Each year, the Staff Advisory Council recognizes staff in the college who exemplify excellence and dedication to their job. We were thrilled to celebrate their accomplishments at the 2025 Awards and State of the College event on April 4, 2025. Staff Advisory Council vice president Laura Williams was on hand with Dean Cathann Kress to present the awards.
Congratulations to the 2024-2025 Staff Advisory Council Award recipients:
The Shirley Brooks-Jones Citizenship Award
Lee Wilson
Laboratory Research Operations Senior Analyst - Department of Plant Pathology
Lee Wilson is fortunate to have grown up in Columbus, not far from Woody Hayes’ home, and within earshot of the Ohio State Marching Band on game days. Ohio State is his alma mater for both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and has been the home base for his career for over 40 years in the Department of Plant Pathology. During Wilson's career, he has worked in fruit disease epidemiology research. It has been Wilson's pleasure serving the university in many ways, currently as a laboratory research operations senior analyst. Beyond this, he has served for 21 years on the CFAES weather station committee, 19 of those as coordinator. Wilson has been Selby Hall’s safety coordinator for the past 20 years and has served on the University Laboratory Safety Committee for 11 years. It has been Wilson’s pleasure working with all his colleagues, including faculty, staff, and graduate students, and he is humbled by, and thankful for, this award.
Key Values Award
Carly Becker
Program Coordinator - Ohio Controlled Environment Agriculture Center
Carly Becker has been the program coordinator for the Ohio Controlled Environment Agriculture Center at Ohio State since November 2021, working under director Chieri Kubota. She manages communications, media, events, and stakeholder relations, fostering collaboration among consortium members, faculty, and industry leaders to advance controlled environment agriculture together. Becker is one of the co-founders of "We Grow Scientists," alongside Bri Schneider and Jamie Gothard. As part of the COSI Science Festival, this free, hands-on STEAM community event introduces learners of all ages to the diverse fields within CFAES. In addition to her primary role, Becker supports multistate research and OSU Extension collaborations, including SCRI-Grant groups, OptimIA and ADVANCEA. A proud 2015 Ohio State graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communications, Becker previously worked in the Fisher College of Business’ Department of Operations and Business Analytics.
Carrie Elvey
Community Outreach Specialist, United Titanium Bug Zoo - Department of Entomology
Carrie Elvey grew up in Holmes County, coming home with her pockets full of snakes and bugs, playing in the creek, and exploring the woods. She never outgrew this. Today, she is most passionate about reconnecting adults to the amazing natural history stories happening in their own backyards. In her capacity with the United Titanium Bug Zoo, Elvey is looking forward to incorporating the knowledge and research findings of the CFAES staff, students, and faculty into outreach programming to help tell those stories.
Innovation Award
Erika Lyon
Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator - Ohio State University Extension
Erika Lyon is an agriculture and natural resources (ANR) educator for OSU Extension in Jefferson and Harrison counties. She began her career in 2012 with the Mahaska and Wapello County Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Iowa. Lyon then pursued graduate studies in ecology and environmental sciences at the University of Maine, focusing on plant pathology. In 2016, she joined OSU Extension, where she and her colleagues in neighboring counties developed various programs tailored to local needs, covering diagnostics, specialty crops, farm management, energy production, and natural resources. Lyon also transitioned several curricula to online platforms, including Pastures for Profit, Forages for Horses, Woodland Health Practices for Service Providers, and the Master Gardener Volunteer training. Additionally, she collaborated with fellow ANR educator Greg Meyer to develop an orientation program aimed at training new ANR educators on essential topics in the field.
Special Recognition Award
Eric Hamilton
HR Consultant - CFAES Human Resources
Eric Hamilton is a human resources consultant who supports a variety of departments and support units within CFAES. He began his human resources professional career in June 2008 after graduating from Ohio State with a bachelor’s in sports management. His previous stops at the university include the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Office of Academic Affairs, and the College of Education and Human Ecology, before joining CFAES in September 2017. Hamilton approaches every interaction by offering excellent customer service through partnership with clients to provide thoughtful solutions to simple and complex scenarios through alignment of cross-discipline matters that meet business needs and inform strategic decisions. Hamilton prides himself on emphasizing the “human” in human resources by giving extra care and attention to employee needs in a way that lets them know that they matter and their needs are important.