Meet the Sammies Honorees • Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals

Josh Josa

2022 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Josh Josa

Leveraged U.S. resources and influence to promote educational opportunities in developing nations for children and youth with disabilities.

Samantha Sutton

2022 Finalist

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.

Mark Williams, Ph.D.

2022 Finalist

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.

Krista Kinnard

2022 Finalist

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.

David Rader

2022 Finalist

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.

Callie I. Higgins, Ph.D.

2021 Winner

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.

Edward Sisco, Ph.D.

2021 Finalist

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.

Lori Vislocky

2021 Finalist

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.

William Hart-Cooper, Ph.D.

2021 Finalist

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.

Vikram Krishnasamy, M.D.

2020 Winner

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.

Monica Ager Jacobsen

2020 Finalist

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.

Photo of Andrew Laurence and Shannon Ferguson

Andrew Laurence, Ph.D., Shannon Ferguson, Ph.D.

2020 Finalist

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.

Chihoon Shin

2020 Finalist

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.

Mark Andrew Braza and the Aircraft Carrier Refueling Complex Overhaul Cost Reduction Team

2020 Finalist

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.

Lilia McFarland

2016 Finalist

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.

Jessica Hall Zomer

2016 Finalist

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.

Jenn Gustetic

2016 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Jenn Gustetic

Tapped into citizen knowledge and expertise to solve pressing national problems by promoting the use of crowdsourcing, challenges and prizes across government.

Tate Jarrow

2016 Winner

Emerging Leaders

Tate Jarrow

Played a critical role in two huge cybercrime investigations, helping bring to justice individuals involved in computer hacking, stock manipulation, credit card fraud, money laundering and other illicit activities.

Catherine Michelle Pappas

2016 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Catherine Michelle Pappas

Provided rapid analysis and advice to military commanders and policymakers regarding adversarial activity in Eastern Europe and the Middle East during a period of heightened geopolitical tensions.

Adam R. Schildge

2015 Winner

Emerging Leaders

Adam R. Schildge

Developed and implemented a multi-billion dollar grant program after Hurricane Sandy to make public transportation systems more resilient against future natural disasters.

Bridget Lynn Roddy

2015 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Bridget Lynn Roddy

Engaged a growing number of college students who contribute new skills, ideas and energy to assist diplomatic and international development programs around the world while working remotely from any location.

Stephanie L. Hogan

2015 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Stephanie L. Hogan

Protected citizens from dangerous power plant emissions that blow across state lines by leading the EPA’s legal defense of its interstate air pollution rule.

Anthony Cotton, Amanda Femal, Jason Fleming and the DCA Transaction Teams

2014 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Anthony Cotton, Amanda Femal, Jason Fleming and the DCA Transaction Teams

Generated nearly $1 billion in aid for 60 projects in 42 developing countries during the past two years through an innovative, public–private loan guarantee program.

Sofia Hussain

2014 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Sofia Hussain

Helped federal investigators crack intricate securities fraud cases and return hundreds of millions of dollars to investors by introducing cutting-edge technology and data analysis.

Gretchen K. Campbell

2015 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Gretchen K. Campbell

Advanced the emerging field of physics known as atomtronics, paving the way for a new generation of technologies much like electronics has transformed our society today.

Miguel O. Román

2014 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Miguel O. Román

Provided timely and reliable information on wildfires, storm damage and global energy consumption to help scientists and policymakers better understand and respond to natural disasters and climate change.

Jonathan Baker

2014 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Jonathan Baker

Saved taxpayers more than $4 billion on the purchase of 40 new rockets and led the engineering team responsible for launching 13 Air Force satellites into orbit.

Sara Meyers

2014 Winner

Emerging Leaders

Sara Meyers

Created a sophisticated data analysis system to evaluate the performance of federal housing programs, and set up processes to track $13.6 billion in economic stimulus and $50 billion for Hurricane Sandy disaster recovery.

Andrew Rabens

2013 Winner

Emerging Leaders

Andrew Rabens

Led an initiative to engage young leaders from the Middle East and North Africa to share ideas and learn about American democracy.

Manan Vyas

2013 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Manan Vyas

Advanced the national goal of developing hypersonic aircraft engines, the last frontier of aeronautics, through innovative testing and scientific analysis.

David Vollman

2013 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

David Vollman

Gathered, organized and analyzed data on cataract surgery results to improve medical practices and outcomes for patients.

Shane Morris

2012 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Shane Morris

Ensured U.S. diplomats in the Middle East could securely dispatch and receive classified documents and equipment during the Arab Spring uprisings.

Deborah Temkin

2012 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Deborah Temkin

Leads the government-wide campaign against bullying, working to educate school districts and governments at all levels on what they can do to protect young people from this painful and sometimes fatal problem.

