2025 Recipients of the Applause Program
Highlighting Women and Allies in Tech Across UCI
For Women’s History Month 2025, Women in Tech @ UCI is proud to announce the recipients of our Applause Program.
These inspiring recipients embody WiT’s motto of “Advance. Inspire. Empower. Act.” in the workplace.
Each of these individuals was nominated by their colleagues and peers for their impact and accomplishments in fostering an inclusive culture at UCI through their words, values, actions, and attitudes. Let us be inspired to follow in their trailblazing footsteps this Women’s History Month and long after.
2025 Recipients
Jump to — Eva Barson | Jamie Douber | Mo Li | Shayna Long |
Jennifer Mortensen | Lindsey Spiegelman | Zuzanna Siwy | Xizheng Wang
Honorable Mentions
Eva Barson
Manager, Academic Personnel Systems and Data
Department: Academic Personnel
Eva has done an exceptional job supporting [women] in becoming empowered and more technically savvy. She regularly provides access to systems, trains people to use them, and reports and fixes bugs. Her willingness to acknowledge and explore different ideas, combined with her positivity and patience, has allowed for great team collaboration!
Beyond her own work, Eva continuously encourages professional development and training to the staff of all women in AP. She provides individual and group trainings regularly to AP systems such as ScholarSteps and Athena. Eva always welcomes feedback from users, because she understands the importance of advancing and streamlining existing systems to further improve user experience. As the first person in a data and technology role in AP, she has expanded the capability of all AP staff by sharing staff training opportunities she values…and helping people hands-on to explore technologies and systems to support their work.
Which WiT value does Eva best exemplify?
As Manager of Systems and Data in the Office of Academic Personnel, Eva Barson lifts up and empowers AP staff as well as the broader campus community with her efforts to use technology in innovative ways to improve and streamline daily tasks and processes. She deeply understands the needs of people across campus by engaging in deep conversations with them, being open to a wide variety of ideas, and offering alternatives and suggestions to help foster a positive working environment.
Eva is also a UCI Innovation Ambassador, a person who is “passionate about innovation and learning…help drive culture of innovation at UCI…inspire peers to rethink how we work…” She embraces this role wholeheartedly. Her innovations have already led to new processes that save time, costs, and frustration for our office and campuswide.
— Nominated by Nancy Vongsawat
Academic Personnel
Jamie Douber
Business Intelligence Specialist 3
Department: ITS
Jamie actively empowers women in tech by generously sharing her knowledge and serving as a mentor and trainer for new staff members. She has a solid medical background and a profound passion for optimization projects that enhance organizational efficiency. Notably, she was the principal trainer for new hires at her previous organization, where her professional yet warm demeanor made her an effective collaborator on projects. Her exceptional organization skills, written communication, verbal articulation, and presentation create an engaging atmosphere that keeps team members focused and motivated while upholding a professional standard.
In addition to her hands-on training efforts, Jamie has been instrumental in fostering communication at the executive level; she routinely presents updates at weekly Chief Information Officer meetings alongside directors. Jamie created a visual task board employing ITIL Agile methodologies to demonstrate her proactive approach, streamlining project management through ServiceNow’s electronic system.
Which of our four WiT values does Jamie embody?
Jamie exemplifies her dedication to the Women in Tech value of “advance” as a deployment coordinator within the Information Technology Services (ITS) department. With nearly ten years of experience in Electronic Health Records (EHR), Jamie has taken on numerous roles, including analyst, clinical informaticist, and project manager, allowing her to support various healthcare organizations adeptly. Her extensive background includes a deep understanding of EHR systems and a proven track record of effectively presenting to and training large groups of healthcare providers through multiple EHR implementations and projects.
Having collaborated with Jamie on several initiatives since her arrival at UCI Health, I have witnessed her unwavering work ethic and dedication to optimizing workflows while systematically removing inefficiencies through teamwork. Jamie places great emphasis on connecting directly with end-user staff and other key stakeholders to gain insights into existing workflows and assess the operational implications of various projects. She often conducts GEMBA Rounds—an immersive approach to understanding the work environment—within the clinics to identify areas for improvement.
