A celebration of the administrative professionals driving real business impact, presented live at APC 2026 in Nashville.
Check back here in spring 2027 for details on the next round of award nominations!
In February of this year, Texas A&M Health Sciences Center experienced an unexpected environmental crisis when a flood, compounded by ongoing construction, created immediate operational gaps. The nominee stepped in to coordinate a complex relocation, moving eight academic advisors and their supervisor while also relocating the building’s mailroom, securing an alternate location for prospective-student meetings, and ensuring IT and phone services remained operational.
Her meticulous planning kept student services running with zero downtime, and not a single prospective-student meeting was canceled during the relocation and construction period. Her colleagues describe her as a “rock of stability” during organizational change and “the glue holding our office together.”
Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District
In February 2025, at Cleveland Heights, University Heights School District, this nominee recognized that traditional executive support was no longer enough to meet the growing demands of district leadership. She developed a Strategic Partnership Framework that transformed the Superintendent’s office from a primarily reactive support function into a strategic operational hub, establishing systems that now support leadership across 12 departments and 11 schools.
She implemented centralized project and accountability systems spanning more than 1,300 action items, redesigned 74 recurring meetings, and trained 29 administrators and administrative professionals. A colleague said that what once felt reactive became intentional, noting that her work has cultivated “a culture of leadership accountability, strengthened cabinet alignment, and elevated expectations for how leaders prepare, communicate, and execute their work.”
At Kokosing Construction Company, this nominee saw an opportunity to rethink everyday administrative processes that were consuming valuable time and relying heavily on manual work. Using Microsoft 365 tools, she automated follow-up workflows, transformed paper-based surveys into a streamlined digital process, and redesigned meeting management to make decisions and action items easier to track. Her innovations have saved more than 596 hours of work annually, including approximately $68,000 in annual cost avoidance, while cutting survey processing time by 64%.
A colleague praised her for “consistently identify[ing] opportunities to improve how we work” and said her work demonstrates the impact an administrative professional can have as a catalyst for using technology to create smarter, more sustainable ways of working.
At Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, this nominee helped build and sustain a workforce development program designed to expand leadership and career opportunities for women, veterans, minorities, and other underrepresented employees. Through leadership cohorts, mentorship, executive coaching, and individualized professional development, she connected employees with opportunities aligned to their career goals while stepping into a project management role during leadership transitions.
From August 2024 through March 2026, 96 employees, more than half of the District’s workforce, participated, resulting in 13 promotions and career advancements and 21 professional and technical certifications. Her impact was so significant that her director said, “Quite simply, this project would not have succeeded without her dedication and support.”
Each award is aligned to the ways administrative professionals are shaping their organizations today.
Strategic Partnership & Leadership
Recognizes executive admins who shape and elevate executive partnerships through strategic thinking, influence, and trusted collaboration.
Eligible submissions will reflect at least one of the following achievements:
Additional requirement:
Technology & Innovation
Honors administrative professionals driving innovation through technology, automation, and forward-thinking solutions that transform how work gets done.
Eligible submissions will reflect at least one of the following achievements:
Additional requirement:
Communication & Operations
Celebrates project leadership and operational excellence that delivers measurable results, from saving time and reducing costs to improving day-to-day performance.
Eligible submissions will reflect at least one of the following achievements:
Additional requirement:
Inclusion & Culture
Honors leaders advancing more inclusive, equitable workplaces through mentorship, advocacy, community building, and lasting cultural impact.
Eligible submissions will reflect at least one of the following achievements:
Additional requirement:
Each category winner receives a recognition package designed to celebrate their achievement and share their story with the broader community.
Coach flight covered up to $500 to APC 2026 in Nashville, TN.
Accommodations at a participating APC hotel, booked through APC’s travel agent.
Accept your award live onstage at APC in Nashville on September 15, 2026.
Share your story and your achievement on an ASAP podcast episode.
Written and video features published across ASAP’s channels.
If the winner cannot meet these terms, ASAP reserves the right to forfeit the prize and choose an alternative winner. See full terms and conditions here.
Eight years of recognizing the administrative profession’s best.
ASAP Impact Award 2025 Winner
ASAP DEIB Award 2025 Winner
ASAP Impact Award 2024 Winner
ASAP DEIB Award 2024 Winner
ASAP Impact Award 2023 Winner
ASAP DEIB Award 2023 Winner
2022 Eureka Winner
2022 Eureka Winner
2021 Eureka Winner
2019 Eureka Winner
2018 Eureka Winner
2017 Eureka Winner
Know someone whose contributions deserve the spotlight? Whether you’re nominating yourself, a colleague, or the EA who makes your work possible, the submission process takes just a few minutes.
Submissions close June 5th, 2026
