2021 Winner Kizzmekia S. Corbett, Ph.D., Barney S. Graham, M.D., Ph.D. Federal Employee of the Year Kizzmekia S. Corbett, Ph.D., Barney S. Graham, M.D., Ph.D. Conducted groundbreaking research that led to the development of highly effective vaccines in record time that are protecting hundreds of millions of people from contracting the deadly coronavirus that swept across the globe in 2020 and 2021.
2021 Winner Ana B. Hinojosa, Eric Choy and team Safety, Security and International Affairs Ana B. Hinojosa, Eric Choy and team Directed enforcement actions against companies seeking to import goods produced by forced labor in China and other countries as part of a broader human rights effort to curb modern–day slavery.
2021 Winner Michelle Daniels, Charles D. Eldridge, Ryan E. Jones and the Office of Public and Indian Housing Foster Youth to Independence team Management Excellence Michelle Daniels, Charles D. Eldridge, Ryan E. Jones and the Office of Public and Indian Housing Foster Youth to Independence team Created an innovative program offering housing assistance and social services to young people aging out of foster care to prevent them from becoming homeless and to provide an opportunity for self-sufficiency.
2021 Winner Evan R. Kwerel, Ph.D. Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Evan R. Kwerel, Ph.D. Pioneered the use of competitive spectrum auctions to allocate the public airwaves for sound, data and video transmissions, helping fuel the digital revolution while adding more than $200 billion to the government’s coffers.
2021 Winner Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D. COVID-19 Response Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D. Developed and implemented federal programs to increase testing as well as participation in COVID-19 treatment and vaccine trials in underserved communities across the country.
2021 Winner Reem M. Ghandour, DrPH Science, Technology and Environment Reem M. Ghandour, DrPH Transformed and revitalized a national survey on children’s physical, emotional and developmental health, providing timely and insightful data to state and federal policymakers.
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.
2021 Winner Laurene Powell Jobs Spirit of Service Award Laurene Powell Jobs A leader committed to systemic social change.
2021 Finalist Anne Schuchat, M.D. Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Anne Schuchat, M.D. As one of the nation’s leading infectious disease experts, has led numerous high-profile and consequential disease outbreak investigations to protect public health and save countless lives.
2021 Finalist Brigitte C. Widemann, M.D. and team Science, Technology and Environment Brigitte C. Widemann, M.D. and team Developed a breakthrough medical treatment for children with inoperable tumors that cause disabling pain, disfigurement, blindness and motor dysfunction.
2021 Finalist Chong Le 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.
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.
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.
2021 Finalist Gregory M. Ruiz, Ph.D. Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Gregory M. Ruiz, Ph.D. Played a major role over three decades highlighting the environmental harm caused by the marine transport of invasive species, resulting in a federal reporting system, enforcement policies and improved shipboard management practices.
2021 Finalist David L. Boucher, Ph.D., John Lee, Ph.D., Daniel Wolfe, Ph.D. and the Ebola Medical Countermeasures Task Force Science, Technology and Environment David L. Boucher, Ph.D., John Lee, Ph.D., Daniel Wolfe, Ph.D. and the Ebola Medical Countermeasures Task Force Oversaw the research and development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostic tests that have been used to halt the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa and avert the possibility of a pandemic.
2021 Finalist C. Mark Eakin, Ph.D. Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement C. Mark Eakin, Ph.D. Led the development of a satellite-based monitoring system that provides accurate forecasts and early warnings to environmental officials worldwide at a time when rising ocean temperatures threaten the health of coral reefs.
2021 Finalist Ian Brownlee and the Interagency COVID Repatriation team COVID-19 Response Ian Brownlee and the Interagency COVID Repatriation team Created and managed a State Department-led task force that repatriated more than 100,000 Americans who were stranded in countries all over the world when borders were closed and airports shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
2021 Finalist Jay Barlow, Ph.D. Science, Technology and Environment Jay Barlow, Ph.D. Played an influential national role in monitoring and managing marine mammals by creating new survey methods and technology to protect and save the lives of whales, dolphins and other species.
2021 Finalist Kenneth Graham 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.
2021 Finalist Mary Frances Matthews Management Excellence Mary Frances Matthews Reduced the lengthy backlog of disability appeals for veterans by 87% in two years, providing long-awaited decisions on benefits to thousands of individuals.
2021 Finalist Adam Jacoff and the Emergency Response Robotics team Safety, Security and International Affairs 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.
2021 Finalist Mary D. Gibert Management Excellence Mary D. Gibert Successfully coordinated the federal assistance effort for the 2020–21 presidential transition in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and a disputed election.
2021 Finalist Paul Friday Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Paul Friday During six decades of federal service, invented, engineered and implemented systems that enabled the Census Bureau to more accurately tabulate and analyze data on paper census forms, speeding the process and saving millions of dollars.
2021 Finalist Gary Washington Management Excellence Gary Washington Led a technology transformation at the Department of Agriculture, dramatically increasing efficiency, productivity and security, and improving service to the public.
2021 Finalist Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D. COVID-19 Response Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D. Laid the groundwork for strict scientific regulatory standards used for the rapid development, testing and approval of lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines amid a deadly, once-in-a-century pandemic.
2021 Finalist Sherry Hunt, Ph.D. and the Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit Science, Technology and Environment Sherry Hunt, Ph.D. and the Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit Pioneered critically needed design techniques to rehabilitate and strengthen thousands of aging dams across the United States, limiting potential failures that could lead to the loss of life and property.
2021 Finalist Stephen G. Jurczyk Management Excellence Stephen G. Jurczyk Oversaw the landing of a rover on Mars, two successful U.S. astronaut flights to the International Space Station and the planning to put the first woman and first person of color on the moon while leading NASA through the pandemic.
2021 Finalist Virginia K. Busby, Dianne Garibotto, Camille Privett and the Economic Impact Payment team COVID-19 Response Virginia K. Busby, Dianne Garibotto, Camille Privett and the Economic Impact Payment team Expertly orchestrated the disbursement of hundreds of billions of dollars to tens of millions of people adversely affected by the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
2021 Finalist Zack Schwartz and the Census Bureau Trust & Safety team Safety, Security and International Affairs Zack Schwartz and the Census Bureau Trust & Safety team Led the first-of-its-kind government team that worked with technology companies to combat misinformation and disinformation that threatened the integrity of the 2020 census.
