FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2003

2003 SERVICE TO AMERICA FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, July 23rd at a Congressional breakfast in Washington, 28 federal employees from across the country were honored as finalists for the 2003 Service to America Medals. The Service to America Medals is a new, national awards program to honor the finest achievements of our nation's federal employees.

This year's finalists are:

FEDERAL EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR MEDAL
This award will recognize the nominee who exemplifies the best and brightest of the federal workforce. This medal is accompanied by a $10,000 monetary award.

Name:Richard Marx
Position: Special Agent
Agency: U.S. Department of Justice
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Achievement: As FBI Special Agent in Charge, Richard Marx was at the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island on September 12, 2001, when the first trucks arrived carrying the remains from the World Trade Center. Over the next 10 months, Marx supervised investigators as they spent a total of 1.7 million hours sifting through 1.8 million tons of debris – and helped bring some measure of comfort to the families of the victims.

Name: Stephen McHale
Position: Deputy Administrator
Agency: Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Achievement: On January 2, 2002, the Transportation Security Administration consisted of two people – and Stephen McHale was one of them. Over the next year, McHale helped grow TSA into an organization responsible for aviation security with more than 60,000 people – the largest mobilization of a new agency since World War II.

Name: Ray McKinney and team
Position: Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health
Agency: Mine Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Achievement: The Coal Mine Safety and Health Office, led by Ray McKinney, has succeeded in bringing coal mining fatalities down to their lowest levels ever. America saw this team in action when it led the dramatic rescue of nine Quecreek, Pennsylvania miners who were trapped for four days in a cold, dank mine 240 feet below ground.

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL
This award will recognize the nominee who demonstrates lifetime achievement in public service. This medal is accompanied by a $10,000 monetary award.

Name: Dr. James Bagian
Position: Director, National Center for Patient Safety
Agency: Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Achievement: NASA physician and astronaut; a U.S. Air Force flight surgeon; and an engineer with HUD, the Navy and EPA – Dr. James Bagian has contributed enormously in his 24 years of experience as a federal public servant. Among his many accomplishments is the development of an innovative patient safety program that is now in place in all 173 VA hospitals and internationally.

Name: Dr. James Hallock
Position: Supervisory, General Engineer
Agency: Research and Special Programs Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Achievement: As one of our nation's leading aviation safety experts, Dr. James Hallock has devoted his 37-year career in federal service – first at NASA and then at the Department of Transportation – to making flying safer for all who take to the skies. Dr. Hallock's work, for example, has led the FAA to change its rules about when aircraft can take off, land or travel near one another.

Name: Andre Surena
Position: Assistant Legal Adviser
Agency: U.S. Department of State
Location: Washington, DC
Achievement: In 30 years working as an international lawyer for the State Department, Andre Surena has served as the chief negotiator in high-stakes Cold War spy-swaps; the lead lawyer for Middle East peacekeepers; and the architect of U.S. strategy for extraditing and prosecuting international drug traffickers and terrorists.

CALL TO SERVICE MEDAL
This award will recognize the nominee who has made a significant contribution to the country as a recent entrant to the federal workforce. This medal is accompanied by a $5,000 monetary award.

Name: Jared Feinberg
Position: Foreign Affairs Specialist
Agency: Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense
Location: The Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia
Achievement: As one of the Defense Department's leading policy experts on terrorist financing and support networks, 28-year old Jared Feinberg has drawn on his contacts around the government to help coordinate the efforts of all the different agencies responsible for tracking the flow of money to terrorists and terrorist organizations.

Name: Alyson McFarland
Position: Program Development Officer
Agency:U.S. Department of State
Location: Washington, DC
Achievement: When three North Korean refugees jumped over the wall of the U.S. Consulate in Shenyang, China, seeking asylum, it captured worldwide attention and touched off negotiations within the highest levels of the U.S., Chinese and South Korean governments. Alyson McFarland, one of the consulate's only Korean-language speakers, helped defuse the situation – a major diplomatic achievement, given that McFarland has been in the State Department only three years.

