CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Cathy Bialeschki was selected as the Office Professional of the Year 2025 by the Illinois Administrative Professionals organization at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Bialeschki is an administrative aide with the Illinois Natural History Survey, a unit at the Prairie Research Institute. She was presented with the award at the IAP’s spring luncheon at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building. The honor garnered 12 nominations this year — the most in the history of the award.
Her nominator was Brenda Molano-Flores, a principal research scientist in plant ecology at INHS. Bialeschki is the 33rd person to receive the honor, which is given annually to a dedicated employee whose expertise and professionalism help their unit run more efficiently.
“I was honored to receive the recognition, but even more humbled by the kindness of the people I work with who nominated me,” said Bialeschki. “Truly, the INHS staff are ‘my people.’ I’m proud and inspired by the research they do and the passion they bring to protecting and conserving the natural resources of our state and beyond. I strive to support their work in every way I can. My job is to lift as much of the administrative burden as possible, so they can stay focused on the impact they’re making.”
Bialeschki joined the unit 25 years ago as the INHS chief’s administrative assistant. She noted that while the unit has undergone many changes in the past quarter-century, the constant has always been the staff’s passion for the work done at INHS.
Illinois Administrative Professionals seeks to build collegiality, promote professional advancement and provide a forum for the exchange of ideas among employees in certain civil service classifications.
Founded in 1948 as the Secretariat, the group voted to change its name in 2018 to better reflect the evolving roles and responsibilities of those it represents.
