 573,000 trichiasis surgeries, dramatically reducing preventable blindness. Committed to data-driven innovation, Callahan has advanced research in diagnostics, treatment strategies and surveillance systems, contributing to more than 90 scientific publications. She is also a trusted spokesperson, fundraiser and mentor, strengthening global partnerships and inspiring future public health leaders. Her efforts have expanded access to care, strengthened global partnerships and brought the world closer to eliminating preventable blindness. 

Ashley Chilla serves as associate director of admission in the Office of Enrollment and Student Affairs at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, where she plays a pivotal role in shaping the next generation of nurse leaders through a strategic, student-centered approach to enrollment. By developing data-informed recruitment initiatives, leading weekly information sessions and collaborating across units on targeted outreach, Chilla has contributed to significant growth in both application volume and enrollment yield. She has revitalized the nursing school’s Student Ambassador program, expanding training and engagement opportunities so that prospective and admitted students feel welcomed, connected and supported long before they arrive on campus. However, Chilla’s impact extends far beyond admission metrics. As chair of the Staff Governance Committee and an EmBrace peer supporter, she encourages a culture in which dialogue is protected, well-being is prioritized, and colleagues feel heard and valued. Her leadership reflects her deep empathy, integrity and steadfast commitment to community. A recipient of the School of Nursing’s Excellence in Social Responsibility Award, Chilla exemplifies ethical service and inclusive engagement. Drawing on her background as a professional actor and singer, she brings creativity, presence and emotional intelligence to every interaction. Through her advocacy, mentorship and unwavering dedication to students and colleagues, Chilla strengthens the School of Nursing community and has made a lasting, meaningful impact across Emory. 

Libby Egnor has devoted more than 25 years to shaping the undergraduate experience at Emory through her leadership in Goizueta Business School’s BBA program. As BBA associate dean, she has played a central role in developing programs and partnerships that support student success while strengthening collaboration across the university. One of Egnor’s most significant contributions has been the creation of the foundational pre-business experience for students at Emory and Oxford Colleges. This initiative established the pathways through which prospective and current students learn about the BBA, receive advising and engage with the school before formally entering the degree program. Egnor also designed and continues to lead the Goizueta Scholars Program, a four-year developmental experience that attracts outstanding students and encourages leadership, service and lasting engagement with the school. As a long-standing member of the Undergraduate Associate Deans Council, Egnor has helped ensure alignment and communication across Emory’s undergraduate programs and served as a trusted adviser on numerous committees and initiatives. She is also widely recognized for the care she provides to students during times of personal or academic challenge, coordinating support with compassion and clarity. A collaborative leader, Egnor consistently builds community among students, staff and faculty, and strengthens the culture of support that defines the BBA program. Her dedication, creativity, and sustained service have left a lasting and meaningful impact on the Goizueta community and the broader university. 

With a profound commitment to advancing neurological research and supporting the scientific community, Christina Holbrook plays a vital leadership role at Emory National Primate Research Center as assistant director of programs. She is the longtime coordinator of the NIH-funded Morris K. Udall Center of Excellence for Parkinson’s Disease Research, a multifaceted program uniting investigators across multiple departments and research cores. Holbrook ensures seamless coordination of scientific meetings, lecture series, pilot grant programs and federal reporting, enabling faculty to focus on discovery while programs operate efficiently and effectively. She also administers the American Parkinson’s Disease Association Center for Advanced Research, overseeing competitive pilot funding that drives innovation in Parkinson’s disease research. Holbrook’s commitment to the public good is especially evident in her leadership of “Community Conversations,” the Udall Center’s annual outreach event for individuals with Parkinson’s disease and their families. Bringing together patients, caregivers, clinicians and researchers, the program translates complex science into accessible dialogue and fosters meaningful connection. Her leadership was further demonstrated through the successful organization of the inaugural International Consortium on Freezing of Gait, which hosted 200 attendees and 30 speakers from around the world across multiple venues. In addition, Holbrook supports faculty success as program coordinator for the Department of Neurology’s Faculty Development Committee, overseeing workshops, coordinating mentoring programs and administering award processes that strengthen academic advancement. In each of these roles, Holbrook elevates research quality, fosters collaboration and strengthens Emory’s academic and community impact. 

