The CU Anschutz Staff Council recently introduced the VOICE Champion Award, a new recognition celebrating staff members who go above and beyond to foster a welcoming, respectful and supportive campus environment.
This annual award honors individuals whose leadership, innovation and advocacy strengthen our community and help ensure that everyone at CU Anschutz feels valued and empowered to thrive. Congratulations to this year's honoree, Taryn Bogdewiecz (xe/xem or they/them). They are a research services professional in the Department of Family Medicine.
Read Taryn's nominating statement:
Taryn Bogdewiecz (they/them) exemplifies the values of the VOICE Champion Award through sustained leadership, principled advocacy and long term contributions that have measurably strengthened the CU Anschutz campus climate. For more than half a decade, Taryn has been a foundational leader within the Department of Family Medicine’s award winning Diversity and Health Equity (DHE) program, translating shared values into durable systems, relationships and practices.
Commitment to Fairness and Respect
Taryn consistently models respectful engagement and fairness across roles, disciplines and hierarchies. They are widely recognized as a trusted, thoughtful presence who approaches complex interpersonal and institutional challenges with integrity and care. Their ability to engage difficult conversations while centering dignity and belonging has made them a go to resource for colleagues across the department and campus.
Impactful Contributions
As a long standing leader in the DHE team, Taryn has shepherded initiatives that have meaningfully improved the day to day experience of staff, faculty and trainees. For more than five years, they have served as communications coordinator for the Justice League newsletter and related platforms, building a reliable, high engagement infrastructure for equity focused learning, dialogue and action that now reaches over 200 individuals and multiple departments. Their work has helped normalize equity conversations and keep them present in operational decision making. This work also began long before they joined the DHE team as that is just who they are as a person.
Innovative Initiatives
Taryn brings creativity and practical skill to innovation. They have co-facilitated the Health Equity Action Lab (HEAL) Foundations in Equity Certificate Program, developed and delivered trainings on sexual orientation and gender identity in clinical and research settings, co-led efforts on building intentional culture, and supported inclusive goal setting within practice innovation teams. Their community based work—including developing adaptive yoga programming for LGBTQIA+ youth—extends campus values beyond institutional walls while modeling inclusive practice in action.
Collaboration and Advocacy
Taryn’s leadership is deeply collaborative. As co-chair of the Access and Opportunities Committee, a member of the LGBTQ+ Hub Advisory and Research Committees, and a DEIB advisor to multiple departmental programs, they work across silos to advance shared goals. Taryn consistently pairs advocacy with follow through—identifying barriers, convening stakeholders and supporting implementation of solutions related to hiring practices, onboarding, communications and professional development.
Sustainability
Sustainability is a defining feature of Taryn’s impact. Rather than relying on one time events, they build systems that endure: scalable communications platforms, repeatable onboarding and training processes, durable community partnerships and norms of inclusive practice embedded into daily workflows. Within the research services professional community, Taryn has fostered lasting networks of support, mentorship and shared identity that reduce isolation and strengthen retention. By institutionalizing equity practices, mentoring emerging leaders and stewarding long term relationships with care, Taryn ensures that progress continues well beyond their individual efforts—strengthening CU Anschutz for the future.
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