The winners of the “people’s choice” award, announced earlier, were Megan Meacham, Allison Hitchings and Sarah O’Donnell, respectively director, deputy director and team lead for rural strategic initiatives for the Health Resources and Services Administration. Image: Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jack Sanders, DOD
Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia has been named the Federal Employee of the Year in the annual Service to America Medals award, considered the top annual honor for career federal employees.
She was honored for leading “a nimble, meaningful response by the U.S. and its allies to support Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s unprovoked aggression by delivering critical military supplies and other aid at an unprecedented pace,” said an announcement from the Partnership for Public Service which sponsors the “Sammies.”
The Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Award went to Melissa Emrey-Arras, director of the education, workforce and income security team at the GAO for leading investigations and making recommendations that “have helped millions access federal student aid and have their student loans forgiven, while rooting out fraudulent student loan schemes.”
Other winners are:
Emerging Leaders—Fletcher Schoen and Jennifer Harkins, foreign affairs officers at State for “integral roles in the release of 11 American prisoners wrongfully detained in Russia and Venezuela, contributing to creative diplomatic strategies and delicate negotiations while showing compassion to the families and keeping them informed.”
Management Excellence—Transportation Department officials Paul Nissenbaum, Gloria M. Shepherd and Maria S. Lefevre for helping to “craft and implement the $1 trillion infrastructure law that is modernizing the nation’s highways, bridges, shipping ports, railroads and airports.”
Safety, Security and International Affairs—Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Mellor and FBI special agents Nicholas Cheviron and Stephanie Stevens for conceiving and leading a “unique worldwide investigation using information from a government-controlled encrypted messaging service that resulted in the arrest of more than a thousand drug traffickers and members of organized crime syndicates.”
Science, Technology and Environment—Brian Key and Scott Bellamy of NASA for managing the team that “successfully altered the orbit of an asteroid, providing the first-ever planetary defense test that could protect Earth from celestial threats.”
The winners of the “people’s choice” award, announced earlier, were Megan Meacham, Allison Hitchings and Sarah O’Donnell, respectively director, deputy director and team lead for rural strategic initiatives for the Health Resources and Services Administration. They were honored for setting up and managing a program to combat the opioid epidemic in rural areas.
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