Name: Chevell Thomas
Position: Health Insurance Specialist
Agency: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Achievement: Chevell Thomas has helped improve health care for thousands of the nation's most vulnerable citizens through the creation of the Outreach to Rural and Underserved Communities Project – or OTRUC. Thomas voluntarily manages OTRUC, an outgrowth of the work he has done on Medicaid programs for underserved communities in his three years with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Name: Paul Wilde, PhD, P.E.
Position: Aerospace Engineer
Agency: Federal Aviation Administration; currently serving on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board
Location: Washington, DC
Achievement: In only two years of federal service, Dr. Paul Wilde's reputation at the Federal Aviation Administration earned him a critical role in the investigation of the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster. His mission to “follow the foam” has resulted in a decisive explanation of what most likely caused the shuttle's breakup as it descended toward Earth on February 1st.

BUSINESS AND COMMERCE MEDAL
This award will recognize the nominee who has made a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to business and commerce (including economics, trade, small business assistance, finance, information technology). This medal is accompanied by a $3,000 monetary award.

Name: Marcella Banks
Position: Assistant Regional Administrator
Agency: Federal Technology Service, General Services Administration
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Achievement: Marcella Banks is committed to making sure the government meets the technological needs of disadvantaged communities, and has worked diligently to bring the latest technology to Native American tribes and the military.

Name: Kevin Carr
Position: Director, Manufacturing Extension Partnership
Agency: National Institute of Standards and Technology
Location:Gaithersburg, Maryland
Achievement:Kevin Carr manages the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a national network of nonprofit centers that provide direct technical and business assistance to small and medium-sized manufacturers – right on the shop floor. Thanks to his work, companies that would otherwise have been priced or edged out of business can be competitive in the global marketplace.

Name: Nelson Hernandez and team
Position:National Coordinator for Community Affairs
Agency: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Location: Washington, DC
Achievement: Thanks to Nelson Hernandez and the Community Affairs team at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the innovative multimedia “Money Smart Program” they developed, over 100,000 disadvantaged Americans have learned how to benefit from personal banking services and better manage their money.

ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MEDAL
This award will recognize the nominee who has made a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to environment, science and technology (including resource preservation, wildlife protection, space, biomedicine). This medal is accompanied by a $3,000 monetary award.

Name: Bert Coursey
Position: Division Chief, Ionizing Radiation Division
Agency: National Institute of Standards and Technology
Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland
Achievement: Dr. Bert Coursey was called upon to coordinate the sterilization of nearly two million pieces of mail that had been processed at a post office contaminated during the 2001 anthrax attacks. We can again open our mail without fear because of a decontamination process designed by Dr. Coursey.

Name: Richard Jackson, MD, MPH
Position: Director, National Center for Environmental Health
Agency: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Achievement: During Dr. Richard Jackson's tenure at the National Center for Environmental Health at the CDC, he has implemented a bio-monitoring system to assess human exposure to environmental chemicals. Measuring the quantities of metal, lead and pesticides is not a new idea, but tracking those kinds of substances in people is.

Name: Earl Stockdale
Position: Deputy General Counsel of the Army (Civil Works & Environment)
Agency: Department of the Army
Location: Washington, DC
Achievement:Earl Stockdale is the man behind the plan to restore the Florida Everglades – the world's largest environmental restoration project. He was the linchpin in developing a multibillion dollar plan through which the Army Corps of Engineers, working with the State of Florida and other federal agencies, would protect this cherished ecosystem.

HOMELAND SECURITY MEDAL
This award will recognize the nominee who has made a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to homeland security (including law enforcement, intelligence, transportation security, emergency preparedness). This medal is accompanied by a $3,000 monetary award.

Name: Deborah Monette
Position: Assistant Manager for Nuclear Security
Agency: National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of Energy
Location:North Las Vegas, Nevada
Achievement:Deborah Monette plays an instrumental role in the stewardship of the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile and emergency response programs, and has spearheaded critical counterterrorism initiatives.

Name: Catherine Montie
Position:Chief, Nuclear Stockpile Division
Agency:Defense Threat Reduction Agency, U.S. Department of Defense
Location: Fort Belvoir, Virginia
Achievement:As chief of the Nuclear Stockpile Division at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Catherine Montie created a “playbook” that spells out for senior government officials how best to respond to a terrorist attack so they could effectively protect the American public.

Name: Paul Polski
Position: Program Director
Agency:Transportation Security Administration
Location: Washington, DC
Achievement: Paul Polski spent 12 years heading an 80-person task force at a Federal Aviation Administration counterterrorism lab in southern New Jersey that developed innovative products to detect concealed weapons before they can be brought onto commercial aircraft and others that may allow planes to survive a terrorist attack.

