2023 - William R. Riter Distinguished IT Education Service Award
Dawn Pantaleo served as a CIS Instructor and Department Chair at Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) from 1997 until her retirement on December 31, 2019 — a career spanning more than two decades of dedicated service to computing education in the Greater Kalamazoo area. She holds degrees from Western Michigan University in Computer Programming, History, and Education.
At KVCC, Pantaleo taught a broad range of computing courses including C#, Visual Basic .NET, RPG/400, COBOL, Systems Analysis and Design, System Architecture, Programming Logic, Professional IT Skills, and PC Operating Systems. She also served as Faculty Adviser for the KVCC Student Chapter of the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP), mentoring generations of students in professional development and industry engagement.
Pantaleo was recognized at the 2023 MWC3 Conference — the first conference held following the pandemic hiatus — as the second overall recipient of the award and the first to receive it under its newly renamed designation, honoring her career-long commitment to preparing students for careers in computing and information technology.