– Nominated by Gregory Mignano
ITS
Mo Li
Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Professor Mo Li actively supports women in technology through mentorship and professional development. She has guided female graduate and undergraduate students transitioning from industry to academia. Whether helping them navigate advanced technical training in robotics and additive manufacturing or advocating for prestigious fellowships like the DOE fellowships and awards from professional societies, she ensures they gain the skills and confidence needed to thrive.
Beyond one-on-one mentorship, Professor Li works to amplify women’s presence in the broader engineering and technology community. She has served as an organizing co-chair for major conferences, including the International Conference of Self-Healing Materials (SHM) and the AlChE International Congress on Sustainability Science & Engineering. She has contributed to increased diversity by nominating women as keynote speakers and session chairs. Additionally, she created dedicated platforms such as the Women in Sustainability Forum and a Women in SHM panel sessions, which provide critical visibility and networking opportunities for women in technology.
Professor Li’s leadership makes a tangible impact—not only on individual women in her lab and classes but also across the broader professional community. Through her actions, she ensures women are not just participants in technology fields but leaders shaping the future.
Which of our four WiT values does Professor Li embody?
Professor Mo Li exemplifies the value of “Act” through her innovative research and her efforts to support women in technology. Her work at the forefront of decarbonization and renewable energy demonstrates her commitment to addressing some of the most pressing global challenges, such as reducing carbon emissions from the construction industry and enabling the large-scale deployment of offshore and onshore wind turbines through innovative 3D printing technologies. By taking action in these critical areas, Professor Li not only drives technological advancement but also creates impactful opportunities for women to engage with and lead in these transformative fields.
Professor Li works in the field of structural engineering, where women account for only 17% of professionals, with an even smaller representation in leadership roles. Recognizing the systemic underrepresentation of women in structural engineering, she actively recruits and mentors female undergraduate and graduate students to take part in her research projects at her Advanced Multifunctional Materials and Manufacturing for Structures (AM3) Lab. Beyond research, she takes proactive steps to support their professional growth, sponsoring conference attendance, facilitating specialized training, and connecting them with industry leaders and research institutions.
Through her actions, Professor Li transforms barriers into opportunities, creating pathways for women to contribute to and lead in decarbonization technologies to address global sustainability challenges. Her ability to combine impactful research with actionable support for women makes her a role model for inclusivity and leadership in technology.
— Nominated by Efi Foufoula-Georgiou
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Shayna Long
Director of Clinical Informatics
Department: UCI Health ITS
Shayna Long is an accomplished women in tech leader with over 15 years of experience in nursing leadership, clinical informatics, and technology integration. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Nursing and has a proven track record of excellence in hospital leadership and informatics roles. Shayna has successfully implemented over 50 Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems in acute and ambulatory settings, including large multi-site clients such as Ascension and Advent Health.
Which of our four WiT values does Shayna embody?
Shayna embodies the “Advance” value for women in tech.
[Theresa, a former employee shared a story in which] Shayna embodies a servant leadership style and supported Theresa’s career growth, who ultimately moved into a Director of NI role through Shayna’s mentorship. Theresa emphasized that Shayna has an executive presence and is passionate about her work. She also encourages ongoing education, skill, and career development. They remain friends to this date, and Theresa stated she would not be where she is without Shayna’s mentorship and support.
During her tenure, Shayna has demonstrated her expertise in NI and has been instrumental in growing the NI and Epic Clinical Training Teams. She has shown her passion for cultivating a family-like environment by setting up team meetings and offering a proper place for collaboration and growth. As a women leader in technology, Shayna has commanded her role and focuses on growing a genuinely collaborative team to support the UCI Health Family at all locations.
– Nominated by Gregory Mignano
ITS
Jennifer Spitzer Mortensen
Director, Instructional Design
Division of Continuing Education, Instructional Design, Academic Affairs
[Jennifer’s] balanced approach, along with her willingness to engage in conversations and provide feedback with kindness, especially during challenging times, can truly help empower the digital learning space. She exemplifies how women in technology can drive positive change both in the workplace and within the work community. Jennifer is a role model for the new generation of women in technology, providing guidance and support help them navigate their careers. She collaborates with women to identify their career aspirations and then empowers them to achieve and surpass those goals. Her actions inspire other women in technology to embrace their authenticity and make a meaningful impact in the workplace and beyond. She has inspired me to keep growing my own technical and digital skills.