Mary Pletcher

2011 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Mary Pletcher

Awarded and tracked $2.9 billion in Interior Department economic stimulus funds, providing thousands of jobs while preserving our country’s treasured public lands.

Oliver P. Fischer

2011 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Oliver P. Fischer

To ensure that a historic independence vote was fair and peaceful, helped develop and conduct a critical population and housing census, and mediated local tribal conflicts in remote and dangerous parts of Southern Sudan.

Jacob M. Taylor

2012 Winner

Emerging Leaders

Jacob M. Taylor

Came up with an original scientific theory that could lead to medical imaging in microscopic detail for better health care, while also developing innovative technology to allow greater quantities of data to speed across the Internet with less energy and at lower cost.

Katherine Antos

2011 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Katherine Antos

Led the creation and evaluation of state plans to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, the nation’s largest estuary, and one of the planet’s first identified “marine dead zones.”

Mark Simakovsky

2010 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Mark Simakovsky

Instrumental in shaping the Defense Department’s response to the Russia-Georgia War in 2008, while facilitating efforts to prevent further instability and promote U.S. interests in the region.

Ann S. Martin

2011 Winner

Emerging Leaders

Ann S. Martin

Worked with Mexican officials to study cross-border currency flows and help disrupt the laundering of billions of dollars derived from illicit U.S. drug sales.

Till Rosenband

2010 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Till Rosenband

Invented the world’s most precise timekeeping device, an entirely new type of atomic clock based on quantum computing research.

Saskia van Gendt

2010 Winner

Emerging Leaders

Saskia van Gendt

Fostering a new breed of environmentally-friendly construction and packaging materials that promote reuse, cut down on waste and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Kristen Taddonio

2009 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Kristen Taddonio

Created a unique industry-government alliance that is accelerating adoption of greener technologies.

Clare D. Rowley

2009 Winner

Emerging Leaders

Clare D. Rowley

Helped thousands stay in their homes by working to implement IndyMac’s mortgage modification program after the bank failed, and advised the Obama administration’s efforts to reduce foreclosures.

Jared Summers

2009 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Jared Summers

Reduced costs for our government by $200 million through his successful leadership of the disposition of the retired F-117 fleet.

Ian B. Spielman

2009 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Ian B. Spielman

Pioneered a new area of research that is helping scientists understand crucial, but currently intractable, mysteries of physics like the explanation of high-temperature superconductivity.

P. Ryan Jackson

2010 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

P. Ryan Jackson

Ensured that a planned massive fish kill, intended to stop the invasive Asian carp from migrating into and damaging the Great Lakes’ ecosystem, would not have harmful effects on the environment.

Cara Peck

2009 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Cara Peck

Helped urban areas improve the way they process food waste, promoting new efficiencies and ways to use refuse as a source of renewable energy.

Alain D. Carballeyra

2008 Winner

Emerging Leaders

Alain D. Carballeyra

Introducing cutting edge 3-D technology to improve medical care and rehabilitation, and helping restore quality of life for soldiers that have suffered traumatic battle injuries.

Joshua R. Fairley and the Team

2008 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Joshua R. Fairley and the Team

Led the development of new technology to improve the accuracy of improvised explosive device (IED) detection by 75 percent.

Joshua Pomeroy

2008 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Joshua Pomeroy

Developed breakthrough technology that enhances our ability to read microchips, which will lead to further miniaturization in data storage.

Patricia Frounfelker

2008 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Patricia Frounfelker

Discovered hazards associated with reactive armor that have prompted safety improvements for U.S. soldiers.

Markus Garlauskas

2007 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Markus Garlauskas

Rose to become one of the United States’ senior intelligence officials on the Korean peninsula by the age of 28.

Myroslava Gongadze

2007 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Myroslava Gongadze

Serves as the leading spokesperson for democratic values in Ukraine, helping to move the nation in a more pro-western direction.

Brian Waud

2007 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Brian Waud

Led effort in Russia to successfully secure and dispose of enough radiological material to build 2,300 dirty bombs.

Nicole Faison

2007 Winner

Emerging Leaders

Nicole Faison

Created income verification program that eliminated more than $2 billion in fraudulent payments by HUD’s rental assistance programs.

Konrad Lehnert

2007 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Konrad Lehnert

Conducted groundbreaking research to use quantum mechanics to improve measurement science.

Matthew D. Lowe

2006 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Matthew D. Lowe

Played critical role in laying the groundwork for the historic agreement between the United State and India on nuclear energy.

Christina Sanford

2006 Winner

Emerging Leaders

Christina Sanford

Served as chief of the legal office at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq and provided critical support for Iraq’s democratically elected government.

Karen Stewart

2006 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Karen Stewart

Played critical role in developing and implementing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the largest public health initiative ever.

Emily H. Majcher

2006 Finalist

Emerging Leaders

Emily H. Majcher

Developed new technology to treat contaminated wetlands without disturbing the surrounding ecosystem.