Lastinger Learning
New Worlds Reading
Florida Tutoring Advantage
Awards
Our success is driven by the passion, dedication, and expertise of our incredible team, and we know that transformative learning experiences wouldn’t be possible without them. That’s why we celebrate their outstanding contributions through our Director’s Achievement Award, Great Gator Award and Flamazing Flamingo Pursuit of Excellence Award.
New!
Flamazing Flamingo Pursuit of Excellence Award
The Flamazing Flamingo Pursuit of Excellence Award, created to honor the legacy of the Flamingo at the Lastinger Center, recognizes associates who embody our core values: balance, community, emotional intelligence, positivity, self-expression, and renewal.
Erica Lopez, Human Resources Coordinator, is unmatched when it comes to caring for associates. She listens with empathy, provides thoughtful guidance, and is always willing to go above and beyond to ensure her team feels seen, heard, and valued. Her actions consistently reflect a deep care not just for her immediate team, but for the broader mission of the Center.
With an ever-changing environment, she takes the time to make sure everyone is well supported and comfortable in moving forward with new challenges. She deserves to be recognized for all of her hard work and efforts to make the center a better place to work.
Tiffany Taylor-Jones, Early Learning Content and Implementation Manager, is the embodiment of the Flamazing Flamingo spirit. She leads with authenticity, empathy, and vision—balancing strategic oversight with deep personal investment in her team.
She creates space for innovation while keeping the team grounded in purpose. She fosters work-life balance by encouraging self-care, supports cross-team collaboration to strengthen our One Lastinger identity, and ensures every team member is aligned with work that fuels their passions.
Phil Poekert
Center Director
Contact Phil
Phil Poekert
Center Director
Contact Phil
Fall 2025 Recipients
Director’s Achievement Award
The Director’s Achievement Award is given to associates or teams who contribute to achieving a data point toward the Lastinger Center’s Objectives & Key Results (OKRs).
Preksha Jagtap, Pratham Sharma, Ashish Anand and Michael McFarland, are recipients of the Director’s Achievement Award and are being recognized for their outstanding contributions to the development of the Lastinger Center for Learning’s Data Lagoon Web Portal.
This team designed and implemented a streamlined, secure, and user-friendly process for researchers and other external partners to request, gain approval for, and access data within the system. Their work has significantly enhanced the Center’s ability to manage data access responsibly, ensuring both security and transparency.
The process has been successfully adopted, and the team has demonstrated responsiveness to feedback, providing clear updates throughout the development process. Their efforts have laid a strong foundation for future research collaboration and data stewardship at the Center.
Christine Salama and Rocco Sementelli are also recipients of the Director’s Achievement Award and are being recognized for their excellent work to develop and set into motion next level project management tools and supports for the Center’s Research Catalyst projects this year.
Together Rocco and Christine have designed and implemented an internal stakeholder engagement process to identify the most salient of milestones to guarantee success within each of the four Research Catalyst awards and brought the visibility of those milestones to life within a dashboard that includes project health status updates, risk documentation and elevation action, and overall project activities that will support affiliate faculty in delivery of their research products.
This process improvement sets into motion a blueprint for future research project management that elevates the Center’s operational sophistication.
Phil Poekert
Center Director
Contact Phil
Phil Poekert
Center Director
Contact Phil
Phil Poekert
Center Director
Contact Phil
Phil Poekert
Center Director
Contact Phil
Phil Poekert
Center Director
Contact Phil
Phil Poekert
Center Director
Contact Phil
August 2025 Recipients
Great Gator Award
The Great Gator Award is passed along bi-annually from one associate to another in recognition of a colleague’s hard work.
Summer 2025
Michelle Parker-McGriff was selected by Shalah Newsome for her dedication to the Center and her collaborative, goal-oriented approach. Her wisdom, positivity, and ability to uplift colleagues shine through in all that she does, leaving a lasting impact on everyone she works with. Her engagement and commitment to fostering connections across Lastinger Center teams truly set her apart.
Winter 2024
Shalah Newsome was selected by Matthew Griffin for her always-positive attitude and dedication to her role. Her proactive approach and thoughtfulness for even the smallest of details have elevated the Lastinger Center’s events to a new level. Her contagious enthusiasm shines through in all of her work making her a true asset to the Center and a joy to work with.
Phil Poekert
Center Director
Contact Phil
Phil Poekert
Center Director
Contact Phil