For more than 25 years, Claire Houston has been a cornerstone of Exterior Services within Campus Services, contributing innovation, technical expertise and sustained dedication to the stewardship of the university’s landscape. As administrative coordinator, her role spans procurement, contract management, landscape design and arboriculture, supporting both daily operations and long-term initiatives that enhance the safety, sustainability and beauty of Emory’s campus. Houston’s impact is especially evident in her leadership on the Campus Tree Committee, where she has served since its inception in 2001. She manages Emory’s TreeKeeper inventory system, oversees biennial aerial canopy surveys and plays a key role in maintaining the university’s Tree Campus USA designation. Her work provides critical data in support of Emory’s goal of achieving no net loss of tree canopy and ensures thoughtful environmental stewardship and long-term planning. Demonstrating exceptional initiative, Houston recently became an ISA certified arborist and earned Tree Risk Assessment Qualification credentials. She has since launched a proactive tree risk assessment program to identify and mitigate hazards, thereby strengthening campus safety and helping prevent harm or damage to people or property before it occurs. Houston has also contributed to award-winning recycling and sustainability programs and coordinated the planting of campus landscape and event florals with remarkable consistency and care. Through her expertise, initiative and long-standing service, Houston has made a lasting and meaningful impact on Emory’s campus and community. She would like to thank Jimmy Powell and her co-workers in Exterior Services for their continued support and teamwork. 

For nearly four decades, Joyce Jaleel has been a cornerstone of athletics and recreation within Campus Life. As senior director of intercollegiate athletics and senior woman administrator, Jaleel provides strategic leadership and administrative oversight for 19 varsity programs, guiding generations of Emory student-athletes to excel academically and competitively. Her tenure parallels Emory’s rise in NCAA Division III athletics, beginning with the university’s entry into the University Athletic Association in 1986. Over the years, Jaleel has held several key leadership roles within the department, consistently helping to shape its growth and long-term success. Under Jaleel’s steady and visionary leadership, Emory has achieved national prominence, highlighted by winning the 2024-25 Learfield Directors’ Cup for the first time, an honor awarded to the most successful Division III athletics program among more than 430 institutions. The department’s record includes 34 NCAA national championships, 232 UAA championships, more than 1,400 All-Americans, and 248 Academic All-Americans. Beyond competitive success, Jaleel is a champion for student well-being, professional growth and academic integrity. She ensures that athletic participation enhances rather than compromises the student experience. Known for her integrity, generosity, and first-to-arrive, last-to-leave work ethic, Jaleel builds community, mentors staff and coaches, and uplifts every individual she serves. Her extraordinary legacy of leadership and dedication has left an enduring mark on Emory Athletics and the broader university community. 

Mike Jones, director of Emory First in Campus Life, has demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment to expanding opportunities for first-generation and low- and limited-income college students. Since joining Emory as the inaugural director of Emory First, Jones has built a strong and sustainable foundation for the program while advancing the university’s commitment to equity, access and student success. With his thoughtful leadership and collaborative approach, Jones has guided the program’s growth and continued the work of the alumni, faculty, staff and students who laid the groundwork for first-generation student support at Emory. His efforts have strengthened institutional awareness and appreciation of the first-generation college student experience. Under Jones’ leadership, Emory First has launched several impactful initiatives that support student success and community building, such as First-Gen Fridays and Wealthy Wednesdays, which provide spaces for connection, financial literacy and skill development, as well as the expanded textbook lending program, which helps reduce financial barriers for students. Jones has also raised more than $1.3 million in philanthropic support from alumni and corporate partners, and his leadership has elevated Emory’s national profile in first-generation student success. Through strategic collaboration and program development, he successfully led Emory’s full membership into the FirstGen Forward Network, demonstrating measurable institutional progress. Through his vision, collaboration and unwavering dedication to student success, Jones has strengthened Emory’s commitment to supporting and empowering its first-generation college students. 

Oleksandr Kyrychenko serves as an educational technology center specialist in the Office of Information Technology, advancing the student digital life mission through innovation, technical expertise and a deep commitment to user success. A shining example of Kyrychenko’s innovation is the transformation of underutilized storage closets in Woodruff Library into high-end multimedia production studios, dramatically expanding creative opportunities for students, faculty and staff. In the past five years alone, these studios have been reserved more than 5,000 times, supported 1,400 unique users, and have been used in more than 50 courses across multiple departments. From podcasts showcasing Emory research to student creative projects, departmental training videos, conference presentations, faculty book initiatives, and interviews with international institutions, Kyrychenko’s work has made Emory a more innovative and expressive community. The studio’s impact on teaching, research and scholarship is rooted in Kyrychenko’s meticulous care, which is evident in both the craftsmanship of the spaces and his responsiveness to users. Always seeking improvement, he researches professional trends to ensure the studios remain up to date while user experience stays uncomplicated and intuitive. To help users feel fully supported, Kyrychenko provides hands-on assistance, offers in-studio guidance, maintains AI-powered support tools and empowers users to experiment confidently with multimodal storytelling. His attentiveness, flexibility, cultural awareness and collaborative spirit make the studios not only functional but inspiring. Through his vision and dedication, Kyrychenko has strengthened Emory’s commitment to creativity, experiential learning and academic success. 

