Honorees

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Lisa Hsiao

Secured huge penalties against major corporations engaged in detrimental, unfair and deceptive trade practices.

Shadrach Ludeman, Terah Yaroch, Brooke Harding and the Office of Transition Initiatives Ukraine Team

Provided ​critical ​assistance to the Ukrainian people following ​the​ 2022​ Russian invasion​, partnering with local organizations to help Ukrainians evacuate to safety and deliver food, clothing, ​power ​generators and other supplies to those in need.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Zachary Johnson

Played pivotal role in responding to radiological threats caused by the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as securing the relocation of Department of Energy partners in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover in August 2021.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Jonathan Dworken

Coordinated the delivery of critical U.S. assistance to the people of Ethiopia amid a violent conflict.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Roy Dotson and the CARES Act Team

Conducted a nationwide criminal investigation that recovered $1.2 billion in stolen federal pandemic relief payments meant for small businesses and the unemployed, and halted the dispersal of $2.2 billion more in fraudulently requested funds.

Adam Jacoff and the Emergency Response Robotics team

Developed sophisticated testing standards to ensure ground, underwater and aerial robots have the capability to help emergency responders and the military handle disasters and other dangerous situations.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Kenneth Graham

Coordinated the national response to the most active hurricane season on record during the coronavirus pandemic, leading to a 100% evacuation rate in the hardest–hit area during Hurricane Laura, the strongest U.S. landfall in 2020 season.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Chong Le

Oversaw the development of a $1 billion Air Force satellite system that will enable prediction of major weather events and natural disasters, providing military leaders and civilian authorities with information needed to make crucial, life-saving decisions.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Donna F. Dodson

Recognized as one of the nation’s premier cybersecurity experts, having helped develop the first commercially available encryption standards as well as state-of-the-art guidelines for government and industry to prevent, detect and respond to cyberattacks.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Thomas Debass

Created public-private partnerships to advance America’s foreign policy interests while promoting economic growth and entrepreneurship in developing nations across the globe.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Lina Alathari, Ph.D.

Developed threat assessment guidelines and worked with law enforcement, educators and local communities to intervene and prevent possible mass shootings in schools, workplaces and public spaces.

Christopher M. Janczewski, Zia M. Faruqui, Kimberly A. Reece and the W2V Team

Led an international criminal investigation of the largest dark web child pornography site that accepted cryptocurrency to cloak more than one million video downloads, resulting in the arrest of the operator, more than 330 users and the rescue of 25 exploited children.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

John M. Melle, María L. Pagán and team

Coordinated complex negotiations with Mexico and Canada, resulting in a $1.3 trillion trade agreement overwhelmingly approved by Congress that touches almost every aspect of the U.S. economy.

Thomas W. Prevoznik, Joseph Beemsterboer, Gary Cantrell and the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force team

Investigated and arrested 73 health care professionals and other individuals in six states for the unlawful distribution of 40 million medically unnecessary pain pills, helping address the deadly nationwide opioid epidemic.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Ryan Shelby, Ph.D.

Provided vital training and resources to help people in Haiti rebuild thousands of homes and roofs ripped apart by a Category 4 hurricane, making the structures safer and stronger to withstand future disasters

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Jamie Rhome

Created a new forecasting model and warning system that more accurately predicts the deadly storm surge caused by hurricanes, saving lives by alerting residents sooner of the approaching danger

Safety, Security and International Affairs

John P. Wagner

Reduced wait times for American citizens and a growing number of foreign travelers arriving at U.S. airports by expediting the clearance process while ensuring a high level of security.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Kurt Yankaskas

Identified and implemented solutions to combat noise-induced hearing loss, which affects hundreds of thousands of sailors and Marines, and costs taxpayers billions of dollars each year in treatments for veterans

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Emily Joy Haas, Ph.D.

Improved the health and safety of our nation’s mine workers by using behavioral science to influence the adoption of new technologies and practices that reduce their exposure to known hazards

Emily Banuelos and the Taxiway Tango Tiger Team

Designed and implemented enhanced surveillance technology that warns when commercial aircraft are lined up to land on a taxiway instead of the intended runway, averting the potential for catastrophic accidents

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Kara L. De Castro

Led pivotal international programs to convert weapons-grade nuclear materials for civilian use and enhanced security cultures to guard against their mishandling and misuse

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Leticia Pibida, Ph.D.

