McLaren and Puzey honored at NACRO’S 2026 Annual Conference in Salt Lake City
Emory University’s Lorena McLaren and University of Illinois’s Megan Puzey Receive NACRO’s Mary Beth Maddox Lifetime Service Award
McLaren and Puzey honored at NACRO’S 2026 Annual Conference in Salt Lake City
LaGrange, GA, July 28, 2026 – Lorena McLaren with Emory University and Megan Puzey with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been awarded NACRO’s (Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers) Mary Beth Maddox Lifetime Service Award for their longstanding leadership and unwavering commitment to advancing the academic corporate relations profession.
McLaren, Managing Senior Director, Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations with Emory University, and Puzey, Executive Director for the Office of Corporate Relations with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, were presented, on July 15, with the Mary Beth Maddox Lifetime Service Award during NACRO’s 2026 Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, UT.
Established in 2019, the Mary Beth Maddox (MBM) Lifetime Service Award honors NACRO members each year who have made a significant and lasting impact on the academic corporate relations field by serving the profession over a period of ten years or more and demonstrating significant service to the organization.
In an exceptional decision this year, the NACRO Awards Committee selected two recipients, McLaren and Puzey, for the MBM Award. The committee determined the extraordinary caliber of nominee contributions warranted recognizing two distinguished leaders whose sustained service beyond their presidential terms has contributed to NACRO's mission and strengthened excellence in academic-corporate engagement. Their long-standing commitment, leadership and impact exemplify the spirit and purpose of the MBM Award.
As a longtime NACRO member and volunteer leader, McLaren has served NACRO as Vice President, President-and Past President. Among her many accomplishments as a NACRO leader, she led NACRO’s Professional Development Webinar Subcommittee to plan and create its first year of online programming and co-chaired NACRO’s first formal advanced career track (ACT) programming. McLaren also helped write the organization’s first white paper report, Five Essential Elements of a Successful Twenty-First Century University Corporate Relations Program (2011), as a member of NACRO’s Benchmarking Committee.
Puzey, also a longtime NACRO member and Past Co-President, has served the NACRO community with distinction as a member of the Conference Programming Committee and Chair of Conference Programming. In addition, Puzey continues to serve on the Professional Education committee, plus other NACRO subcommittees and initiatives. Puzey has also long prioritized encouraging her Office of Corporate Relations staff to become NACRO members and invest significant time and energy in leadership and volunteer roles.
More 2026 NACRO Award Recipients
Volunteer of the Year: Carmella Johns-Andruk, Senior Manager of Corporate & Alumni Relations with Utah State University, was honored as NACRO Volunteer of the Year for going above and beyond to serve the NACRO community. Johns-Andruk played an instrumental role in the planning of NACRO’s 2026 Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, including serving as Conference Experience Chair; working to secure keynote and session presenters from industry; and leading two conference session panels.
Established in 2020, NACRO’s Volunteer of the Year award honors a NACRO member who has demonstrated exceptional service to the organization in the current year.
Rising Star Award: Lilly Bjorkman, Associate Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations with Mississippi State University, was recognized as a Rising Star for her contributions to NACRO and the academic corporate relations profession. The Rising Star Award, established in 2019, recognizes NACRO volunteers who are relatively new to their career and are emerging leaders in their work with NACRO and our profession. Bjorkman, who became a NACRO member last fall, currently serves on the Early Career Subcommittee and will step into a
Co-Lead role in the year ahead. She has also served as emcee for the 2026 Virtual Bootcamp and as a valued contributor to both NACRO’s 20th Anniversary Planning Committee and 2026 Strategic Planning Committee.
President’s Award: Emily Kelton, Assistant Vice President, Corporate and Foundation Relations for the Colorado School of Mines Alumni & Foundation, and Thomas Manshack, Director of Development with Texas Native Health, received the President's Award, recognizing and honoring members who have provided exceptional service to the NACRO community. Kelton and Manshack were specifically recognized for having led the development of (and securing membership approval for) NACRO’s new 2026-2029 Strategic Plan.
“Lorena and Megan and all of our 2026 awardees exemplify the leadership, service and commitment to excellence that continue to elevate the profession and strengthen the NACRO community,” said Priya Baboo, 2025-2026 Co-Past President and Co-Chair of the NACRO Awards Nomination Committee and Sr. Director of Corporate & Industry Engagement, College of Engineering with Penn State University. “Through their years of dedicated service to NACRO, they have created lasting opportunities for members to learn, connect and advance the field of academic-corporate relations.”
"Our 2026 NACRO award recipients reflect the very best of the NACRO community — from pioneering lifetime contributions to emerging leadership and extraordinary volunteer service,” said Tim Hausman, JD, PhD, 2025-2026 Co-Past President and Co-Chair of the NACRO Awards Nomination Committee and Executive Director, Miguel A. Loya College of Engineering, with the University of Texas at El Paso. “Their dedication continues to elevate the academic corporate relations profession and inspire our colleagues across higher education."
About NACRO:
NACRO (the Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers) is the premier organization unifying academic corporate relations professionals. We transform the profession through innovative professional education programs, the dissemination of cutting-edge best practices, impactful networking opportunities and championing thought leadership in corporate relations. Through its vibrant global community of over 550 professionals from more than 300 institutions, NACRO works to create exceptional career development opportunities for its members. Learn more: www.nacro.org
Media Contact:
Ken Berlack
NACRO
ken.berlack@nacro.org