Kristal M. Maner-Smith serves as director of the Emory Integrated Metabolomics and Lipidomics Core within Emory Integrated Core Facilities, where she has played a pivotal role in advancing the university’s research infrastructure and scientific discovery. Through her leadership, the core has become a nationally recognized resource supporting investigators across Emory and beyond with cutting-edge metabolomics and lipidomics capabilities. Maner-Smith helped build the core from the ground up, developing its operational structure, securing essential instrumentation, and establishing specialized analytical methods that enable researchers to investigate complex biological questions. Today, the facility supports more than 90 laboratories and plays a central role in major collaborative research initiatives funded by the National Institutes of Health, including large-scale translational studies in areas such as infectious disease, neuroscience and metabolic health. Maner-Smith’s expertise in tandem mass spectrometry, lipid biochemistry and analytical chemistry has significantly strengthened the quality and impact of research conducted across the institution. In addition to her scientific leadership, Maner-Smith is widely recognized for her collaborative approach to team science. She works closely with investigators to design experiments, interpret complex data and communicate findings across multidisciplinary teams. Her contributions have supported numerous successful grant applications and high-impact publications. Maner-Smith also leads her team with empathy and purpose, fostering a collaborative and supportive laboratory culture while mentoring early-career scientists and trainees. Her work continues to empower investigators, strengthen collaborative discovery and advance the scientific impact of research conducted at Emory. 

For more than 28 years, Elizabeth Clark Morrison has been a trusted legal strategist and steady leader within the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) at Emory. As deputy general counsel and chief counsel for employment and student matters, she advises university and health care leadership on complex employment, student and governance issues that shape Emory’s stability and growth. Over the past two years, Morrison simultaneously led the OGC Transaction Team while serving as interim chief counsel for health affairs, overseeing health care legal services during a period of significant transformation. She guided the legal strategy for major initiatives, including the acquisition of Houston Healthcare, marking Emory’s expansion into central Georgia, and played a central role in governance restructuring and the buyout of a joint venture partner’s interests in Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital and Emory Johns Creek Hospital. Her leadership also spans high-stakes litigation, regulatory matters, faculty and resident concerns, and sensitive employment disputes across the enterprise. Colleagues consistently describe Morrison as an indispensable, strategic and compassionate adviser. She brings clarity to complex challenges, diffuses conflict with integrity and strengthens decision-making at the highest levels. Beyond her formal responsibilities, Morrison mentors emerging leaders and contributes to university governance initiatives. Morrison’s exceptional judgment, resilience and service have had a lasting and transformative impact on Emory’s legal and academic landscape. 

Ulf Nilsson, associate dean for academic operations and director of admissions and recruitment for Laney Graduate School, has dedicated 19 years to strengthening graduate education at Emory. Through his leadership, strategic vision and deep institutional knowledge, Nilsson has played a central role in shaping the systems and processes that support graduate students from admission through degree completion. Since joining Emory in 2007, Nilsson has built strong partnerships with faculty, staff, campus leadership and students while consistently advancing the university’s mission. His work reflects a sustained commitment to strengthening graduate education, not only as an institutional priority but as essential to the greater public good. Among Nilsson’s many contributions, implementing Slate as the graduate school’s customer relationship management system stands out. Recognizing the need for a modernized, integrated platform, Nilsson championed the adoption of Slate to transform the graduate admissions and communication processes. Under his guidance, the system streamlined workflows, improved data transparency and strengthened coordination across departments. This led to improved communication with applicants, supported strategic recruitment efforts and increased operational efficiency across the graduate school. Nilsson’s influence extends beyond systems and processes. He is widely respected for his steady leadership, thoughtful problem-solving, and commitment to supporting colleagues and students alike. As he prepares for retirement, Nilsson’s legacy is evident in the strengthened infrastructure, collaborative culture and improved student experience that define Laney Graduate School today. 

