Celebrating the Accomplishments of America’s Public Servants

The Service to America Medals (Sammies) awards program pays tribute to America's dedicated federal workforce, highlighting those who have made significant contributions to our country. Honorees are chosen based on their commitment and innovation, as well as the impact of their work on addressing the needs of the nation. Awardees are announced each fall at a dinner and awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Congratulations to the 2009 Finalists

On Wednesday, May 6, the Partnership for Public Service will announce 29 finalists at a Capitol Hill luncheon in Washington, D.C. Together, their work represents the important contributions of all federal employees, across the country and around the world, to protect our homeland, safeguard our health, and better the lives of their fellow citizens.

See all the 2009 finalists »

This year’s 30 finalists include public servants who boast achievements in fields including alternative energy, home foreclosure relief, physics, medical research, hubble science, the presidential transition, homelessness, the prosecution of terrorists and international development.

“The Service to America Medals are important because they tell the true stories of the remarkable work that our federal employees do each and every day. There is not a day that passes where government does not touch our lives in some way — whether it is stopping the spread of disease, combating fraud and corruption, or protecting our environment,” said Max Stier, Partnership for Public Service President.

Eight Stand-Out Public Servants Receive Coveted Service to America Medals

The Partnership for Public Service presented eight Service to America Medals to outstanding public servants whose remarkable work is making the world safer, healthier and greener – at a Washington, D.C. gala held in their honor, September 16.

See all the 2008 recipients »

The Service to America Medals have earned a reputation as one of the most prestigious awards dedicated to celebrating America’s civil servants.

The top medal - Federal Employee of the Year - went to USAID’s Richard Greene, whose work has the ultimate impact: it saves lives. Greene leads the President's Malaria Initiative which has provided potentially life-saving services to more than 25 million vulnerable women and children in 15 African countries.

Additional Service to America Medals were presented to federal workers who boast achievements in renewable energy, patient care, foreign affairs, law enforcement, homeland security, and combating climate change. Medalists come from the Departments of the Air Force, Veterans Affairs, Justice, State, Energy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They work and live in Washington, D.C., Seattle, Pittsburgh, and San Antonio.

“The recipients of the Service to America Medal exemplify the very best of our public servants,” said Partnership for Public Service President Max Stier. “The work that they do touches our lives each and every day – from securing our homeland to international affairs.”

The 2008 Service to America Medal recipients are:

Dr. Stephen Andersen, Career Achievement Medal
Andersen is Director, Strategic Climate Projects at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. Andersen played a key role in implementing the landmark Montreal Protocol which has put us on a path to restoring the ozone layer by phasing out 95 percent of the world’s ozone-depleting substances and is leading current federal efforts to combat climate change.

Dr. Eddie Bernard, Homeland Security Medal
Bernard is Director, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Seattle. Bernard created a tsunami detection system that has dramatically increased warning times and decreased the risk of a catastrophic loss of life.

Alain David Carballeyra, Call to Service Medal
Carballeyra is Director of Stereolithography at the Department of the Air Force, 59th Medical Wing, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Carballeyra introduced cutting edge 3-D technology to improve medical care and rehabilitation, and help restore quality of life for soldiers who are suffering from traumatic battle injuries.

Steven Chalk, Science and Environment Medal
Chalk is Deputy Assistant Secretary of Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. Chalk is leading many of our federal government’s most significant efforts to expand the development and use of renewable energy.

Mary Katherine Friedrich, National Security and International Affairs Medal
Friedrich is Special Advisor to the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. Friedrich leads the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, a major public/private effort to enhance the economic, social and political status of Afghan women.

Richard Greene, Federal Employee of the Year
As Director, Office of Health, Infectious Diseases and Nutrition at USAID’s Bureau of Global Health, Greene designed and launched the President’s Malaria Initiative which has provided potentially life-saving services to more than 25 million people.

Dr. Rajiv Jain, Citizen Services Medal
Jain is Chief of Staff and MRSA Program Director at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Pittsburgh Healthcare System in Pittsburgh. Jain developed and leads an initiative that is reducing a type of life-threatening, hospital-acquired infections at all 153 VA hospitals and other hospitals across America and parts of the world.

Mark Pletcher, Justice and Law Enforcement Medal
Pletcher is a Trial Attorney at the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, National Criminal Enforcement Section in Washington, D.C. Pletcher is leading the efforts to stop bid-rigging, fraud and corruption involving U.S. officials and defense contractors in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan.

The Service to America Medals gala was hosted by Rob Riggle, Daily Show correspondent.

Medal presenters included: Josh Bolten, White House Chief of Staff; Secretary Samuel Bodman, U.S. Department of Energy; Jim Nussle, Director of the Office of Management and Budget; Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change; U.S. Representative John Sarbanes; Ambassador Said Jawad, Afghanistan; and Sonya E. Medina, Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Director of Projects for the First Lady.

The Service to America Medal winners were nominated by colleagues familiar with their work and selected by a committee that includes Andrew H. Card, Jr., former White House Chief of Staff; Jim Clifton, CEO of the Gallup Organization; U.S. Senator Susan Collins; Jonathan F. Fanton, President of The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Colleen Kelley, National President of the National Treasury Employees Union; Paula Kerger, President and CEO of PBS and Bill Novelli, Chief Executive Officer of AARP. Nearly 500 nominations were submitted for medal consideration this year.

National sponsors for the Service to America Medals are DuPont, CH2M Hill, and our founding sponsor, Siemens.

 

© 2008 Partnership for Public Service