Sep 12, 2024
2024 Sammies awards: Saluting pioneering public servants
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Photo: Allison Shelley for the Partnership for Public Service
The Partnership for Public Service honored extraordinary public servants with the 23rd annual Samuel J. Heyman Service to America medals — the Sammies — during a ceremony at the Kennedy Center last night.
Why it matters: These Oscars for government service provide a fascinating glimpse into innovative and consequential work being done by federal employees who otherwise would be largely anonymous.
This year's Sammies winners:
- Nancy Alcantara, Shannon Rebolledo, Justin Uphold and the Labor Department's Packers Sanitation Investigation leads team (Chicago) won the top Sammies honor, Federal Employee of the Year. They discovered 100+ children ages 13-17 working illegally on dangerous machinery in 13 meat slaughterhouses across eight states, leading to a large civil penalty and a new approach to child labor-law enforcement.
- Christopher Mark of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (Pittsburgh) received the Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Medal for devoting a lengthy federal career to preventing fatalities from roof falls and other underground mining disasters, saving countless lives.
- Jerry Ma, 27, of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (West Lafayette, Ind.) was awarded the Emerging Leaders Medal for helping pioneer the agency's approach to AI.
- Amira Boland, formerly of the Office of Management and Budget (D.C.), received the Management Excellence Medal for improving customer experience in areas ranging from newborn care and disaster assistance to renewing passports online.
- Marc Levitan and Long Phan of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Gaithersburg, Md.) received the Science, Technology and Environment Medal. They created the world's first tornado-resistant building codes, conducting groundbreaking research that will save lives and protect schools, hospitals and emergency centers.
- Steve Calanog, Tara Fitzgerald and Pete Guria of the EPA (San Francisco) won the Safety, Security and International Affairs Medal. They directed 300+ EPA personnel in removing tons of hazardous materials from the Maui wildfires while respecting local cultural norms.
- Judy Chen and Jay Evans of the Agriculture Department (Beltsville, Md.) received the People's Choice Award in July for revolutionizing bee-disease diagnosis and treatment.