In summary, Jennifer’s dedication to innovation, community building, and leadership makes her an outstanding candidate for the Applause Award. Her influence reaches far beyond her immediate team, cultivating an environment of empowerment and inclusivity across the entire organization. Her contributions have had a profound impact on our organization and the broader educational technology community.
Which of our four WiT values does Jennifer embody?
Jennifer acts and delivers on her promises, ensuring that projects are completed on time and to the highest standards. Her leadership style is both inspiring and effective, as she leads by example and motivates her team, collaborators, and colleagues to achieve their best. Her reliability and follow-through are unmatched.
She empowered herself and her team, fostering a collaborative environment during a challenging time for the organization. Her unwavering commitment to DCE’s goals has led to significant advancements in initiatives that help move forward and maintain the integrity of the initial design blueprints, quality standards guide, and educational technologies needed to effectively execute the curricular mission. Her ability to prioritize and juggle multiple project priorities is nothing short of extraordinary.
She consistently demonstrates her ability to lead initiatives that span across departments, fostering collaboration. Her problem-solving skills, collaboration, and strategic approach ensured that the academic consistency initiative was not only effective but also scalable and adaptable to the evolving needs of the organization. Jennifer has been instrumental in creating opportunities for women in technology to take on leadership roles within these initiatives, ensuring their voices are heard and their contributions are valued.
– Nominated by Tanya Zabalegui
Division of Continuing Education, Academic Planning
Lindsey Spiegelman
Medical Director of the Emergency Department
Emergency Medicine
Dr. Spiegelman is the lead for the clinical informatics fellowship curriculum and continues to teach in the areas of “Project Management” and “The Business of Medicine” with consistently high ratings from her learners. Again, to not let this experience of success and innovation in education fade into background, Dr. Spiegelman brought two women under her belt to help inspire them in the tech world.
First, she identified Sonia Portillo as someone who could help her develop and submit a manuscript for publication that details and discusses the process of creating a new clinical informatics curriculum and lessons learned. This manuscript was recently published with Sonia as a co-author.
Second, as a board certified clinical informaticist, she integrates her expertise not only into her clinical work but also into her teaching. Dr. Spiegelman mentored [Anna Nguyen, a medical student at arrowhead interested in EM, Emergency Medicine administration and informatics] on a case report they co-authored and mentored her on a trauma recidivism data set analysis for an additional co-authored publication.
Which of our four values does Dr. Spiegelman best exemplify?
As the Medical Director of the emergency department at UCI Medical Center, Dr. Spiegelman is intimately involved in quality improvement of acute and emergency care of patients. To optimize identification and reporting of clinical care cases needing critical review, Dr. Spiegelman and her team used their clinical informatics expertise to develop a multi-level detailed Epic medical record report that identifies patients seen in the emergency department that are discharged home and subsequently return within 30 days. Dr. Spiegelman’s leadership and her clinical informatics team’s expertise in this area of clinical operations and quality improvement has allowed a finer integration of precision and tailored feedback to emergency care providers for their learning and most importantly for the safety of our patients with assurance that they are receiving the highest quality care the field of emergency medicine has to offer.
Dr. Spiegelman is [also] highly engaged in daily acute and emergency clinical care operations. Under her leadership, her team leveraged this highly technical care delivery documentation template to accurately align emergency physician documentation with new policy driven Evaluation and Management service (E/M) definitions. Once this effort was deployed, Dr. Spiegelman and her team closely tracked patient billing data and changes in overall Relative Value Units (RVUs) with noted considerable success in maintaining billing revenue and enhancing operations efficiency. Further, to not let such an important operational experience be an isolated success, Dr. Spiegelman and her team have begun to scholarly disseminate their approach and procedures to be a resource and example for other academic departments of emergency medicine. In fact, earlier this month, a scientific abstract co-authored by Dr. Spiegelman and her team was awarded the best operations project at the Annual Regional Conference for the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.
