Two University of Vermont staff members recognized this year with the President’s Our Common Ground Staff Award are also students in UVM’s Sustainable Development Policy, Economics, and Governance (SDPEG) Ph.D. program. Ali Mahmood and Christine “Christy” Gallese were among five UVM employees selected for the 2026 President’s Our Common Ground Staff Award, which recognizes staff members who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to the university’s shared values of respect, integrity, innovation, openness, justice, and responsibility.
In 2026, five staff members were selected: Christine Gallese, Ali Mahmood, Vicki Gilwee, Lise Larose, and John Sama. President Marlene Tromp announced the recipients during the State of the University address in August.
Ali Mahmood
Mahmood serves as assistant director of the UVM Interfaith Center within the Division of Intercultural Excellence. He joined the Interfaith Center in 2022 after previously teaching in the Film and Religion departments at Allegheny College.
In his role at UVM, Mahmood supports programming that encourages dialogue and engagement across different religious and spiritual traditions and creates opportunities for students to explore community, faith, spirituality, and connection.
At the same time, Mahmood is pursuing his Ph.D. in Sustainable Development Policy, Economics, and Governance at UVM. His doctoral research examines questions at the intersection of ecological economics, institutions, governance, and human values, including how economic systems and understandings of human well-being shape social and ecological outcomes.
The combination of his professional and academic work reflects the interdisciplinary nature of SDPEG, where students bring perspectives from across policy, economics, governance, and sustainable development to complex social challenges.
Christine “Christy” Gallese
Gallese is the assistant director of the Vermont Child Health Improvement Program (VCHIP) at UVM’s Larner College of Medicine and also teaches in UVM’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) program. Her teaching focuses on organizational theory and behavior, bringing her professional experience and research into the classroom.
Her work through VCHIP connects research, education, health care, and community partnerships. In her role, Gallese supports the overall business administration, project work and organizational development of the program. As an SDPEG doctoral student, Gallese’s research examines historically conditioned organizational resilience. Her research is exploring how an organization’s history and past experiences shape how it responds to disruption, adapts to change, and builds resilience over time. Her research reflects SDPEG’s interdisciplinary focus on understanding how organizations and institutions navigate complex challenges.
Her career at UVM demonstrates the kind of cross-disciplinary engagement that is central to sustainable development. Through her professional work, teaching, and graduate studies, Gallese brings together questions of policy, community, education, and systems change.
Congratulations to all the winners. Learn more here about the Common Ground Award.