Jefferson Awards

The Jefferson Awards for Public Service recognize individuals for their public and volunteer service, and dedication to improving the quality of life in their communities.

Faculty, staff, and students can nominate any individual from the Pace University community. Self-nominations are also welcome. Nominations are typically due in October each year.

Online Nomination Form

The most up-to-date information about the application and nomination process can be found on the Jefferson Awards website.

Pace University is a Jefferson Awards Foundation Champion. Champions are organizations that partner with the Jefferson Awards Foundation to engage in meaningful public service and celebrate their communities with Jefferson Awards.

For more information, contact Heather Novak, Associate Director on our Pleasantville campus at hnovak@pace.edu, or Erin Mysogland on our New York City campus at emysogland@pace.edu.

2021-2022 Pace Bronze Medal Award winners

Cayleigh Carson

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Cayleigh Carson, ’22 is a student at the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems on the Pleasantville campus.  Cayleigh is an active member of Gamma Sigma Sigma National Service Sorority, doing at least 20 hours of service each semester and even serving as membership vice president. She has participated in and volunteered at many Pace events including Fabulosity, Relay for Life, Pace Makes a Difference Day, P4K, and the Out of the Darkness Suicide Awareness Walk.

Elizabeth Colon-Fitzgerald

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Elizabeth Colon-Fitzgerald is the director of clinical assignment, recruitment & retention for the College of Health Professions, as well as an adjunct professor of Psychology. A staunch advocate for learning and educational attainment, her research focuses on educational equity for historically disadvantaged populations in predominantly white institutions of higher education and evaluative study of program efficiency. Working with community partners, she has developed programs for academic access and support, with a particular focus on rigorous major fields.

Shaniya Francis

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Shaniya Francis ’22, is a Dyson College Economics student on the Pleasantville campus and has been the student outreach and media coordinator for the Center for Community Action & Research since her freshman year. During her time at Pace, she has planned collaborations with Rockefeller State Park to remove invasive trees and plants (and planted new ones); aided in the formation of Pace Democrats; registered people to vote and processed 300 absentee ballots; worked with kids at the JCCA Cottage School; and continues to battle food insecurity in our area by working monthly with Feeding Westchester's Mobile Food Pantry.

Maria T. Iacullo-Bird

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Maria T. Iacullo-Bird, PhD is an Assistant Provost for Research and a Dyson College Clinical Associate Professor of History who throughout her career has been committed to service, and leading social-justice projects and service-learning undergraduate research initiatives. As a public historian, she served as an interviewer for Columbia University’s  September 11, 2001 Oral History Narrative and Memory Project. For her Mountain Lakes, New Jersey community, she co-led the successful, award-winning nomination for designation on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. At Pace her grant writing from 2006-2021 focused on civic engagement and social justice to advance educational access and achievement for first-generation, under-resourced students and communities. Her $5,693,000 in grant awards benefited several thousand participants for projects that included National and Community Service AmeriCorps, the Liberty Partnerships Program, the Teacher/Leader Quality Partnership Program, Teacher Opportunity Corps, TRIO Student Support Services, and Jumpstart for Children. Dedicated to undergraduate research as a transformative pedagogy for teaching and learning, she mentors student researchers, addresses service learning in her scholarship, and leads the Center for Undergraduate Research Experiences. She has developed civic engagement (CE) course-based undergraduate research experiences (CURES) that include the digital humanities Pace 9/11 Oral History Project. Since 2013 she has provided leadership for undergraduate research at the national level as an elected councilor to the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). She served as a CUR Arts and Humanities Division Chair and is a member of both the CUR Executive Board and the Alliance for Global Undergraduate Research (AGUR).

Grainne McGinley

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Grainne McGinley ’22 is a College of Health Professions nursing major on the Pleasantville campus. Over the years, Grainne got involved by volunteering at Pearl River Volunteer Ambulance Corps (as a medical assistant), served as judge in the Orangetown Youth Court program, and was a site leader for Pace Makes A Difference Day. As a member of Gamma Sigma Sigma, she worked with Lifting up Westchester, Ronald McDonald house, and ASPCA of Westchester. One of Grainne’s goals is educating and advocating for cardiovascular health and worked with SGA to supply 11 new AED’s (Automatic External Defibrillators) around campus. Grainne is currently working on getting her CPR instructions license to teach local communities CPR classes to help educate others during cardiac emergencies.