Kerith Pocock serves as the director of student health at Oxford College, where she leads initiatives in support of student well-being, safety and academic success. Her sustained excellence in clinical care and strategic administrative oversight has resulted in system-level improvements that fundamentally strengthen the Oxford student experience. In the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, student health centers nationwide faced staffing shortages and rising clinical complexity. Despite these challenges, Pocock ensured uninterrupted primary care services for Oxford students. During periods of peak demand, she took on expanded clinical and operational responsibilities to maintain continuity of care and preserve student trust. Pocock’s tenure is defined by a commitment to modernizing health care through strategic innovation. She led the successful implementation of a new electronic health record system, enhancing data-informed decision-making and care coordination between the Oxford and Atlanta campuses. Her focus on preventive health resulted in the establishment of standardized triage workflows and universal depression-screening protocols, which have significantly improved early intervention efforts and risk management. Central to Pocock’s success is her philosophy of inclusive mentorship and collaborative leadership. She believes a thriving health service begins with a supported clinical team and has dedicated herself to fostering a culture of professional growth and interdepartmental partnership. Through these alliances with campus partners, Pocock continues to advance Oxford College’s broader mission of fostering a healthy, resilient and thriving academic community. 

During her tenure at Emory, Marybeth Smith has distinguished herself as a strategic leader in student success, academic operations and university-wide program development. She joined Emory in 2016 as a coordinator in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and has spent the last 10 years supporting strategic initiatives at the nexus of academic and student affairs. Smith’s portfolio includes several high-impact university programs, each designed to cultivate belonging, strengthen community and elevate student flourishing. In the Office of the Provost, she has helped Emory earn national recognition for its support of first-generation college students, brought prestigious authors to campus as a part of Emory’s Common Read program and continued to administer the Dining at the DCT program. Now director of student success experiences, Smith leads the implementation of Emory’s EAB Navigate360, a multi-unit initiative to strengthen Emory’s undergraduate advising and support structures. Beyond Emory, Smith is a recognized convenor and facilitator for national conversations on student success, including through the Community of Practice she leads for the Association of Undergraduate Education at Research Universities. Her collaborative leadership style and commitment to student success have had a meaningful and lasting impact on the Emory undergraduate experience. A 2026 graduate of Emory’s Aspiring Leaders program, Smith’s service to the university is also evident in her contributions to Emory’s Diversity Liaison Committee, Open Expression programs and the University Senate Fringe Benefits Committee. 

For more than six years, Todd Swink has served in critical roles supporting two interdisciplinary infectious disease research and training programs at Emory. Through his leadership of the programs From Molecules and Pathogens to Populations and Pandemics (MP3) and Infectious Diseases across Scales Training (IDASTP), Swink has strengthened cross-disciplinary collaboration and advanced Emory’s global leadership in infectious disease research and education. He has played a central role in building these programs into the thriving interdisciplinary communities they are today. He designed the operational structure that currently supports MP3, including grant procedures, review processes, program handbooks and financial oversight. His leadership helped establish a transparent and efficient internal funding program that supports interdisciplinary research teams across Emory. As a result, an institutional investment of approximately $5 million in MP3 seed funding has generated more than $108 million in external research funding. Swink has been equally instrumental in the success of IDASTP, an NIH-funded T32 training program that prepares doctoral students to address infectious diseases using cross-scale approaches. Under his leadership, the program was successfully renewed and expanded in 2024, increasing the number of trainees and solidifying collaboration across six doctoral programs in multiple Emory schools. Swink’s creativity, organization and collaborative spirit have strengthened research partnerships, supported interdisciplinary training and enhanced Emory’s standing in the global infectious disease research community. 

Melba Willoughby-Newbern has demonstrated exceptional dedication and service to Emory during her 17 years as an administrative assistant in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Grady Clinic. Through her reliability, institutional knowledge and commitment to supporting colleagues and patients, she has become an indispensable member of the department and a trusted resource across the Emory and Grady systems. Willoughby-Newbern plays a central role in the daily operations of the clinic, overseeing credentialing and onboarding for physicians and nurse practitioners. Her careful coordination of multiple administrative systems allows the clinic to operate efficiently and ensures providers can begin serving patients without delay. She is widely recognized for her willingness to take on additional responsibilities whenever needed, including stepping in to support departmental operations during periods of staffing transitions. Beyond her operational responsibilities, Willoughby-Newbern’s expertise as a certified professional coder has had a measurable institutional impact. During a major radiation oncology reconciliation project, she reviewed hundreds of patient charts to identify billing discrepancies caused by an EPIC interface error, helping to recover thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Equally important is Willoughby-Newbern’s commitment to the people around her. Known for her compassion, positivity and mentorship, she fosters a supportive environment for faculty, staff and patients alike. Her long-standing service, dedication and collaborative spirit have made her a vital contributor to the success and culture of the Radiation Oncology community at Emory.