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.

“The Service to America Medals are a powerful illustration of the good that government does, which positively affects our lives every day,” said Max Stier, Partnership for Public Service president and CEO. “We will never get what we want out of our government if we focus solely on its shortcomings and fail to celebrate its successes.”

Additional medals will go to:

The Service to America Medal winners were nominated by colleagues familiar with their work and selected by a committee that includes nearly 20 leaders in government, academia, the private sector, media and philanthropy. They were chosen from 33 finalists named from more than 400 nominations.

The awards are named in memory of business leader and visionary philanthropist Samuel J. Heyman who founded the Partnership for Public Service to revitalize our federal government and to inspire a new generation to serve. The Sammies have earned a reputation as one of the most prestigious awards dedicated to honoring America’s civil servants.