Citizen Services Medal Recipients
This medal recognizes a federal employee for a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to social services (including economic development and assistance, education, health care, housing, labor, and transportation) and is accompanied by a $3,000 award.
Susan Angell, Mark Johnston and the Homeless Veterans Initiative Team—2012 Recipients
Positions: Executive Director, Veterans Homeless Initiative (Angell); Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs, Office of Community Planning and Development (Johnston)
Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs (Angell); Department of Housing and Urban Development (Johnston)
Location: Washington, D.C.
Achievement:Led an interdepartmental program that reduced veterans homelessness by 12 percent in one year as part of an ambitious national goal of finding shelter for all veterans by 2015.
Diane K. Braunstein—2011 Recipient
Position: Associate Commissioner, Office of International Programs
Agency: Social Security Administration
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Achievement: Created a fast-track system for terminally and seriously ill Americans to receive approval for Social Security disability benefits in days or weeks instead of months or years.
Shane Kelley and Eva Ristow—2010 Recipients
Position: Director, Center for Automation (Kelley) and Project Manager (Ristow)
Agency: Social Security Administration, Denver Region
Location: Denver, Colorado
Achievement: Improved the delivery of Social Security benefits to citizens living in impoverished and remote locations through an innovative two-way video service.
Michael German—2009 Recipient
Position: National Team Leader
Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Achievement: Created partnerships to reduce homelessness with more than 850 state and local leaders, which have contributed to a 30 percent reduction in long-term homelessness.
Dr. Rajiv Jain—2008 Recipient
Position: Chief of Staff and MRSA Program Director
Agency: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Pittsburgh Healthcare System
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Achievement: Developed and led an initiative that reduced a type of life-threatening, hospital-acquired infections by 60 percent and has been replicated at all 153 VA hospitals and other hospitals across America and parts of the world.
Dinah F. B. Cohen—2007 Recipient
Position: Director, Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP)
Agency: U.S. Department of Defense, TRICARE Management Activity
Location: Falls Church, Virginia
Achievement: Leads the world’s largest assistive technology program, filling more than 60,000 accommodation requests for people with disabilities, including 2,400 accommodations for wounded service members.
USGS Hurricane Response Team
led by Dr. Thomas Casadevall—2006 Recipient
Position: Director, Central Region
Agency: U.S. Geological Survey
Location: Lakewood, Colorado
Achievement: Used technology to help locate and rescue thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims and personally conducted rescue missions that saved 600 people.
Terence Lutes—2005 Recipient
Position: Associate CIO, Information Technology Services
Agency: Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury
Location: Washington, D.C.
Achievement: Led the development of the popular eFile system that has allowed millions of Americans to get their tax refunds in as few as 10 days, while also cutting processing costs for government by as much as 90 percent.
FTC
Do Not Call Team
led by Eileen Harrington—2004 Recipient
Position: Associate Director for Marketing Practices
Agency: Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Consumer Protection
Location: Washington, D.C.
Achievement: Developed and implemented the federal Do Not Call Registry, which has reduced the number of telemarketing calls for more than 60 million Americans.
Denise Johnson—2003 Recipient
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.
Daniel Weinberg—2002 Recipient
Position: Division Chief
Agency: Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, U.S. Census Bureau
Location: Suitland, Maryland
Achievement: Led the development of an improved measure of poverty which more accurately reflects the needs of the poor; this will help leaders effectively target resources toward improving economic well-being.
The Service to America Medals are presented annually by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service to celebrate excellence in our federal civil service.
