Environmental Services Team

Disinfecting and Connecting

On the Front Lines:
UMB Champions of Excellence:
Environmental Services Team
Office of Administration and Finance

The University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) Environmental Services (EVS) team has discovered that reinvention can be a roller coaster.

At the same time government agencies encouraged people to stay home during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, the act of cleaning and disinfecting surfaces moved to the top of the to-do list. That’s a challenge when you are required to not only come to work and it’s your job to clean and disinfect, but when you also have to relearn your job with new protocols — just like the heroic EVS workers did.

That’s a huge undertaking emotionally and physically. But through the past several months, EVS staff members never lost sight of their mission.

“They’re a very driven group of people who take pride in what they do,” EVS associate director Denise J. Meyer said. “It’s a challenge for anyone psychologically to accept that they’re on the front lines of this pandemic and exposing themselves to risk of infection more than most other employees.”

During the first two weeks of the stay-at-home order, the nearly 200-person team worked tirelessly five days a week to deep-clean every UMB campus building during the day and evening hours. EVS also has three workers at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center in Catonsville.

The hard work has brought EVS together.

“They’ve embraced a more collaborative, family-oriented approach,” Meyer said. “We’re seeing staff really pull together to help one another out. They’re backing each other up more, and they’re working together more seamlessly.”

EVS technicians are now equipped with color-coded microfiber rags to avoid cross-contamination and new equipment to spray chemicals that are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for COVID-19 cleaning purposes. They also had to learn a new routine for surface cleaning, concentrating on frequently touched areas and adjusting to new “dwell times,” which the EPA defines as how long a sanitizer or disinfectant must be in contact with a surface and remain wet to achieve the product’s advertised kill rate. And they did it all while keeping a safe physical distance from passersby.

Adjustments continue as more employees and students return to campus. The focus is on quality control and increasing the frequency of the enhanced cleaning procedures to counter the stepped-up foot traffic.

One of the latest creations is a point-of-use cleaning cart, complete with supplies for students, faculty, and staff to do their part in disinfecting high-touchpoint shared spaces.

“All of this is in addition to our pre-COVID work,” Meyer said. “We’re still doing our job. We’re providing all of the services we did before, and we’ve added more services.”

How did EVS become the star of the sanitizing show at UMB? By holding each other to a high standard for cleanliness, hygiene, and respect.

“They really are the stewards of campus,” said Meyer, who added that EVS has effectively championed its mission through the UMB core value of collaboration and the concept of shared responsibility. “This effort is truly a partnership. While we have our part to do on the service end, it truly comes down to everybody doing their part to keep the campus safe and our community healthy.”

