leadership

Federal Superstars To Receive Service To America Medals

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The Partnership for Public Service has announced the winners of this year’s Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, awarded to public servants who are making high-impact contributions to the health, safety and well-being of Americans.

The top medal, Federal Employee of the Year, will be presented to Lynne Mofenson (pictured above) of the National Institutes of Health for her pivotal role in preventing the AIDS epidemic among children by developing ways to prevent mother-to-child transmission. The awards, popularly known as “Sammies,” will be given to the nine recipients at a Washington, D.C. gala Thursday evening. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 12, 2012 at 6:00 PM

Feds@Work: FDIC Director Leads Workforce Through Economic Meltdown

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This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Management Excellence medal, Arleas Upton Kea, director of the Division of Administration at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in Washington, D.C.

As the nation’s economic meltdown unfolded, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) needed to greatly increase its staff to deal with hundreds of failing financial institutions and complete an aggressive set of bank examinations. At the same time, employee surveys revealed there was a declining level of job satisfaction at the regulatory agency. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 6, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Feds@Work: ‘Mr. False Claims Act’ Battled Fraud

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This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Justice and law Enforcement medal Michael Hertz, who until his death in May was deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Division of the Department of Justice.

To many in the legal community, Michael Hertz was known as “Mr. False Claims Act” for his leading role during the past quarter century in using this important federal law to combat fraud against the federal government. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 4, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Feds@Work: Initiative Grows Government Employment For Veterans

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This is one in a series of profileson the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features Management Excellence medal finalists from the Office of Personnel Management in Washington, D.C., Joseph Kennedy, deputy associate director, Ray Decker, assistant director and Hakeem Basheerud-Deen, deputy assistant director.

Declaring that the government has an obligation to those who have served and sacrificed in defense of our nation, President Obama in 2009 issued an executive order calling for federal agencies to step up efforts to recruit and hire qualified veterans. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 31, 2012 at 8:00 AM

Feds@Work: NIH Push Helps Reduce Childhood AIDS in US, Worldwide

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This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Career Achievement medal Lynne Mofenson, chief of the Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal Branch at the National Institutes of Health in Rockville, Md.

As the number of children with AIDS increased dramatically in the United States and around the world during the late 1980s, the depressing fact was that little could be done to prevent infants from getting HIV, the virus that causes the terrible disease. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 30, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Feds@Work: Robonaut2 Technology Helps Astronauts Aboard International Space Station

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This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Science and Environment medal Myron “Ron” Diftler, robonaut project lead in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Robotics Systems Technology Branch in Houston, Texas, and his Robonaut2 Team.

An advanced robot with a unique human-like hand is working with astronauts on board the International Space Station, thanks to revolutionary technology developed by a project team headed by Myron “Ron” Diftler. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 2, 2012 at 7:00 AM

Feds@Work: Recovering America’s Stolen Historical Treasures

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This is one in a series of profileson the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Justice and Law Enforcement medal Kelly Maltagliati, special agent-in-charge for the National Archives and Records Administration’s Archival Recovery Team in the Office of Inspector General.

Thousands of historical documents have disappeared over the years from the National Archives-the patent for the Wright Brothers’ airplane, target maps of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Civil War telegrams written by Abraham Lincoln, a copy of FDR’s “Day of Infamy” speech and NASA photographs from space. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 30, 2012 at 7:00 AM

Feds@Work: Mobile Technology Employed in US Boarder Security

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This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features Homeland Security medal finalists from U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nael Samha, program manager in the Office of Technology, and Thomas Roland, Jr., program manager in the Office of Field Operations.

After an airline passenger flying from Amsterdam to Detroit on Dec. 25, 2009, attempted to set off plastic explosives sewn in his underwear, the Department of Homeland Security ordered a full-scale review of the way federal agents screen and target individuals entering and leaving the United States. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 26, 2012 at 7:00 AM

Feds@Work: IRS’ Top Cop on the Frivolous Claims Beat

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This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Justice and Law Enforcement medal Shauna Henline, senior technical coordinator for the Frivolous Return Program at the Internal Revenue Service in Ogden, Utah.

Year after year, thousands of people try to avoid paying federal taxes by making outlandish claims, including that wages are not income, or that taxes are voluntary, are only paid by federal employees, can be avoided because of religious beliefs or can be exempted as reparations for slavery. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 23, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Feds@Work: Blind Executive Envisions Possibilities

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Kathy Martinez may have been blind from birth, but she sees a lot. She sees the potential in all people, regardless of whether they have a disability. She recognizes the value of accessibility technology, and she’s a promoter of its adoption. She realizes that disabilities sometimes affect minorities more profoundly than others, and works to overcome that.

As the assistant secretary of Labor for the Office of Disability Employment Policy, Martinez has a power-perch from which to help advance the idea of inclusive hiring and technology to enable people to be fully productive. She’s traveled far from the production floor of a Kwikset door lock factory where she operated a punch press. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 20, 2012 at 9:00 AM
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