CALS Awards: University Staff Recognition Award recipients
Continuing with our celebration of this year’s CALS Awards recipients, we are sharing information about the winners of the University Staff Recognition Awards.
Jillene Fisch

Jillene Fisch is an Administrative Assistant in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences. Over the past few years, she has taken on a wide variety of new roles and responsibilities in the department to ensure that things run smoothly. She is a strong supporter for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion and is an engaged attendee of DEI-focused meetings.
For the last two years, Jillene has attended the national tri-societies conference. At the 3-day event, she is a recruiter and advocate for the department’s programs, engaging with potential graduate students, post-docs and faculty. Last year, she spearheaded a revitalization of a gathering for UW alumni.
Jillene also goes out of her way to support students. During the busy field season, she travels out to West Madison to meet with international students to process their I9 paperwork. Her willingness to step outside her role helps make the department a better place for all.
Sarah Pleet

Sarah Pleet is an administrative assistant at Marshfield Agricultural Research Station, playing crucial support roles for the management of staff at a station 150 miles from campus. Sarah hires, onboards, and tracks compliance for staff. She created a system to track trainings, oversees time entry and tracks leave balances, all efforts appreciated by a busy staff.
Sarah tracks over a thousand financial transactions annually and stays on top of changing financial systems while also sharing her knowledge with colleagues. Her meticulous attention to detail catches errors before they happen.
Sarah is the backbone of Marshfield’s outreach program. She coordinates food, promotions and setup for programs taking place at the station, which has no formal meeting facility. She also collects weather data, which is a 110-year tradition at the station and will even milk cows in a pinch. Sarah does whatever is needed to support the staff and program at Marshfield.
Thomas Steinbach

Thomas Steinbach is an equipment operator at Arlington Agricultural Research Station. His tangible skills, attitude, commitment and work ethic help create a positive workplace. He quickly mastered a new job function when the station assumed management of a 22,000-square-foot seed cleaning facility. He became the station’s seed conditioning specialist, attending trainings and working tirelessly to learn the necessary skills.
Tom also spearheaded a project to purchase a commercial pesticide sprayer and retrofit it with precision agriculture technology. The new setup can make pinpoint applications reducing pesticide use and environmental contamination. In addition to operating the machinery, Tom gives tours of the sprayer to graduate students so they are prepared to work with similar setups.
Tom’s skill and great attitude for out of the box ideas make him a valuable part of the Arlington team. His work greatly benefits colleagues, researchers and external customers.