Rob Laltrello is the Associate CIO / CTO /Director of Information Technology Services. Rob won Georgia Highlands College’s Employee of the Year award. Below is the narrative from his nomination. The nomination was then reviewed and agreed upon by GHC’s Executive Leadership team, which clearly represents how highly valuable Rob is to our institution.

Rob is a very willing member of our institution. Rob is very responsive to the needs of our employees and students. When asked, Rob is always willing to help, contribute or share his knowledge. Our institution spans 6 campuses in 5 counties. Keeping up with technology is a difficult task alone, but when combine that with the challenges our geographical locations and distances between campuses, a department that has experienced turnover and is understaffed, budget restraints, and increased enrollment which means more people to service, Rob never is too busy to answer a call for help. Recently, he was asked to teach a session about computer safety for a group of our employees. Even though it is out of his normal job expectations, Rob without hesitation agreed to help us provide that needed information to our employees.

Employee of the Year nomination narrative: I nominate Rob Laltrello for Outstanding Administrator. Rob Laltrello has dedicated almost 20 years to this institution. Rob oversees a lot but is never too busy to help. I have reached out to him on behalf of our department and he has always responded positively, and explained what we could do and what we couldn’t. But even if he has to say no, he does so in a way that makes sense to a not so information technologically literate person. He is more concerned that the solution he offers meets the current needs continuously; he is not interested in a quick fix.


On several occasions, he has taken the time come to my office to show me hands on how to do something. Going the extra mile in the beginning to make sure that someone understands what you are trying to teach them, makes them not only feel confident but reduces the questions or problems later.

I have always got the feeling that Rob is a team player. Not just what would be the easiest or quickest fix, but what would be best for GHC. Rob is approachable. Anytime that I have asked him if he could do something, he has never refused. Anytime that I have asked him about something and he did not know the answer, he would find out.

I know that outside of GHC, Rob has worked with Scouts to share his knowledge. Rob was also an asset during Merit Badge College when there were 200 Scouts on campus taking Merit Badge courses.

Rob has also been awarded the Caught in the Act of Good Customer Service and Caught in the Act of a Good Idea in 2014/2015 academic year. Rob has also always made himself available and supportive when any of the employees in his area have been nominated for an award. It makes a difference to an employee when their supervisor acknowledges their successes.

Rob Laltrello is:
• Kind: to his employees, co-workers and students
• Loyal: been with GHC almost 20 years
• Helpful: receptive and responsive, explains in a way that one with or without IT knowledge will understand
• Friendly: approachable
• Courteous: recipient of Caught in the Act awards

IT work often goes on behind the scenes, but it still requires people. I think Rob is a hidden asset to GHC.

Narrative from Caught in the Act of a Good Idea: We were challenging ourselves to think outside the box for a solution to performance management in our small committee meeting. Lauren came up with the idea of a blog to capture the "radically frequent check-ins" that we want to put in place. It prompted Rob Laltrello to have an idea of using an existing Office 365 blog option, which may be at no cost and with none, or little, IT maintenance. I am confident if this alternative doesn't work, we will find another one of similar nature to take advantage of for this initiative. Great ideas, Lauren and Rob!

As you can see by the nomination from narratives Rob is responsive, supportive and innovative which are just a few of the reasons he was chosen as GHC’s Employee of the Year.

Rob working with a middle school student at one of our community outreach events.

Rob receiving the Employee of the Year award.

Rob caught in action teaching employees about computer safety.