2024 Impact Report


Letter From the
President and Chair

Max Stier
President and CEO

Tom Bernstein
Chairman of the Board

Dear Friends and Supporters:

The nonpartisan civil service is the backbone of our democracy, ensuring that the federal government, our most important tool for collective action in a complex world, meets its mission to serve the public interest. 

Yet today, the very purpose of government is in peril.  

The Trump administration is obliterating the government’s apolitical workforce, arbitrarily firing thousands of federal employees who take a constitutional oath to serve the public good and seeking to replace them with political loyalists beholden to a partisan agenda. These actions violate the law, undermine the transparency and accountability of federal agencies, and challenge the notion that government exists to serve the public rather than enrich the leader of the day. 

The Partnership for Public Service is stepping up to counter these extraordinary threats.  

For nearly 25 years, we have worked to build a better government and a stronger democracy, helping federal agencies and leaders serve the public, no matter the political environment. We have trained, recognized and engaged with tens of thousands of civil servants to develop a more capable, responsive and accountable federal workforce. We have also advocated for constructive reforms aimed at creating a more effective federal government.  

The harmful actions of the current administration have diminished the Partnership’s ability to work in the federal space. At the same time, the administration has singled us out for our steadfast and long-standing advocacy of civil servants. This volatile landscape has dramatically impacted programs we have long delivered at the federal level.   

To meet this crisis, we are executing a new strategic vision that prioritizes supporting and safeguarding the civil service. We are preparing civil servants to navigate change and sustain their critical work in the face of uncertainty. Simultaneously, we are engaging the public about the importance of the federal government and the services it provides to everyday people.  

In addition, we are expanding our work to state and local governments. People want more from government at all levels, and the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government is putting intense pressure on state and local entities to meet public needs.  

We will apply our experience improving systems, leaders and agency performance in the federal government to help state and local organizations rise to this challenge. Our efforts will help demonstrate that government at all levels can deliver for people, improving overall trust in our public institutions. Among the initiatives we are bringing to this new state and local audience is our AI Center for Government™, which equips federal, state and local leaders to evaluate, develop and deploy AI for the public good.     

In this report, we outline how we are pursuing this vision, and we recap our accomplishments from 2024.  

Moving forward, we will continue to offer a better alternative to the ongoing campaign against our government, championing constructive solutions to help it work better, offering civil servants the support they need to thrive in a challenging environment and showing the public what is at stake during this moment of crisis.  

We thank our donors and partners for making our work possible, and we look forward to engaging others as we seek to build on our impact.  

Our Refreshed Vision

We are supporting civil servants and educating and engaging the public during this challenging time, and we are bringing our programs and expertise to state and local government.

Resources and Guidance

Our FedSupport hub is a centralized online resource that helps current and former federal employees navigate threats to the nonpartisan workforce. 

Featuring materials from the Partnership and a wide range of other organizations, the site includes: 

  • Fact sheets, FAQs and legal resources on employee rights, due process and protections, reductions in force and more
  • Webinars with key experts on leading during times of change, career transitions, executive actions against the civil service and various employment topics 
  • A link to our FedSupport newsletter, a weekly bulletin featuring new resources for current and former federal employees

We are continually adding new resources and webinars to meet the evolving needs of federal workers. 

We joined with 10 other advocacy, employee union and nonprofit democracy organizations to launch the Federal Workers Legal Defense Network, which connects current or former civil servants with lawyers who can provide free legal support on federal employment issues.

Changing the Narrative About Government

Our latest polls suggest that Americans hold declining views of the federal government. 

To shift these perceptions, we are telling, collecting and disseminating stories about the role government plays in our lives and what is at stake by indiscriminately hollowing it out. 

This includes storytelling around the role of federal scientists in keeping us safe and healthy and focusing on issues that will resonate with political moderates, such as veterans and national security. We will also track specific harms and impacts resulting from the administration’s actions. 

We are identifying communications channels that will help us reach new and target audiences. This work involves connecting with social media influencers, collaborating with trusted messengers, pitching media outlets, and engaging pop culture content creators and the entertainment industry. 

2025 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals®

Our 24th annual Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals® honored 23 individuals and teams selected from over 350 nominations across 65 federal agencies.  

