Distinguished Staff Award
Recognizes Outstanding Service to the University by Its Staff
Cynthia Fester
Department: School of Law
On the Job: Secretary Lead, two years at UW
Achievements: The founder of the law school's DIVAS chat group (Definitely Intelligent Very Accomplished Secretaries), she provides secretaries with quick access to commonly used documents and offers monthly staff computer training sessions. Putting the needs of others before her own, she tries to assist fellow secretaries, providing resources and helping them develop new skills. According to one secretary, Fester frequently takes work home and works weekends and holidays "because she often takes time helping us and does her own work later." Fester also provides the entire secretarial support for the Innocence Project Northwest Clinic, where law students investigate and litigate claims of innocence for Washington state inmates."
Quote: "She is the 'assistant' I have never had before and never expect to have again. She is a researcher par excellence, a superb writer and a highly creative organizer. In the many years I've been ably helped by hundreds of staff people, none stands out like Cynthia Fester." -Law Professor William H. Rogers