Marisa Medici

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Marisa Medici ’22 is a Dyson College student with a double major in Communication Studies and Political Science with a minor in Marketing on the New York City campus. As a Vote Everywhere Ambassador, Marisa worked to make voter education visible and expand voting accessibility by lobbying for Election Day to be noted in the calendar as an asynchronous class day beginning Fall 2023. Marisa co-chaired a committee for Social Justice Week honoring the memory of former Pace student Danroy “DJ” Henry. She co-founded the mutual aid initiative, Fare Trade, which institutionalized an endowment and mutual aid fund for students who are food insecure, originated from her involvement in the United Nations Millennium Fellowship.

Ja'Rette Mungin

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Ja'Rette Mungin ’22 is a graduate student in the Lubin School of Business on the Pleasantville campus. He has advocated for and co-facilitated the creation of the Danroy DJ Henry mural that currently resides in the Kessel Student Center. As the co-chair for the first annual Social Justice Week, he has helped spearhead the creation of a week filled with learning and reflection designed to offer an ongoing memorial for Pace student Danroy “DJ” Henry, and to further commit Pace University to social justice and anti-racism. Ja’Rette is also a residential assistant, holds multiple leadership roles as the assistant chief financial officer at Pace Perk, research associate at Pace Connect, two student-run businesses on the Plesantville campus, and vice president of Finance for the Residence Hall Association, and a Lavender Award winner.  He is committed to making sure students of color are recognized and acknowledged within the Pace community.

Britney Peralta

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Britney Peralta ’22 is a Dyson College Economics and Communication Studies student on the New York City campus.  She has been a long-time volunteer with Kiwanis International and co-chartered a Pace chapter of Circle K International, the world’s largest collegiate student-led service organization, serving as club treasurer. Britney is also a student staff member at the Center for Community Action & Research where she has helped organize events around social justice issues such as immigration and mental health, as well as work to mobilize the Pace community to get involved with civic engagement. Beyond Pace, she has interned with two nonprofits addressing homelessness and community engagement in NYC.

Gina Scutelnicu-Todoran

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Gina Scutelnicu-Todoran is an associate professor and chair in the Department of Public Administration at Dyson College. She has been involved in service activities with the Westchester community by serving on the police reform and reinvention collaborative plans for two villages (Port Chester and Larchmont, NY), and by working with two nonprofit organizations (Westchester Children Association and the Westchester Youth Shelter) to address social equity issues. She also volunteered her time to the local school district by participating in fund raising and educational activities. She teaches graduate courses in the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program. Through her strong leadership Dr. Scutelnicu-Todoran contributed to the advancement of the public administration curriculum, active scholarship from faculty and students, internship opportunities for students, faculty development opportunities, and the reputation of the MPA program professionally.

Jessica Shah

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Jessica Shah ’22 is a Lubin School of Business student majoring in Business Management with a minor in Law on the New York City campus. She runs an New Jersey non-profit organization called STEP For A Better World LEO Club which is affiliated with Lions Club International. Jessica was a Relay For Life Event Coordinator for her county as well as a board member for American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life and BFL programs in Mercer County. She served on the Princeton Board for American Diabetes Association and helped orchestrate their Tour de Cure event.  Jessica continues her commitment service and begins law school next year.

Irach'e “Shea” Teague

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Irach'e “Shea” Teague ’22, is a Dyson College English student on the Pleasantville campus.  Driven by a strong passion for advocacy of human rights, diversity, equity, and inclusivity, she has been recognized by the Pace community for her efforts in the planning and production of a mural in honor of Danroy "DJ" Henry and raised $589 for the DJ Henry Dream Fund. Irach’e is currently the executive vice president of the Student Government Association, the vice president of advocacy of the Residence Hall Association, and a resident assistant.  In her free time, Irach’e is also a mentor for students between the ages of 5-18 years old in academia in her hometown, Amityville, NY. Irach’e hopes to help others in the future create more conversations based on DEI and encourage those to advocate for student needs.

Mayana Nell Torres

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Mayana Nell Torres '22 is a Dyson College student double majoring in Peace and Justice Studies, and History and minoring in Environmental Art and Social Practices. Mayana is a Brooklyn-born, multidisciplinary artist and student activist with a passion for community work at the  intersection of environmental and racial justice. Her commitment to actively promoting the knowledge, mind-set and activities that support global awareness of climate change is a responsibility that Mayana has undertaken with both passion and intent. Through her high school years Mayana started to take part in the climate movement and now works with national climate organizations to support work that not only centers the needs of frontline communities in the states but stands in solidarity with youth in the Global South. Her roots serve as the basis of her commitment to collective wellness, directing her work as a poll worker, phone banking for local and presidential elections, and contributing her time and visual artist skills to community actions. Mayana has worked with organizations such as Blue Future, Power Shift Network, SustainUS, M4BL, Engajamundo, Klima Delegation and more.