This year’s honorees navigated an unprecedented environment marked by severe and indiscriminate cuts to federal agencies, personnel and programs. Award recipients were recognized in three groupings, highlighting the full breadth of our government’s impact and why we all benefit from a nonpartisan civil service. 

Judy Woodruff, senior correspondent and the former anchor and managing editor of the PBS NewsHour, emceed the program for the third time, with additional remarks delivered by bestselling author Michael Lewis, former Cabinet secretaries and White House chiefs of staff, and others.  

News coverage of the Sammies appeared in The Washington Post, CNN, The New York Times and The Atlantic, and the program will air on WETA Metro and WETA PBS in July.  

This year’s program took place at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C. Since 2002, the Sammies has honored more than 800 public servants.  

#ISupportFeds

Our #ISupportFeds campaign invites members of the public to share a story about a federal employee who has made a difference in their life.

Public Service Recognition Week

We expanded the reach and impact of Public Service Recognition Week, collaborating with celebrities, influencers, local organizations and other partners to promote the work of federal employees to wider audiences.

Award-winning actors and performers, including Adam Conover, Anna Chlumsky, Victor Garber, John Slattery, John Turturro, Lisa Ann Walter, Rufus Wainwright and others, thank civil servants for their work.

BY THE NUMBERS

Public Service Recognition Week

790,000+
Impressions of PSRW content on social media

390,000+ 
Views of PSRW videos

200%+ 
Increase in engagement from last year

‘Who is Government?’


We worked with a group of celebrated writers to spotlight unheralded federal employees who drive effective government and improve our daily lives. Contributors to this Washington Post series include Geraldine Brooks, W. Kamau Bell, Michael Lewis and others. 

“Who Is Government?” is now a book edited by Lewis that highlights the Partnership’s work to honor federal employees and features stories that help us engage the public about the work civil servants do.

Cultivating Networks That Champion the Civil Service 

We are cultivating a network of cross-sector organizations, including democracy and good government groups, to promote stories of effective government to a nationwide audience and collaborate on urgent policy issues facing federal employees.

To guide these efforts, we will continue to conduct public perception research to better understand how different demographic groups view the civil service. The results of this research will be distributed to our partners, enabling them to mobilize support for the nonpartisan workforce. 

Congressional Outreach and Engagement

Serving as a Credible Voice of Reason

Building on our reputation as a leading expert on federal management and workforce issues, we are countering efforts to decimate the civil service by garnering coverage from an array of national outlets. In addition, we are building relationships with nontraditional media outlets, including online influencers, podcasts, Substack newsletters and more to reach new audiences. 

In 2024, the Partnership was mentioned in the media more than 8,900 times, with coverage featured in outlets with the potential to reach more than 5.4 billion people. This year, our media mentions have already outpaced all of our mentions in 2024, as we expand our efforts to become a leading advocate for the nonpartisan civil service.

Program Priorities

Public Service Leadership

We train thousands of government leaders annually to help them excel in public service, guided by our proprietary Public Service Leadership Model.

Workplace Effectiveness and Employee Engagement

We help agencies foster strategic and collaborative work environments, and assess and strengthen employee engagement, to ensure our government effectively serves the American public.

Talent Acquisition

We strengthen the public service brand and promote career paths that help government engage and retain the next generation of public servants.

Recognition

We identify and recognize the extraordinary contributions of public servants and promote examples of government innovation and success.

We are developing new offerings, engaging philanthropy and conducting outreach to state and local partners to move this work forward.

‘Find Your Next Calling’ Career Fair 

Nearly 1,500 former federal employees attended our first-ever career expo featuring opportunities in state and local government. Over 200 recruiters from 15 different states and more than 75 agencies attended the event. 

A New Center for AI

With generous multiyear support from our AI Center Founding Supporters, Google.org and Microsoft, we launched the AI Center for Government. The Center helps federal, state and local leaders better understand, use and deploy AI to deliver on their agency’s mission. The Center:

  • Develops programs and resources to empower community learning and literacy around the trustworthy use of AI
  • Celebrates agencies at all levels of government that use AI to benefit the public

BY THE NUMBERS

AI Center for Government

850+
Executives trained since 2019

92%
Average percentage of participants who agree they better understand how to responsibly leverage AI since 2019

Senior Vice President of Programs Michelle Amante at our 2024 Public Service Roadshow.
Former interns at our D.C. Student Night.
Senior Vice President of Programs Michelle Amante at our 2024 Public Service Roadshow.
2024 Public Service Roadshow presentation.

Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® rankings

Our 2024 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® rankings reveal the Trump administration inherited one of the most motivated federal workforces in recent history, with two-thirds of employees engaged and satisfied with their work. 

The rankings—the most comprehensive analysis of how federal civil servants view their jobs and workplaces—offer an important benchmark for the administration as it seeks to fundamentally change the purpose and management of the civil service.

2024 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals®

In September, we hosted our 23rd annual Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals® at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Author and comedian W. Kamau Bell emceed the program, which featured numerous celebrity videos and guests that included agency leaders, members of Congress and the media, and others from the public, private and social sectors.

Our 2024 winners were chosen from more than 530 nominations and 25 individual and team finalists representing 20 federal agencies across 10 states. The gala was broadcast in December on the local PBS affiliate in Washington, D.C., and in about 30 markets nationwide on Cox Media’s streaming platform, Yurview.

We also recognized actor Chris Evans, filmmaker Mark Kassen and technology entrepreneur Joe Kiani as our 2024 Spirit of Service Award winners. The threesome co-founded “A Starting Point,” a nonpartisan online platform that seeks to increase civic engagement, with a focus on high school and college students.

The State of Public Trust in Government

We assessed how different audiences view government and examined messages and strategies to improve those perceptions. In the spring of 2024, we conducted our third national survey on the state of public trust in government. According to the survey, the public overwhelmingly supports a merit-based, nonpartisan civil service, despite declining views of the federal government.

OUR SUPPORTERS

We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the following corporations, foundations and individuals who sustain our work to build a better government and a stronger democracy.

Anonymous

Ford Foundation

Schmidt Futures

Anonymous

Bloomberg Philanthropies

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Microsoft

Boston Consulting Group

Democracy Fund

Google.org

Ronnie F. Heyman and Family

Mastercard

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

NobleReach Foundation

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Poses Family Foundation

Patricia A. and George W. Wellde Jr.

