Featured September 23, 2024 ‘Who is Government?’ Recognizing America’s unsung heroes with The Washington Post Back to Blog An inside look at the ‘Oscars’ of government: Meet our 2024 Sammies winners Date September 12, 2024 | Updated on September 24, 2024 Authors Abraham Amaya Tags Recognition On Wednesday, Sept. 11, the Partnership or Public Service hosted the 23rd annual Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals® at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. This year’s ceremony—livestreamed through Cox Media’s YurView platform—recognized 25 outstanding individuals and teams working in 20 different agencies and subcomponents. Fittingly, the gala took place on Sept. 11, a day when public servants in New York and across the nation answered the call to serve to keep our country safe. Chosen from more than 530 nominations, our honorees continued this legacy, responding to major crises, protecting vulnerable communities and delivering vital services to the public. Celebrating this year’s honorees Renowned writer and comedian W. Kamau Bell emceed the awards program, which welcomed agency leaders, members of Congress and the media, and others from the public, private and nonprofit sectors, including bestselling author Michael Lewis, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, White House Cabinet Secretary Evan Ryan and Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves. W. Kamau Bell at the 2024 Service to America Medals awards ceremony. “The honorees here, like all civil servants, … protect our health and safety, come up with innovative ways to benefit our country and provide critical continuity across presidential administrations.” President and CEO, Partnership for Public Service Partnership President and CEO Max Stier. Meet the 2024 Service to America Medals winners Federal Employee of the Year Medal At the Department of Labor, Nancy Alcantara, Shannon Rebolledo, Justin Uphold and the Packers Sanitation Leads Team discovered more than 100 children ages 13 to 17 illegally working on dangerous machinery in 13 meat slaughterhouses across eight states. “[The members of this team] … follow every lead no matter where it takes them. They relentlessly dig for clues, building on the work of dedicated public servants before them.” White House Chief of Staff Federal Employees of the Year medalists with White House Chief of Staff. From left to right, Nancy Alcantara, Justin Uphold, Jeff Zients and Shannon Rebolledo. Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Medal Christopher Mark of the Mine Safety and Health Administration devoted a lengthy career to preventing fatalities from roof falls and other underground mining disasters, saving countless lives. Read: Michael Lewis’ Washington Post feature on Christopher Mark. Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Medalists Christopher Mark, front, and bestselling author Michael Lewis. Safety, Security and International Affairs Medal At the Environmental Protection Agency, Pete Guria, Steve Calanog, Tara Fitzgerald and the 2023 Maui Wildfires Emergency Response Team removed tons of hazardous materials while respecting local cultural norms during the devastating Maui wildfires. Safety, Security and International Affairs Medalists. From left to right, Tara Fitzgerald, Pete Guria and Steve Calanog. Emerging Leaders Medal Jerry Ma of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office developed new technology tools for patent office personnel and the public and led efforts to establish the agency’s approach toward using artificial intelligence for inventions seeking patents. Emerging Leaders Medalists Jerry Ma. Management Excellence Medal Amira Boland, formerly of the Office of Management and Budget, pioneered policies to improve government services and the customer experience in areas ranging from newborn care and disaster assistance to renewing passports online. Management Excellence Medalist Amira Boland. Science, Technology and Environment Medal At the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Marc Levitan, Long Phan and the Tornado Wind Loads Team created the world’s first tornado-resistant building codes, conducting groundbreaking research that will save lives and protect critical facilities like schools, hospitals and emergency centers. Science, Technology and Environment Medalists Long Phan, left, and Marc Levitan. Other noted honorees This year’s People’s Choice Award went to Yan Ping (Judy) Chen and Jay D. Evans, two scientists at the Department of Agriculture who are revolutionizing bee disease diagnosis and treatment. We also recognized Chris Evans, Mark Kassen and Joe Kiani as our 2024 Spirit of Service Award winners. The threesome co-founded “A Starting Point,” a civic engagement platform that strives to create bipartisan communication and connection between the public and elected officials. Chris Evans, Mark Kassen and Joe Kiani accept the 2024 Spirit of Service Award in a conversation with Judy Woodruff. Members of the media and the public have been congratulating the winners and spreading the word about their accomplishments. The New Yorker, “The Oscars for the Deep State,” by Casey Cep. The Washington Post, “Feds cited for outstanding work are the opposite of ‘rogue bureaucrats’,” by Joe Davidson. Axios, “2024 Sammies awards: Saluting pioneering public servants,” by Mike Allen. Federal News Network, “2024 Sammies highlight extraordinary work of public servants at ‘vital’ time,” by Drew Friedman. Government Executive, “These are the 2024 winners of the ‘Oscars’ of government service,” by Sean Michael Newhouse. Be part of the celebration by sharing the winners’ stories on social media with #Sammies2024. 💡Visit our Protecting Democracy website to learn why career civil servants are vital to our country and how you can help us support the nonpartisan, merit-based federal workforce. Photo credit for all photos above: Allison Shelley for the Partnership for Public Service. Abraham Amaya is a marketing manager at the Partnership for Public Service.
