2003 Federal Employee of the Year
Stephen McHale
Position: Deputy Administrator
Agency: Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Achievement: On January 2, 2002, the Transportation Security Administration consisted of two people—and Stephen McHale was one of them. Over the next year, McHale helped grow TSA into an organization responsible for aviation security with more than 60,000 people—the largest mobilization of a new agency since World War II.
2003 Career Achievement Medal Recipient
Dr. James Bagian
Position: Director, National Center for Patient Safety
Agency: Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Achievement: NASA physician and astronaut; a U.S. Air Force flight surgeon; and an engineer with HUD, the Navy and EPA—Dr. James Bagian has contributed enormously in his 24 years of experience as a federal public servant. Among his many accomplishments is the development of an innovative patient safety program that is now in place in all 173 VA hospitals and internationally.
2003 Call to Service Medal Recipient
Alyson McFarland
Position: Program Development Officer
Agency: U.S. Department of State
Location: Washington, D.C.
Achievement: When three North Korean refugees jumped over the wall of the U.S. Consulate in Shenyang, China, seeking asylum, it captured worldwide attention and touched off negotiations within the highest levels of the U.S., Chinese and South Korean governments. Alyson McFarland, one of the consulate’s only Korean-language speakers, helped defuse the situation—a major diplomatic achievement, given that McFarland has been in the State Department only three years.
2003 Business and Commerce Medal Recipient
Nelson Hernandez and Team
Position: National Coordinator for Community Affairs
Agency: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Location: Washington, D.C.
Achievement: Thanks to Nelson Hernandez and the Community Affairs team at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the innovative multimedia “Money Smart Program” they developed, over 100,000 disadvantaged Americans have learned how to benefit from personal banking services and better manage their money.
2003 Citizen Services Medal Recipient
Denise Johnson
Position: Deputy Chief, Polio Eradication Branch
Agency: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Achievement: Denise Johnson is charged at the CDC with worldwide eradication of polio by 2008. Keeping her eye on potential hotspots around the world, she manages $300 million in grants and the purchase of 600 million doses of polio vaccine.
2003 Homeland Security Medal Recipient
Paul Polski
Position: Program Director
Agency: Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Location: Washington, D.C.
Achievement: Paul Polski spent 12 years heading an 80-person task force at a Federal Aviation Administration counterterrorism lab in southern New Jersey that developed innovative products to detect concealed weapons before they can be brought onto commercial aircraft and others that may allow planes to survive a terrorist attack.
2003 International Affairs Medal Recipient
Riaz Awan
Position: Energy Attaché
Agency: U.S. Department of Energy
Location: Kiev, Ukraine
Achievement: Riaz Awan has devoted his career to the swift, safe and secure permanent closure of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. He is helping coordinate the construction of a new concrete shelter over the destroyed reactor, and advises Ukrainian authorities to ensure that terrorists and rogue states cannot access nuclear materials.
2003 Justice and Law Enforcement Medal Recipient
Buffalo Joint Terrorism Task Force led by Edward J. Needham
Position: Special Agent
Agency: Joint Terrorism Task Force, U.S. Department of Justice
Location: Buffalo, New York
Achievement: The 22-member Buffalo Joint Terrorism Task Force—led by Special Agent Edward Needham—took the lead in bringing a potential Al Qaeda “sleeper cell” to justice before they could unleash an act of terror on American soil.
2003 Science and Environment Medal Recipient
Earl Stockdale
Position: Deputy General Counsel of the Army, Civil Works and Environment
Agency: Department of the Army
Location: Washington, D.C.
Achievement: Earl Stockdale is the man behind the plan to restore the Florida Everglades—the world’s largest environmental restoration project. He was the linchpin in developing a multibillion dollar plan through which the Army Corps of Engineers, working with the State of Florida and other federal agencies, would protect this cherished ecosystem.
The Service to America Medals are presented annually by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service to celebrate excellence in our federal civil service.