Anonymous

Charina Endowment Fund

Community Change

Deloitte

IBM Center for The Business of Government

Lockheed Martin

Sharon Marcil and Tom Monahan

Jennifer and David Millstone

Craig Newmark Philanthropies

Lise Strickler and Mark Gallogly

TDF Foundation

Accenture Federal Services

Tom and Andi Bernstein

Chevron

Roberta and Steven Denning

Google

Donald E. Graham

The Marc Haas Foundation

Estate of Ira A. Lipman

Maximus

Medallia

Daniel and Teresa Murrin

Indra and Raj Nooyi

Pritzker Innovation Fund

SAIC

Citi

Guidehouse

David J. Kappos

Mario Morino

The Edward John and Patricia Rosenwald Foundation

Toni Townes-Whitley and John H. Whitley

The Volcker Alliance

Meg and Bennett Goodman Family Foundation

Carol and Gene Ludwig Family Foundation

Steve and Molly Preston

Max Stier and Florence Pan

John Yochelson

Actions to Impact Strategies

ANDAH Foundation

Harold and Stephanie Bronson

Judson A. Crane

Joel L. Fleishman

Elyssa Friedland

Nora Gardner

W. Scott Gould and Michèle A. Flournoy

Carl and Gail Icahn

Sally Jewell

Mr. Daniel Lubetzky and Dr. Michelle Lubetzky

Mathematica

Robert A. and Diane J. McDonald Family Foundation

Laura and Sean O'Keefe

Robertson Foundation for Government

The Lifschultz-Stiepleman Charitable Fund

Noah Stier

Dan Tangherlini

Jim and Autumn VandeHei

Neal Wolin and Nicole Elkon

Two Anonymous Donors

Napoleon Avery

Roger Baker

Karan Bhatia

Don Bice

Robert Brese

Dr. Allan V. Burman

Susan A. Carr Charitable Trust

Ralph Carter

Daniel J. Chenok

Michael Cushing

Christopher and Michelle DeLong

Sean Dowd

Diana Farrell and Scott Pearson

Chip Fulghum

John M. Gilligan

Richard and Judy Gilmore

Giudice Family Fund

Leonard and Fleur Harlan

Brian Harris-Kojetin

Higgins Trapnell Family Foundation, courtesy of Neal Higgins

Steve Bunnell and Laura Hills

Ralph Huber

Pamela K. Isom

Craig Katerberg

Karlease Kelly

Patricia and John Koskinen

Les L. Lyles

Jenni Main

Rajive Mathur

Kimberly McCabe

Essye Miller

John and Shaaron Palguta

Amy and Bruce Pascal

Bob and Ellen Peck

Steve Roberts, in honor of Cokie Roberts

The Mark Rosenthal Family

Norman Rosenthal

Michele K. Ross

Charles Rossotti

Stan Soloway

Richard Spires

Tina Sung

Robert and Christine Van Kirk

12 Anonymous Donors

Jonathan Alboum

Alan Balutis

Claire and Federico Baradello

Bill Beaver

Francis Beidler Foundation

Lucas Bladen and Megan Handau

Rob Brenner

Katherine Bryan

Scott Cameron

Christine Carroll and David Robertson

Michell Clark

Ellen Cleary

Barry Clendenin

Miriam Cohen

Kenneth S. Colburn

Rebecca Contreras

Doug Criscitello

Lara Crouch

Chris Cummiskey

Dr. Linda Cureton

Jane C. Datta

Joan DeBoer

Mindy Decker

Olga DeLuna

Samantha L. Donaldson

Norman Dong

Natasha Edmondson

Enright Charitable Fund

Michael Fischetti

Ronald C. Flom

Brodi Fontenot

Randy Foster and Bert Holman

Emily Franklin

Potomac Ridge Consulting

Daniel Ginsberg

Give Lively Foundation

Vincette L. Goerl

Claire M. Grady

Dave A. Grant

Chuck Grimes

Jake Gutman

Sallyanne Harper

Jon Holladay

E. J. “Ned” Holland Jr.

Ella Holman

Daniel Horner

Jody L. Hudson

Jill Hyland and John Hutchins

Michelle A. James

Isabel Jasinowski

Jamila Jones

Atul Kalambur

Peter Kamocsai

Nancy Kassop

Joseph Klimavicz

Roger Kodat

Willian Leikin

Peter Levin

Lee Lofthus

Christine M. Major

David McClure

Beth McGrath

Mary and Tim McManus

Maggie Moore

David Naimon

Melissa Norris

Jeff O'Malley

Todd Packer

Claire Buchan Parker

Zachary Piaker

Nancy Potok

Anne and Steven Reed Charitable Trust

Johnhenri Richardson

Carl Robichaud

Jonathan Rubin

Jeffrey S. Saltz

Sarah Samson

Kem and Jon Sawyer

Richard Brown Charitable Fund

Andrew and Deborah Schwartz Charitable Fund

Kristin Seaver

Matt Segneri

John Sepulveda

Robert Shea

Kevin Sheekey and Robin Caiola

Anne Sherman

Dawn Simon-Matthews

Lynn Simpson

Daniel Sitterly

Felicita Solá-Carter

Joanne Tornow

James Wavada

Stephanie Waxman

Dave Wennergren

Dennis C. Wilder

Jim Williams Consulting LLC

Freida Williams

Maureen E. Wylie

Renee Wynn

Kevin Youel Page

Lydia Van Sant

The support of these individuals and companies that provided the Partnership with pro bono or volunteer services has helped make the Partnership’s work possible. We gratefully acknowledge their generous support.

