Elsa Zendejas
Honored August 22, 2026
With nearly 20 years of dedicated service to Cal State Channel Islands, Elsa Zendejas is the heart of the Enrollment Center. As manager of the front counter, she is often the first point of contact for prospective students and their families, creating a welcoming, supportive, and enthusiastic environment. Elsa is known for her kindness, generosity with her time and expertise, and unwavering commitment to helping students, staff, and faculty alike. No matter how busy the office becomes, she consistently goes above and beyond to ensure every question is answered and every visitor feels valued.
As supervisor of the Enrollment Center鈥檚 student assistants, Elsa is a mentor, advocate, and steady source of encouragement. In 2024, her role expanded to oversee all student assistants in the center鈥攁 well-deserved recognition of her leadership and the vital role she plays in keeping operations running smoothly. She is deeply committed to her students鈥 academic and professional growth, fostering a supportive environment that prioritizes their education while helping them build meaningful skills and experience. Through her collaborative spirit, process improvements, and genuine belief in CI鈥檚 mission, Elsa has made a lasting impact on both the Enrollment Center and the campus community.
Tanya Gonzalez
Honored August 23, 2024
As Tanya鈥檚 nominee describes her, 鈥淭anya has always been 鈥渁ll in鈥濃 for 海角社区CI and has dedicated her career to serving our students in a way that is fully holistic and perfectly exemplifies the spirit of One Health. Countless students have been lucky to see her as a mentor, friend, and inspiring leader in Housing and beyond, where she continues to prove just how much even the smallest of positive interactions with students impact their time here at CI.
One previous student employee of hers reflected on how Tanya always made herself available whether to discuss challenges in the classroom or at home, or to celebrate their achievements. She continues to be a leader in many spaces as a staff member serving on the Staff Council Executive Committee for many years, serving on countless other committees, and even being the loving caretaker of our HRE Facility Dog Lonnie. We are grateful to Tanya鈥檚 years of service to this campus and her proven dedication to our mission.
Jessica Dalton
Honored August 17, 2023
The 2023 President鈥檚 Staff Award for Excellence was awarded to Jessica Dalton, the Staff Council鈥檚 top recommendation to the President from a particularly robust field of nominees.Jessica is a Senior Biology Technician who has been on campus for 19 years. The individuals who nominated Jessica spoke to her keen abilities to streamline processes, her strong relational skills building connections with faculty and staff colleagues as well as with the students she serves, all while keeping diversity and inclusion top-of-mind.
Megan Eberhardt-Alstot
Honored August 19, 2022
The 2022 President鈥檚 Staff Award for Excellence was awarded to Megan Eberhardt-Alstot, the Teaching and Learning Innovation鈥檚 Learning Design Lead. Megan is a perfect example of excellence, clearly recognized as such through the multiple nominations from colleagues and students that she received from across the University. According to one colleague, she is a 鈥渄edicated lifelong learner who inspires and motivates others.鈥
A student wrote that 鈥渟he has emphasized the importance of student voices in the mission to achieve student success and giving students like me, a platform to speak from,鈥 with yet another nominator noting, 鈥淢egan has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to humanizing the learning process and supporting faculty.鈥 She truly deserves recognition for all she has accomplished within TLi, including her support of the summer faculty development program, and her creation of the Learning Online 101 program which teaches students online habits that will increase their success in their courses.
Kristi O'Neil Gonzalez
Honored August 19, 2021
The President鈥檚 Staff Award for Excellence goes to Kristi O鈥橬eil Gonzalez, described in her colleague鈥檚 nomination as the heart of the Teaching & Learning Innovations team.
As her nominator wrote, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 alone in crediting my interactions with Kristi as profoundly changing my approach to teaching and learning, and my understanding why inclusive and equitized learning environments begin with conscientiously applying accessible design practices... Kristi鈥檚 passion for accessibility stems from her genuine care and concern for students and a passionate desire to do all she can to ensure every student equity in access to learning.鈥
President's Staff Award for Excellence Past Awardees
More information about the eligibility and nomination procedure.