JUSTICE MEDAL
This award will recognize the nominee who has made a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to justice (including law enforcement, criminal justice, civil rights). This medal is accompanied by a $3,000 monetary award.

Name:Edward J. Needham and team
Position:Special Agent
Agency: Joint Terrorism Task Force, U.S. Department of Justice
Location: Buffalo, New York
Achievement: The 22-member Buffalo Joint Terrorism Task Force – led by Special Agent Edward Needham – took the lead in bringing a potential Al Qaeda “sleeper cell” to justice before they could unleash an act of terror on American soil.

Name: John Oliveira
Position: Special Agent
Agency: Office of Law Enforcement, U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
Location: Carson City, Nevada
Achievement: Special Agent John Oliveira created “Operation Wolf Hunter” to transform the way in which community members and law enforcement officials address issues of child abuse at a Nevada Native American reservation.

Name: William Pericak and team
Position: Supervising Assistant U.S. Attorney
Agency: U.S. Attorney's Office, Department of Justice
Location: Albany, New York
Achievement:William Pericak and his team nurtured the growth of Youth Courts, one of the nation's most innovative and fastest-growing crime prevention programs. High school-aged young people serve as volunteer judges, attorneys and jurors for actual juvenile cases of first-time offenders – in essence, stopping teen offenders at “one mistake.”

NATIONAL SECURITY AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS MEDAL
This award will recognize the nominee who has made a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to national security and international affairs (including intelligence, defense, diplomacy). This medal is accompanied by a $3,000 monetary award.

Name: Riaz Awan
Position: Energy Attaché
Agency: U.S. Department of Energy
Location:Kiev, Ukraine
Achievement:Riaz Awan has devoted his career to the swift, safe and secure permanent closure of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. He is helping coordinate the construction of a new concrete shelter over the destroyed reactor, and advises Ukrainian authorities to ensure that terrorists and rogue states cannot access nuclear materials.

Name:Kimber Davidson and team
Position:Supervisory Special Agent
Agency:Bureau of Diplomatic Security, U.S. Department of State
Location:American Embassy, Kabul, Afghanistan
Achievement: Despite the danger, Kimber Davidson and his team of special agents volunteered to safeguard the personal safety of Afghanistan's President Karzai from warring tribal factions intent on derailing a fragile democracy. They remain on the job around-the-clock.

Name:Holly Wise
Position: Director, Global Development Alliance Secretariat
Agency:U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Location: Washington, DC
Achievement:Holly Wise has turned what was an initial $186 million investment from USAID into another $660 million from private sector partners. This innovative public-private partnership is bringing U.S. generosity, technology and managerial expertise to the developing world.

SOCIAL SERVICES MEDAL
This award will recognize the nominee who has made a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to social services (including education, health care, community development and assistance programs). This medal is accompanied by a $3,000 monetary award.

Name:Donna Bonar
Position: Associate Commissioner
Agency:Office of Automation and Program Operations, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Location:Washington, DC
Achievement: Donna Bonar created a national database at the Office of Child Support Enforcement to help locate non-custodial parents who owe child support. It once took multiple state and local agencies months to enforce child support cases. Now – thanks to Bonar's work – it takes a matter of hours.

Name: Denise Johnson
Position: Deputy Chief, Polio Eradication Branch
Agency: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 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.

Name: Dr. Terry Van Allen
Position: Operations Specialist
Agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Location: Houston, Texas
Achievement:As a Housing and Urban Development community builder and operations specialist, Dr. Van Allen worked with local nonprofits to start a school of entrepreneurship that went on to become a model for low-income communities across the country.

Of the 28 finalists, nine Service to America Medals awardees will be chosen and announced in October at an awards ceremony in Washington, DC. The awards selection committee includes prominent public figures such as David Broder, national political correspondent at the Washington Post; Caroline Kennedy; U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), the Honorable Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami; Arthur Sulzberger, chairman and publisher of the New York Times; and Llewellyn Wells, co-executive producer of NBC's “The West Wing”.

The Service to America Medals were created in 2002 by the Partnership for Public Service, a non-partisan, non-profit organization committed to recruiting and retaining excellence in the federal civil service, and the Atlantic Media Company, publisher of The Atlantic Monthly, National Journal and Government Executive magazines.

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© 2007 Partnership for Public Service