With unmatched dedication, Stephanie Roper was a true champion of the CUGC community. Her cheerful personality and contagious excitement permeated everything she did. CUGC truly would not be where it is today without her invaluable contributions. The unexpected loss of Stephanie has been felt across our community. The support that has poured out from members around the world is just a small indication of how incredible she was.

To honor her, we created the Stephanie Roper Community Award to highlight one member of CUGC each year for the work they do helping others in the Citrix Community. Nominees are submitted by the community, and the winner is selected by the CUGC Steering Committee.

2021 Stephanie Roper Community Award Recipient

Neil Spellings

Neil leads the UK CUGC group and is a member of the CUGC Steering Committee, in addition to being a CTP. When the call came to nominate CUGC members for this award, the argument for Neil was very strong: He was credited with keeping the UK group together and connected throughout the difficult conditions of the pandemic and slow re-opening of events. His group members lauded his ability to maintain the UK group's signature XL day-long events virtually before being able to successfully return to in-person meetings.

Neil is also a member of the CUGC Women in Tech mentoring program, and has been a steadfast supporter of the program and its outreach. Congratulations Neil, on being chosen as the 2021 Stephanie Roper Award recipient by your peers!

2020 Stephanie Roper Community Award Recipient

Esther Barthel

2020 was a challenging year for community, which made it all the more important to keep that sense of "community" strong through virtual avenues. Though CUGC members couldn't gather in-person at XL events, local meetings, or even Citrix Synergy, the community pulled together through virtual happy hours, meetings and more.

CTP and CUGC Women In Tech founding member Esther Barthel was involved all over the globe, sharing knowledge through virtual sessions, moderating webinars, coordinating the Women In Tech mentoring efforts. She's also a regular member of the CUGC Content Working Group, helping to drive CUGC's content strategy to best serve our wide range of members. A self-proclaimed "IT geek," Esther is well-known for her impressive tech skills, her insatiable drive to learn more, and most importantly, her willingness to share all that she's learned.

Thus, we were thrilled to announce Esther as the winner of the 2020 Stephanie Roper Community Award.