An historian and cross-campus connector. Elections manager and diplomat. A budget manager, website wrangler and administrator nonpareil.
As the program coordinator for the University of Washington Bothell’s General Faculty Organization, Dawn Moncalieri is all these things and more, rolled into a department of one.
She has also now received the Distinguished Partner Award for 2025-26 for her outstanding service to the GFO and the larger UW community. The award was established in 2021 by the Division of Academic Affairs to recognize staff members who have bolstered the division and propelled the academic mission of the campus forward.
“I was shocked and flattered to receive it,” Moncalieri said. “As an office of one, I often work independently, so this award made me reflect on how that work contributes to broader partnerships.
“It’s been really rewarding, and I’m proud of the connections I’ve been able to make.”
For the faculty
Moncalieri began in her current role in 2020 and has since worked consistently to shine a light on the GFO, the governing body that ensures voting UW Bothell faculty have a voice — as established in UW faculty code — in a variety of matters including curriculum design, budgeting, and tenure and promotion.
Because the GFO has a rotating leadership structure, she also reports to a new supervisor each year, each year onboarding not just the GFO officers but a host of other faculty leaders who serve the GFO, its five councils and associated committees.
Importantly, Moncalieri serves as the one constant and the keeper of institutional knowledge throughout all these changes.
“While GFO officers transition in and out of leadership roles, Dawn continues to do an outstanding job of ensuring that key functions of our shared governance structures do not get lost in frequent leadership transitions,” said Dr. Linda Watts, professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences and a former GFO chair.
Genius for organization
Moncalieri is only the second person at UW Bothell to hold this GFO role, which involves coordinating people, processes, events and information across all three UW campuses. To ensure smooth operations, she has established systems to streamline and modernize procedures.
She also takes an “at your fingertips” approach to information management that helps faculty navigate every facet of shared governance.
Need a historical document? Wondering how a discussion about a particular proposal went down in 2023? Grappling with a challenging topic? Moncalieri is the recordkeeper, adviser and sounding board for faculty.
“Without Dawn’s steady and respectful way of being, growing and maintaining relationships that forward our collective work would not be possible,” said Jason Naranjo, associate teaching professor in the School of Educational Studies and another past GFO chair.
Grace under pressure
Besides stellar organizational skills, Moncalieri wields at least two other superpowers in her role: tact and diplomacy.
“Times without number,” Watts said, “I have witnessed the respectfully direct and deft manner in which Moncalieri interacts with all GFO stakeholders. It takes care and talent to engage with the healthy egos and strong personalities present on a college campus, and no one does it any better.”
Moncalieri credits her stint as an airman in the U.S. Air Force with honing this particular skill. At age 19, an administrator working at what was then Europe’s busiest Air Force base, she was tasked with gatekeeping every proposal destined for her boss’s desk. He was a high-ranking officer who oversaw all of the base’s fighter squadrons and pilots.
“I was shaking in my boots,” Moncalieri said of the times she had to tell officers — their lapels crowded with bars and stars — that their paperwork wasn’t up to par. “I had to deliver the message professionally but firmly,” she said. “It taught me a lot at 19 that I carry with me.”
“Without Dawn’s steady and respectful way of being, growing and maintaining relationships that forward our collective work would not be possible.”
Jason Naranjo, associate teaching professor, School of Educational Studies
UW Bothell career
At UW Bothell, she is in something of a parallel role, helping faculty stick to agreed-upon processes. But professors are much more collegial, she noted.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t get a big thank-you from someone,” she said. “I feel so privileged to be able to do what I do. I see the high, high value of good faculty.”
Moncalieri’s enthusiasm for UW Bothell began in her student days in the School of IAS. She graduated in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in Society, Ethics & Human Behavior.
“I loved and respected my professors,” she said. “I couldn’t wait to get back to Bothell to support their work.”
On staff at UW Bothell since 2013, Moncalieri remains their staunch advocate and ally. “If it weren’t for good faculty,” she said, “there wouldn’t be a university.”
