2025 Spirit of Service & Mentoring Awards

The “Spirit of Service” awards started in 2017, when Executive Director Matthew Wappett wanted a way to honor a person within each division who goes the extra mile without being asked, who is a tireless worker, but whose efforts largely go unrecognized. IDRPP has since added an annual award for Mentor of the Year. Here are the recipients for 2025, as their nominators described them. 

Research and Training- Heather Kelley

Heather Kelley exemplifies the spirit of service through her commitment to collaboration and excellence in research and training. She is always eager to work with others on research projects, fostering teamwork and innovation across disciplines. Most recently, Heather was awarded a Research Catalyst grant from the Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Research Center to examine the impact of Compassion Compass, which is a mental health intervention among adults who have recently received a dementia diagnosis.  Heather consistently publishes work focused on improving the lives of people with disabilities. Beyond her professional accomplishments, Heather is a genuinely kind and thoughtful colleague whose positive attitude and generosity make her a pleasure to work with. 

Heather’s multiple publications, her mentorship of students, her collaboration across different programs and units in the college all exemplify her spirit of service.

Technical Assistance- Christopher Phillips

Christopher works across both NCADEMI and WebAIM as a Technical Assistance Specialist. He recently celebrated his ten-year anniversary with USU, having joined the TA Division of the IDRPP after serving as the institution's Digital Accessibility Officer. Christopher exemplifies the characteristics for "Spirit of Service."

As a key member of the team that launched NCADEMI in 2024-2025, Christopher has stayed keenly aware of the needs of the project by identifying gaps in implementation, whether technical or managerial, and implementing solutions. He has led the phased development stages of NCADEMI's website, coordinating critical components for architecture design, programming, and content development. Christopher is also the lead on one of NCADEMI's most complex deliverables, the EdTech Accessibility Directory, engaging external vendor partners as well as USU legal counsel in iterative feedback. While leading these technical components of the project, Christopher has been integral to NCADEMI's technical assistance and dissemination efforts through webinars, conference presentations, and relationship-building with target audiences.

He consistently brings new ideas and strategies for project improvements to the team's attention and is always open to adapting existing protocols based on team and user feedback. In the short time he's been with the WebAIM team, starting on October 1, he's demonstrated great leadership and a keen sense of leveraging the university environment and processes for organizational improvements. In all of his actions, Christopher is a constant positive presence on both the NCADEMI and WebAIM teams, contributing to a positive culture of support and collaboration. 
 

Services- Sue Olsen

The Spirit of Service Award could also be renamed the Spirit of Sue Award. Sue Olsen has dedicated her entire career to empowering children and families with and without disabilities. She is a fixture at the IDRPP and has been for over 40 years.

She has elevated and inspired countless mentees and providers through her creative vision and unparalleled brilliance in identifying opportunities invisible to others. She has crafted compelling strategic grant proposals and cultivated programs into thriving life-changing initiatives that drive organizational excellence. She has proven herself an exemplary force of advocacy through integrity, resilience and passion for ALL Part C early intervention families, programs, and providers across Utah. Even in her "Phased retirement," she has continued to work tirelessly for the good of children in Utah through developing and fostering the success of the statewide Pyramid Model Project.

There truly is no one else we know that can do what Sue has done. She is finally retiring in a couple of months (we think) and she will be missed greatly by all who know her now and the thousands of individuals who have benefitted over the years from her creative and tireless service. It is our pleasure to recognize, to a small degree, the work done by one of the great pioneers of early childhood education in Utah: Sue Olsen.

Administration - Martha Reyes

By Matthew Wappett, IDRPP Executive Director

Martha came to the IDRPP with very little experience in university systems and had to step into Sharon Weston’s shoes.  Sharon had been at the IDRPP since 1971, and helped Marv Fifield write the first Core Grant that established the Institute and she had been the assistant to the director until she retired right before the pandemic.  Sharon knew everyone and everything…people across campus relied upon Sharon as a resource.  These were the shoes that Martha was hired to fill!

Martha started off her career at the beginning of the pandemic, and really helped hold me and the rest of the institute together as we navigated that challenging time.  From helping to coordinate virtual meetings to gathering, packing, and mailing hundreds of boxes to staff and other meeting participants, Martha really helped ensure that we stuck together and felt connected during those challenging years.

Martha brought a tremendous variety of skills with her to this job.  She had worked in the airline industry, and taught deaf/blind children, had been an executive assistant to the CEO of the state oil company of Mexico, and had been an office manager for a property management firm, so I knew she had all of the skills necessary.  I replied, somewhat tongue in cheek, that I was looking for someone who could read my mind and be one step ahead of me.  Well, I can honestly say that Martha can now add the skill of “mind-reading” to her resume!  She is a bona fide miracle worker and 90% of the credit that I get for anything should honestly go to Martha.

During her time at the IDRPP Martha has pursued multiple professional development opportunities on her own time including medical translation.  She is currently helping multiple projects with translating podcast transcripts, IDRPP websites, and a psychometric interviewing protocol with Ohio State University to ensure that we are doing a better job at providing information and resources to the Spanish -speaking community.  She has taken several trainings in “executive management,”  which she really needed to wrangle me into compliance…but she has seriously added so much value to her role and the IDRPP as a whole.  Many of the good ideas that I seem to come up with…in fact most of them…are probably from Martha.  During our daily end-of-day meetings she always brings new ideas, new directions, and new energy to our discussion and I honestly don’t think that she gets enough credit for what she brings to the IDRPP.

Martha exemplifies the Spirit of Service by showing up consistently, putting in 110%, and always thinking ahead.  She is always looking for ways to improve the work that we do, and she never seems to run out of enthusiasm. She remains kind and thoughtful; always looking out for other staff and making me aware of staff needs and struggles, so I can better reach out and support you.  Martha is one of the quiet doers who keeps the wheels of the IDRPP turning, and although nobody is irreplaceable, I just can’t imagine doing this job without Martha’s constant support and encouragement. 

I trust, respect, and value Martha’s incredible contributions to the IDRPP, and I know that many of you feel likewise.  Martha, you truly are one of the “Good Ones” and exemplify the IDRPP Spirit of Service.  Thank you for all you do, and for your indomitable spirit and resilience. It is an honor to work with you every single day!

Mentoring Award

Frank Podobnik received the IDRPP Mentoring Award. He has demonstrated his commitment to fostering growth by taking the lead role as the Technical Assistance Specialist Mentor and Coach in IDRPP’s Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education (TAESE). Frank has dedicated many hours above and beyond that expected to provide individualized mentoring and training for three of our newer TA Specialists.

Frank possesses unique state level leadership experience that gives him a particular skill and knowledge level that he willingly imparts to our newer TA specialist team. His knowledge of the IDEA and state systems is rare among other TA providers across the country and TAESE benefits from this. 

Our TA specialists regularly comment about the mentoring and coaching they receive from Frank as being invaluable and superior to other available training opportunities.

Frank exemplifies the values of Inclusion, Innovation, Collaboration, and Care. He weaves these elements across all of his responsibilities, demonstrates them and models them in all he does.