Strengthened our nation’s defenses against nuclear and radioactive threats by developing performance standards and tests for detection systems that screen nearly 7 million cargo containers entering U.S. seaports every year

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Kristen P. Finne

Developed a system for first responders to quickly locate and assist 4.3 million Medicare beneficiaries who rely on electricity-dependent medical equipment and are at risk during prolonged power outages

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Andrew M. Herscowitz and the Power Africa Team

Provided electricity to some 50 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, while creating hundreds of millions of dollars in export opportunities for U.S. companies

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Matthew Nims and the Food for Peace Team

Distributed $1.4 billion in emergency food assistance to 20 million people in four nations fighting famine and threatened by violent conflicts, saving countless lives under harrowing conditions

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Hoa Thi Tran, Ph.D. and the Team

Delivered emergency humanitarian relief to nearly 700,000 Rohingya refugees who fled violent persecution in Burma to find safe haven in neighboring Bangladesh

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Mark L. Bathrick and the Team

Built the largest civilian aerial drone fleet to help federal agencies fight forest fires, inspect infrastructure, monitor wildlife and natural resources, halt pollution, and conduct search and rescue operations

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Dave Huizenga

Managed numerous high-profile projects with foreign governments to secure large quantities of weapons-useable nuclear materials and prevent them from falling into the wrong hands

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Jon R. Smibert

Helped Albania revise its constitution and reform its criminal justice system to rid the country of decades of corruption and organized crime, and set a path for this strategic U.S. ally to gain membership in the European Union

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Vincent Tang and the SIGMA Team

Developed an innovative, mobile and low-cost system to detect the smallest traces of radiological and nuclear materials, offering cities worldwide a new tool to identify and stop terror threats

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Bryan Drake and the Fata Investigation Team

Investigated and prosecuted a doctor who is now serving a 45-year prison sentence for giving false diagnoses and unnecessary cancer treatments to hundreds of patients in order to steal millions from Medicare

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Blake Douglas Rowe

Established sophisticated forensic exploitation laboratories to investigate terrorist activities, contributing to thousands of convictions and thwarting attempts to attack Americans overseas and in the U.S.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Mark Skoog

Spearheaded the development of a revolutionary flight control system the Air Force uses to prevent ground collisions when pilots become disoriented or lose consciousness, saving lives and the loss of fighter jets

Thomas A. Mariani, Steven O’Rourke and Sarah D. Himmelhoch

Secured a record $20.8 billion legal settlement against BP for the devastating 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, providing funds to help a five-state region recover from massive environmental disaster.

John Pallister and the Volcano Disaster Assistance Team

Strengthened volcano readiness and warning systems worldwide, helping countries forecast eruptions, save lives and reduce economic losses while enhancing America’s ability to respond to domestic volcanoes.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Richard May

Employed underutilized authorities to expose drug cartels, transnational criminal organizations and others who launder money in the U.S. through high-end real estate, fashion and electronics transactions.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Kirk Yeager

As the FBI’s premier bomb expert, leads U.S. and foreign law enforcement to determine how terrorist-made explosives work, and finds new ways to detect and stop them.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Carrie Stokes

Helped USAID make better decisions about its economic and humanitarian assistance in developing countries by championing the use of satellite data and geographic information to combat poverty, disease and natural disasters.

Anne Barker Dunn and the Veterans Justice Program Team

Reduced recidivism among veterans caught up in the criminal justice system, and lowered their chances of becoming homeless by providing housing, job counseling, and mental health and drug treatment services.

Ajay Bhatt and the Operation No Safe Haven Team

Tracked down 70 human rights violators living illegally in the United States and coordinated their removal to face justice for crimes including murder, torture and ethnic cleansing.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Natasha M. de Marcken

Spearheaded a new strategy to improve the quality of education in developing nations, shifting the focus from simply getting children into schools to teaching them to read.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

John B. Price

Created a device to find living disaster victims buried beneath the wreckage of toppled buildings by adapting radar-based space technology in partnership with NASA scientists.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Daniel Patt

Developed a cutting-edge system that allows U.S. warfighters to strike their intended targets faster and with greater accuracy, while helping to protect American troops and innocent civilians.

Safety, Security and International Affairs

Anna M. Dozier

Protected and recovered millions of dollars in assets for American workers and their families, skillfully investigating misconduct by fiduciaries of private retirement, health and welfare plans.