Each year, the University of New Mexico recognizes four individuals during Compliance, Ethics and Equal Opportunity (CEEO) Compliance Week with the Advancing Compliance and Ethics (ACE) Awards.
These awards honor individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to advancing compliance and ethics and who actively contribute to creating a stronger, more ethical UNM community.
The following are this year’s ACE Award recipients:
Linnea Ista — operations director of Research Integrity and Conflicts of Interest in Research
Linnea Ista has spent more than 30 years at UNM as a faculty member, staff member and student. During her biomedical research career, she received 15 U.S. patents, along with numerous other research and service awards. She also served as director of UNM’s Center for Biomedical Engineering and the Biomedical Engineering graduate program.
Since joining the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance (ORIC) in 2022, Ista has focused on providing training, improving customer service, and increasing efficiency and consistency in both conflicts of interest and research misconduct processes.
Linda Mayo — executive director, Office of Research Compliance and Integrity
Linda Mayo serves as executive director of the UNM Office of Research Integrity and Compliance, which oversees the Institutional Review Board (IRB), Conflict of Interest, Research Integrity and Responsible Conduct of Research programs on UNM’s central and branch campuses.
Since joining ORIC, Mayo has strengthened team morale and demonstrated positive, supportive leadership in a high-stakes environment. She has also played a key role in developing UNM’s Research Security Program, working closely with the Facility Security Officer to create UNM-specific research security training modules.
Mayo serves as a site visitor, team leader and Step 1 reviewer for the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP). In 2016, she co-founded the Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R) Social, Behavioral and Educational Research (SBER) Network, a national collaborative focused on the ethical oversight of social and behavioral research. In 2020, she received PRIM&R’s Legacy Award, honoring individuals who exemplify leadership, education and mentorship in the field.
Paula Smith — associate dean, Dean of Students Office
Paula Smith has served as associate dean of students at UNM since 2023. In this role, she leads efforts to reimagine student conduct through restorative practices, student ownership and alternative resolution pathways.
Smith was instrumental in developing and implementing UNM’s new anti-hazing policy, resources and transparency report in alignment with the Stop Campus Hazing Act. Her work includes evaluating the student conduct process, developing policy, crisis intervention, and collaborating on student-focused initiatives across campus.
Before joining UNM, Smith was assistant dean of students at Gonzaga University and served as acting dean for student wellbeing, where her team received the Association for Student Conduct Administrators (ASCA) Innovation Award. Her career in student affairs includes leadership roles at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Smith brings a deep commitment to student development and equity, with extensive experience in student conduct, behavioral health support and community building. She currently serves as ASCA Region 3 chair, is a certified conflict coach and mediator, and has received training in restorative justice, corporate training and experiential education.
She earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from Eastern Illinois University and a Master of Arts in Education from Bowling Green State University.
Selam Wondaferew, Ph.D., CHPC — privacy officer, UNM Health Sciences Center
A certified healthcare privacy compliance professional and organizational psychologist, Selam Wondaferew brings more than a decade of experience to her role as privacy officer for the UNM Health Sciences Center.
She has led efforts to ensure HIPAA compliance, developed and implemented privacy policies, and conducted comprehensive risk assessments while managing complex investigations with fairness and professionalism.
Wondaferew has strengthened compliance and transparency through timely regulatory updates, safeguarded protected health information through proactive audits, and built a culture of accountability through targeted training programs. Her leadership has also streamlined investigative processes, reducing response times and improving efficiency across the organization.
For more information on the ACE Awards, visit ceeo.unm.edu.