Ferne Barrow

Kate Bolduan

Kristin Burkhalter

Sally Buzbee

Sophia Cai

D'Arcy Carden

Cravath, Swaine and Moore LLP

DLA Piper

Clare Gallagher

Dule Hill

Neil Irwin

Devin Karambelas

Miller Friel, PLLC

Miguel Monteverde

Ego Nwodim

Sam Richardson

Evan Ryan

Amy Schumer

Eugene Scott

William Shatner

Sterne Kessler

Geoff Bennett

Ruchi Bhowmik

Victoria DeFrancesco Soto

Dr. Anthony Fauci

Alyssa Farah Griffin

Dan Helfrich

Ronnie F. Heyman

Nazzic Keene

Congressman Andy Kim

Sara Mogulescu

Peter Nyguyen

Tony Reardon

Dr. Said Sewell

Dan Tangherlini

Congressman William Timmons

Damon Wilson

Josh Bolten

Edward "Ted" Kaufman

Michael Leavitt

Thomas "Mack" McLarty

Thad Allen

Bernie Banks

Charlie Bolden

Doug Conant

Stephen M. R. Covey

Amy Edmondson

Sally Jewell

Les L. Lyles

Robert A. McDonald

Mette Norgaard

Chris Porath

Liz Wiseman

James Alexander

Denise Biaggi-Ayer

Zachary Brown

Karissa Calvo

Bryan Castleberry

Erin Collard

Robert Costello

Christopher Emery

Ron Green

Beau Houser

Yvette Jacks

Wenchun Jiang

Jeffrey D. Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Rachel Lange

Tonya Manning

Sarah Nur

Alec Palmer

Douglas Perry

Simone Petrella

Greg Sisson

Robert Tagalicod

Nicole Vinson

Sharon Wong

Angela Bednarek

Danah Boyd

Grace Lacy-Hansell

Jenna Ben Yehuda

Judy Prior-Ramirez

Lauren Speigel

Nick Hart

Sadia Sindhu

Victor Udoewa

Jonathan Alboum

Bruce Andrews

Napoleon Avery

Beverly Babers

Angie Bailey

Roger Baker

Alan P. Balutis

Jeremy Bash

Donald Bice

Charles F. Bolden, Jr.

Rafael Borras

Robert Brese

Claire Buchan Parker

Jeri Buchholz

Dr. Allan V. Burman

Robert Burton

L. Reynolds Cahoon

Scott J. Cameron

Roger Campbell

Michael Carleton

Daniel J. Chenok

Michell Clark

Patricia Cogswell

Miriam Cohen

Casey Coleman

Rebecca Contreras

Steve Cooper

Douglas Criscitello

Chris Cummiskey

Linda Y. Cureton

Michael Cushing

Jane Datta

Joan DeBoer

Mark Doboga

Norman Dong

Troy Edgar

Kay Ely

Karen S. Evans

Michael Fischetti

Ronald C. Flom

Michèle Flournoy

Brodi Fontenot

Mark Forman

Mike French

Chip Fulghum

Stephen D. Galvan

Greg Giddens

John M. Gilligan

Daniel Ginsberg

Vincette L. Goerl

Claire M. Grady

David Grant

Margaret Graves

Chuck D. Grimes

Krysta Harden

Sallyanne Harper

Ruby Harvey

Cynthia Heckmann

Ira Hobbs

Jon Holladay

E. J. “Ned” Holland Jr.

Michael Howell

Myra Howze Shiplett

Jody L. Hudson

Pamela Isom

Karlease Kelly

Steve Kelman

Patrick F. Kennedy

Gwendolyn Keyes

Joseph Klimavicz

Roger Kodat

Karen Lerohl Wilson

Peter Levin

Shoshana Lew

Lee Lofthus

Gail Lovelace

David Mader

Jennifer Main

Christine M. Major

John Marshall

Rajive Mathur

Kymm McCabe

David McClure

Luke McCormack

Diann McCoy

Elizabeth McGrath

Ed Meagher

Kathryn Medina

Essye Miller

William “Billy” Milton

Daniel Mintz

Jeff Neal

Molly O'Neill

Howard Osborne

Krista Paquin

Gloria Parker

Bob Perciasepe

Jeff Pon

John Porcari

Nancy Potok

Pamela Powers

David Powner

Scott Quehl

Christine Rider

Gale Rossides

Anne Rung

Rexon Ryu

Ronald Sanders

Tony Scardino

Patrick Schambach

Lisa Schlosser

Kristin Seaver

John Sepulveda

Robert Shea

Henry Sienkiewicz

Lynn Simpson

Daniel Sitterly

Felícita Sola-Carter

Stan Z. Soloway

Richard Spires

Pasquale "Pat" Tamburrino

Dan Tangherlini

Anne Thomson Reed

Joanne Tornow

Pete Tseronis

Kathleen Turco

Emma Vadehra

Mark Weatherly

Margaret Weichert

Reginald F. Wells

David Wennergren

Frontis Wiggins

Jerry Williams

Jim Williams

Michael Wooten

Maureen E. Wylie

Renee Wynn

Kevin Youel Page

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

As of June 30, 2025