— Charles Schelle

Name	Job Title
Priscilla Adams	Custodial Services
Harry Alexander	Custodial Services
Robert Allen	Manager Custodial Services Evening
Anthony Anderson	Manager Custodial Services
Jean Anderson	Custodial Services
Dorothea Austin	Custodial Services
George Bahr	Custodial Services
Sharesse Ball	Custodial Services
Karen Bartee	Manager Custodial Services
Joseph Beasley	Custodial Services
Ernest Bell	Asst Dir Custodial Services Shift
Breaisha Bennett	Custodial Services
Yahsmin Berry-Bey	Custodial Services
Devonte Bey	Custodial Services
Jennifer Bishop	Custodial Services
Cheyawntay Blackmon	Custodial Services
Willette Blanding	Custodial Services
Chamia Blanding	Custodial Services
Corey Blount	Custodial Services
Monica Blyther	Custodial Services
Rita Boone	Custodial Services
David Bowen	Custodial Services
Daphne Bowls	Custodial Services
Lisa Boyd	Custodial Services
Joseph Boydner	Custodial Services
Latrice Bradford	Custodial Services
Joann Braswell	Custodial Services
Jervella Brooks	Custodial Services
Joseph Brown	Custodial Services
Keyia Brown	Custodial Services
Eva Brown	Custodial Services
Willie Brown	Moving/Storage Specialist
Terrance Bryant	Custodial Services
Charles Burrell	Moving/Storage Specialist
Marcus Byrd	Custodial Services
Jacqueline Campbell	Custodial Services
Diane Carroll	Custodial Services
Diane Carroll	Custodial Services
Lidia Carter	Custodial Services
Charles Carter	Custodial Services
Maria Casella	Custodial Services
Davon Chatman	Custodial Services
Keona Chestnut	Custodial Services
Curtis Clark	Custodial Services
Victoria Conaway	Custodial Services
Sheila Copeland	Custodial Services
Deshai Cornish	Envi. Services Cust I
Angela Crowder	Custodial Services
Taquana Cunningham	Service Worker
Predest Davis	Custodial Services
Theodore Davis	Custodial Services
Tory Delaney	Custodial Services
Jonelle Deloach	Custodial Services
Christopher Diggs	Custodial Services
Tina Diggs	Custodial Services
Amelia Dixon	Custodial Services
Tymira Donelson	Custodial Services
Mark Drymala	Manager, Building & Grounds
Juanita Dubose	Custodial Services
Maxine Duffy	Custodial Services
Michael Eline	Pest Control Specialist
Kenny Falton	Custodial Services
Tyesha Fauntleroy	Custodial Services
Patricia Foster	Custodial Services
William Gaines	Custodial Services
Faith Gambrill	Custodial Services
Len Gause	Custodial Services
Sharrie Gilliard	Envi. Services Cust I
Bronte Grandy	Custodial Services
Randolph Grant	Custodial Services
Teyona Green	Custodial Services
Tracey Griggs	Service Worker
Tellier Gross	Custodial Services
Adisa Gusinjac	Custodial Services
Wasihun Gutema	Manager Custodial Services
Shanika Hanks	Custodial Services
Shaquira Hardin	Envi. Services Cust I
Aiysha Harris	Custodial Services
Steven Harvey	Manager Custodial Services Evening
So Hee Kim	Custodial Services
MIchael Hewlett	Custodial Services
Michael Hewlett	Moving/Storage Specialist
David Hilton	Custodial Services
Carolyn Holden	Custodial Services
Stacey Hooks	Custodial Services
Yolanda Horton	Manager Custodial Services
Dedra Hough	Custodial Services
Martisse Hyman	Custodial Services
Towanna Isaac	Custodial Services
Yolanda Jackson	Custodial Services
Gwendolyn Jackson	Custodial Services
Tavon Jackson	Custodial Services
William Jeffries	Custodial Services
Gloria Jenkins	Custodial Services
Lisa Johnson	Custodial Services
Brenda Johnson	Custodial Services
Marlene Johnson	Manager Custodial Services
Derrick Jones	Custodial Services
Keilah Jones	Custodial Services
Dominique Jones	Custodial Services
Roderick Jones	Custodial Services
Jasmine Jones	Custodial Services
Joseph Jordan	Custodial Services
Kadidia Kabore	Custodial Services
Cynthia Keys	Custodial Services
Soung Kim	Custodial Services
Stephanie Kingwood	Custodial Services
Matthew Knight	Custodial Services
LaTanya Lawrence	Custodial Services
Valerie Lawrence	Custodial Services
Evadney Lawrence	Custodial Services
Celestine Lee	Custodial Services
Ronda Lewis	Custodial Services
Sidney Lewis	Custodial Services
Vanessa Lewis	Custodial Services
Nicole Lipscomb	Envi. Services Cust I
Marie Loida Barreyro	Custodial Services
Lakia Major	Environmental Services Manager
Doretha Matthews	Custodial Services
Roland McCoy	Manager Custodial Services Evening
Kevin McEachin	Custodial Services
Amanda McGill	Custodial Services
Wendy McKenzie	Custodial Services
William McKinney	Custodial Services
Carlton Means	Custodial Services
Denise Meyer	Assoc Dir, Env Services
Tanya Mickey	Custodial Services
Robert Mickey	Custodial Services
Stephen Milledge	Custodial Services
Samuel Miller	Custodial Services
Ryan Mobley	Custodial Services
Marvin Monroe	Custodial Services
Wanda Monroe	Custodial Services
Jeffrey Moskowitz	Custodial Services
Charles Murphy	Manager Custodial Services
Nichelle Murphy	Custodial Services
Mali Mussa	Custodial Services
Justin Myers	Service Worker
Khyira Neal	Envi. Services Cust I
Eric Nelson	Custodial Services
Kavonne Norman	Custodial Services
Babatunde Oni	Custodial Services
Theresa Page	Custodial Services
Terry Parker	Pest Control Specialist
Eric Parker	Custodial Services
Ashanti Parris	Custodial Services
Stacy Patterson	Custodial Services
Noreen Phillips	Custodial Services
Ida Powell	Custodial Services
Juana Puga	Custodial Services
Deneen Reed	Custodial Services
Ashley Riley	Custodial Services
Rodney Robertson	Custodial Services
Yvonne Rodgers	Custodial Services
Mikallah Rucks	Custodial Services
Debra Ruffin	Custodial Services
Aisha Ruffin	Custodial Services
Candice Scott	Custodial Services
Alan Seibert	Custodial Services
Charlotte Sewell	Custodial Services
Kevin Shaw	Custodial Services
Tyiesha Simms	Envi. Services Cust I
Bernadette Snowden	Custodial Services
Anthony Spann	Custodial Services
Louise Spencer	Custodial Services
Breon Spruell	Custodial Services
Shawnise Stewart	Custodial Services
Yarnell Stubbs	Custodial Services
John Styron	Custodial Services
Laverta Summerfield	Custodial Services
Detroit Taylor	Custodial Services
Tawanna Taylor	Custodial Services
Kevin Taylor	Custodial Services
Katherine Turner	Service Worker
Jacqueline Turpin	Custodial Services
Sierra Tyler	Custodial Services
Tameka Vinson	Custodial Services
Priti Wakefield	Manager Custodial Services
Donita Watkins	Custodial Services
Darlene Watkins	Custodial Services
Bertha Webb	Custodial Services
Angela Webb	Custodial Services
Marquitta Weems	Asst Dir Custodial Services Shift
Darron Welch	Custodial Services
Helena Wharton	Custodial Services
Stephen Wheeler	Custodial Services
Jamaal White	Custodial Services
Melissa White	Custodial Services
Lydia Wilburn	Custodial Services
Shaquel Williams	Manager Custodial Services
Patricia Williams	Custodial Services
Helen Willis	Custodial Services
Makia Wilson	Custodial Services
Earnest Woodard	Custodial Services
Joseph Woodson	Custodial Services
Miranda Young	Custodial Services
Kianda Young	Custodial Services

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Environmental Services Team

Disinfecting and Connecting

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