Audrey Nguyen Dayauon
Audrey Nguyen Dayauon, purchasing assistant in the AIDS Health Project, received a tall stack of nominations from co-workers grateful for her help in "navigating the sometimes complicated layers of bureaucracy with grace and tact."

"She treats her co-workers as clients and has endless patience" - "a role model for internal customer service" - and "I love Audrey!" were among the many other accolades sent from Langley Porter and Mission Center.

"The people are great," says Audrey in response, "they treat me well - like family - and appreciate what I do." She added modestly, " I just come and do my job."

Carmen Madriz
"In the nearly seven years I have worked with her," says S. Robert Lehr, "Carmen Madriz has served as THE social worker I wish most to emulate. Her compassion and empathy towards the HIV patients we work with are inspirations to all around her."

Carmen works with all the monolingual HIV-positive patients at San Francisco General Hospital, as well as patients who might prefer to communicate in Spanish. She was a "moving force" in the creation and maintenance of the Women's Clinic at Ward 86, including fundraising and buying groceries and supplies to encourage women to seek care and keep coming back for regular care.

Ellena An Lunn Mar
After receiving a BA in biochemistry from UC Berkeley last June, Ellena An Lunn Mar had only recently been hired as a technician when the lab manager announced her departure. It fell to Ellena to assume management responsibilities - including orchestrating the laboratory's imminent move to Mission Bay.

"The lab had been at Parnassus for 20 years," said Ellena, "and I was adjusting to my new role. There were meetings, planning, preparation, and coordinating the move, then coordinating the unpacking and settling in of 14 people and equipment. But the lab was up and running in two weeks."

Grateful principal investigator Robert Fletterick calls Ellena's contribution "above and beyond the call of duty."

Alexandra McConnell-Hill
Alexandra McConnell-Hill relates how she knew in the first two minutes of the job interview for her administrative assistant position in Pediatrics that "this was it."

"When you fall in love with the people you work for, it's just easy," says Alexandra. "The reason it's so wonderful here is that these pediatricians work so hard, that all someone has to do is ask to help, and it's so appreciated."

Alexandra is also a professional quilter who has put her talents to work creating a "Helping Hands" quilt for the Teen Clinic at the Ambulatory Care Center at Parnassus Heights. Now she's getting her son's fifth-grade classmates to help her make baby quilts for homeless children.

"You see real sick kids come through here. Though it may sound corny, you know you're a part of making them whole again. It's a honor to work here."