BRAVO Awards: Never Let Donkeys in the Pool

In 2020, Briljent kicked off the Briljent BRAVO Award program that celebrates Briljent’s culture and values by awarding Briljent employees for personifying our Non-Negotiable Items, or “NNIs.” You may be wondering, “What does a donkey have to do with that?!” Good question! Here at Briljent, we say, “Never Let Donkeys in The Pool” to remind us of those guiding NNIs. Never Let Donkeys in The Pool is what the linguistic folks call a mnemonic, a word, phrase, or pattern that nudges us to recall something important. Sort of an acronym. Who’s heard Roy G Biv? Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet recall the colors of the rainbow. 

So, we say, “Never Let Donkeys in the Pool,” or NLDITP, to remind us of our NNIs: 

• Never, Never, Never Give Up: There is a solution to every problem and dreams can be accomplished—keep trying! 

• Learning Leaders: You are never too old or too wise to learn something new. This is important in our consulting business. 
• Deal With It: We handle our obstacles and challenges head on. Don’t let issues fester or they will build until they blow up. 
• Impeccable Integrity: Do what’s right, do what you say you’re going to do, and do it all honestly. 
• To Whom Much Is Given, Much Is Required: Give back to your communities, your coworkers, and your personal team. 
• Purposely Positive: We can’t always control what happens, but we can choose how we respond. Be intentionally positive—it can be contagious! 

Q4 BRAVO Award Winners 

Each quarter, employees are invited to nominate and share stories about other employees who demonstrate an NNI or embody Briljent’s values. We also welcome volunteered nominations from our clients to recognize Briljent staff doing exemplary project work. 

In the fourth quarter of 2021, we narrowed our BRAVO focus around the theme of “Community.” The project work that Briljent seeks most tends to fall in the realm of health and human services and education, which we believe supports our desire to serve and support others in our communities. We sought stories about Briljent employees who exemplify serving and giving back to their communities, their coworkers, our clients, and their teams. These could include service in neighborhoods, faith-based settings, schools, community organizations, or professional groups. Wow, did we get some terrific stories! Read more about our Community award winners and their nominations below.  

Andrea Light

Andrea is our Web and Media Services Manager. Andrea’s nominations focused on her skillful use of visual arts to enrich her community: “I think Andrea exemplifies all that is now or will be yet to come of Briljent culture.” “I cannot think of anyone who gives back more than Andrea. She often devotes countless hours to volunteer causes to the betterment of her community and to her fellow colleagues.” “She takes on special projects with the Luminous Fund [Briljent’s charitable foundation] … and she’s painted traffic boxes, murals, and even billboards [in her community].” 

Carla Mastromarino 

Carla is the manager of our Project Management Office, she’s the Project Managers’ Project Manager! Carla’s nominations explain why she was the perfect nominee for an award that displays focus on the community of our professional services: “When Carla first joined the Briljent PMO, she asked for everyone to create a ‘Guide to Working with Me’ […] This was impactful because it helped bring understanding to colleagues’ behaviors and how to best communicate with them.” What a cool idea!  

Dawn Schick 

Dawn is one of our instructional designers. “Dawn was challenged in the beginning of her current project to understand the dynamics of the stakeholders, work with a degree of uncertainty, and determine her place in the community.”Whew! Who doesn’t know about that challenge of navigating the dynamics of a new team? “Now, months into the project,” the nomination continues, “Dawn has not only found her place but is an invaluable member of the team. To quote our client on the project, ‘Dawn is a terrific professional and we love having her!’” 

Maura Wenglarz

Maura is a business analyst, and her nominations celebrate her “magic”: “Maura adds to the project community in significant ways. To quote our client, ‘With Maura’s help and effort (and maybe she is a little bit magic?!), we were able to obtain the requested data and its analysis for all of our enhanced services within the tight schedule the state requested. We truly appreciate her hard work and team collaboration that went into making this seemingly impossible project not only possible but a success.’” 

Meredith Taylor 

Meredith is a Senior Instructional Designer, and according to her nomination, “Meredith is a perfect example of community because she came to Briljent and fully immersed herself in the culture. Her sense of responsibility and her obligation to our clients has not gone unnoticed, and I am so lucky to be working with her. She is a great addition to the team!” We’re so happy to have you, Meredith!  

Samantha “Sam” Henderson 

Sam is a Payroll and Benefits Specialist on our Human Resources team. Read this glowing nomination! “Sam has continued to prove she understands it takes a community to be successful. At work, she goes the extra mile to provide details to employees to meet their needs and is continuously reaching out to co-workers to see how they are doing. She researches until she finds an answer for the greater goal at Briljent. Her drive to show employees how valued they are in the company is important to the overall success of Briljent. Outside of work, Sam  is volunteering with Big Brothers/Big Sisters.” 

Congrats to all our Q4 2021 BRAVO Award winners, and now you see why this incredible group Never Lets Donkeys in the Pool! We can’t wait to share our Q1 2022 BRAVO winners in the spring. 

But wait, there’s more! Annually, the nominations from the Briljent BRAVO program are scored against a larger rubric to determine a Briljent Culture Award winner, and this person is recognized in our annual company meeting in early February. Stay tuned to learn who that person is, and how they personify Briljent culture and values in all that they do! 

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