Environmental Services Team

Environmental Health and Services - BioDisinfecting 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