2024 Winner Jerry Ma Emerging Leaders Jerry Ma Developed new technology tools for Patent and Trademark Office personnel and the public, and led efforts to establish the agency’s approach toward the use of artificial intelligence for inventions seeking patents.
2024 Finalist Sammie Tafoya Emerging Leaders Sammie Tafoya Led the drafting of a visa revocation policy for Haitians involved in criminal activity and human rights abuses while contributing to sanctions packages and a U.N. resolution that impose penalties against those undermining peace and stability in the Caribbean nation.
2024 Finalist Andrea Fletcher Emerging Leaders Andrea Fletcher Led teams at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to create online services that help patients dispute unexpected medical bills and hospitals make their prices transparent to the public.
2024 Finalist Kyle Gardiner Emerging Leaders Kyle Gardiner Played a leading role in streamlining burdensome government forms, shifting how federal agencies collect information and ensuring deserving recipients receive public benefits.
2023 Winner Fletcher Schoen and Jennifer Harkins Emerging Leaders Fletcher Schoen and Jennifer Harkins Played integral roles in the release of 11 American prisoners wrongfully detained in Russia and Venezuela, contributing to creative diplomatic strategies and delicate negotiations while showing compassion to the families and keeping them informed.
2023 Finalist Michael E. Camal Emerging Leaders Michael E. Camal Leads and has expanded a government campaign to help aviation personnel identify potential victims of human trafficking and report their suspicions to law enforcement.
2023 Finalist Rebecca Schmidt-Jeffris Emerging Leaders Rebecca Schmidt-Jeffris Engaged in pioneering work that deploys insects as natural predators against other bugs that damage crops such as apples and pears, limiting the use of harmful pesticides, saving farmers money and protecting the environment.
2022 Finalist Samantha Sutton Emerging Leaders Samantha Sutton Played an important behind-the-scenes role across three presidential administrations as an adviser on U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestinians.
2021 Winner Callie I. Higgins, Ph.D. Emerging Leaders Callie I. Higgins, Ph.D. Invented a groundbreaking technology to detect and remedy microscopic flaws that threaten the safety and reliability of 3D–printed products, potentially revolutionizing the medical, plastics, coatings, optics and additive manufacturing fields.
2023 Finalist Mark V. Ingram Emerging Leaders Mark V. Ingram Developed and launched the main innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force, improving pilot safety, saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and strengthening our national defense.
2022 Winner Krista Kinnard Emerging Leaders Krista Kinnard Ignited a technology transformation at the Department of Labor by automating repetitive administrative processes, saving time and money, and creating greater efficiencies.
2021 Finalist Lori Vislocky Emerging Leaders Lori Vislocky Developed and implemented a new system that enables authorities to quickly identify foreigners who pose a threat to national security or public safety before they travel to the United States.
2022 Finalist David Rader Emerging Leaders David Rader Led a critical initiative to monitor and prevent foreign investments in American technology companies that can be used by adversaries to gain an economic and military advantage over the United States.
2021 Finalist Edward Sisco, Ph.D. Emerging Leaders Edward Sisco, Ph.D. Devised a new method for crime laboratories to identify opioids and other drugs more quickly and safely, providing critical information to law enforcement while protecting lab employees from dangerous substances.
2022 Finalist Mark Williams, Ph.D. Emerging Leaders Mark Williams, Ph.D. Documented how agricultural runoff containing nitrogen and phosphorous used in fertilizers migrate into and pollute waterways, prompting new farming conservation practices to protect the environment.
2021 Finalist William Hart-Cooper, Ph.D. Emerging Leaders William Hart-Cooper, Ph.D. Created novel formulations for disinfectants and packaging that break down into harmless substances after use, protecting human health and reducing environmental pollution.
2020 Winner Vikram Krishnasamy, M.D. Emerging Leaders Vikram Krishnasamy, M.D. Established a training program and communications network to help local public health officials deal with the opioid epidemic, including coordinating outreach to patients when law enforcement arrested medical professionals for illegal conduct.
2020 Finalist Monica Ager Jacobsen Emerging Leaders Monica Ager Jacobsen Played a crucial behind-the-scenes role shaping the complex legal and policy issues involved in imposing sanctions against dozens of human rights abusers worldwide.
2020 Finalist Andrew Laurence, Ph.D., Shannon Ferguson, Ph.D. Emerging Leaders Andrew Laurence, Ph.D., Shannon Ferguson, Ph.D. Provided critical information to help law enforcement solve hundreds of drug smuggling cases and other crimes by analyzing microscopic pollen grains to determine where drugs were produced, and the routes taken, as well as the travel histories of crime victims.
2020 Finalist Chihoon Shin Emerging Leaders Chihoon Shin Recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on helicopter safety, having investigated numerous crashes and made important recommendations to prevent future mishaps and save lives.
2020 Finalist Mark Andrew Braza and the Aircraft Carrier Refueling Complex Overhaul Cost Reduction Team Emerging Leaders Mark Andrew Braza and the Aircraft Carrier Refueling Complex Overhaul Cost Reduction Team Led the planning and contracting for the multibillion-dollar overhaul of the USS John C. Stennis, saving tens of millions of dollars and ensuring the nuclear aircraft carrier will play a critical national security role for the next 25 years.
2016 Finalist Lilia McFarland Emerging Leaders Lilia McFarland Led an interagency initiative to help build the next generation of farmers and ranchers, creating a strategy for easing access to critical federal resources and improving customer service.
2016 Finalist Jessica Hall Zomer Emerging Leaders Jessica Hall Zomer Helped craft and served as chief legal advisor on a major power plant regulation that will eliminate one-third of toxic heavy metals now dumped into the nation’s rivers, lakes and streams by regulated industries.
