UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Betsy Yoder, senior specialist in the Human Resources (HR) Absence Management team, is the recipient of the 2021 Ray T. Fortunato Award for Excellence in Human Resources for her outstanding contributions to Penn State HR.
Established by the late Ray T. Fortunato, the flagship award acknowledges HR employees’ exceptional contributions and dedication to bettering human resources at Penn State. This year’s award was presented to Yoder by Lorraine Goffe, vice president for human resources and chief human resources officer at Penn State, during October’s HR all-staff, virtual Town Hall meeting.
“Betsy truly goes above and beyond to serve our customers every single day. I cannot imagine anyone being as dedicated, loyal, patient, giving, tolerant, and customer focused as Betsy,” said Jill Musser, manager of benefits programs and services and Yoder’s direct supervisor. “The last two years have brought tremendous stress and extra work to the Absence Management team. Through it all, Betsy remained a strong and positive leader to the team.”
Yoder led her team in managing numerous changes brought on by COVID-19, including new Family First Coronavirus Response Act regulations and technical service layoffs. In applying her expertise, Yoder continuously put customer service at the forefront of her efforts and guided her team with excellence. Those who submitted letters of support for Yoder’s nomination noted her “expertise, knowledge, empathy, and compassion,” stating that “we wouldn’t have made it through the many COVID operational challenges at the unit level without her leadership.”
“This award nomination came as a complete surprise, and I am blessed to be honored as the recipient,” Yoder said. “I want to thank everyone for their partnerships, especially through the pandemic, and I never would have been able to accomplish all that I was able to without the support of Greg Stoner and Jill Musser, and the wonderful team that I have. My team means the world to me, and I am so thankful for their dedication and efforts. I am beyond proud of them with all the work that they do day to day, and all of our accomplishments throughout the year.”
More information about the award and its benefactor, Ray T. Fortunato, can be found here.