– Nominated by Chris Fox
Emergency Medicine
Zuzanna Siwy
Professor
Department: Physics
Professor Siwy was a superb Equity Advisor in the School of Physical Sciences. She continues to promote inclusive excellence and diversity as an outstanding advocate and mentor for junior woman faculty, as formal and informal mentor, and through her service and leadership.
In 2013 Professor Siwy successfully orchestrated UCI’s application to the Clare Boothe Luce Program which supports women in STEM. She represented the School during the on-site visit. Two Clare Boothe Luce Professorships, each carrying $250,000 of start-up, helped recruit Aomawa Shields (Physics) and Katherine Mackey (ESS). In September 2013 she co-organized a campus-wide event, “Imposter Syndrome,” that featured two workshops with Professor Valerie Young. The faculty workshop was part of the Eighth Annual ADVANCE Institute for Equity and Diversity, and was attended by deans, department chairs, equity advisors, and DECADE representatives. The larger workshop was for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty. This event was partially supported by her NSF grant.
Which of our four values does Professor Siwy best exemplify?
I would choose Advance because of her tireless efforts to help others advance…. she is a phenomenal scientist and teacher who leads with passion and by example.
During her tenure as Equity Advisor for the School of Physical Sciences, Professor Siwy worked tirelessly to foster a supportive environment for junior faculty with quarterly lunches and individual meetings that built community and provided confidential venues to voice concerns. She had junior faculty meet with all four chairs in Physical Sciences.
In summary, Professor Siwy’s service as Equity Advisor in the School of Physical Sciences had a tremendous positive impact by recruiting and helping to retain diverse talent. She continues to serve the campus, in many roles, and is a trusted voice and mentor for our junior faculty. For example, as vice chair for teaching in the Physics department, she has supported equitable teaching and sharing of best practices for inclusive excellence in the classroom.
– Nominated by Elizabeth Jarvo
Chemistry
Xizheng Wang
Professor
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
In July 2024, Prof. Wang was honored as a New Energy Innovator through the Inspiring Generations of New Innovators to Impact Technologies in Energy (IGNIITE 2024) program. As part of this prestigious initiative, she took the opportunity to mentor a female undergraduate student on a Department of Energy ARPA-E-supported research project. During this time, she worked closely with the student and provided practical research opportunities that enabled the student to build essential skills in the emerging research area. I am confident that this one-on-one mentorship profoundly enhanced the student’s research abilities, independence, and overall professional growth. I believe that Prof. Wang’s commitment to personally guiding young researchers reflects her broader goal of cultivating an inclusive environment where students can thrive, lead, and excel.
Beyond her research, Prof. Wang also inspires women through her teaching. In her undergraduate courses, she encourages students-particularly women-to explore and actively pursue opportunities in academia. In response to her encouragement, three female students from one of her classes enrolled in an Advanced Manufacturing course, where they continued to expand their technical knowledge. By consistently championing women’s growth, Prof. Wang exemplifies how meaningful and considerate mentorship can significantly advance women’s representation in technology.
Which of our four values does Professor Wang best exemplify?
Prof. Wang is not only an accomplished researcher but also a committed mentor and advocate for women in engineering. Since joining UCI in July 2023, she has actively nurtured her diverse research team of graduate and undergraduate students, providing them with opportunities to gain hands-on experience and contribute to cutting-edge research in her lab. Under her mentorship, these students, many of whom are women, have already achieved significant research milestones and are currently working on preparing manuscripts for submission in top-tier journals in their field. By fostering a research environment that encourages diversity, removes barriers, and provides opportunities for leadership and growth, Prof. Wang enables her mentees to thrive in their endeavors. In addition, Prof. Wang regularly shares her own experiences and journey through academia, inspiring students to explore and pursue academic career pathways. I believe that, through these efforts, Prof. Wang not only sets a powerful example but also empowers the next generation of women leaders.
– Nominated by Alexandra Voloshina
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Honorable Mentions
In addition to the 2025 Applause honorees, we’d like to acknowledge other nominees in technology who also embody WiT’s motto of Advance, Inspire, Empower, and Act.
Kristen McIntyre
Communications Manager, ODIT