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Introducing the top 6 finalists for the 2022 People’s Choice Award

Last week, we announced the top six finalists for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals^® 2022 People’s Choice Award. From the depths of the ocean to undiscovered galaxies, our finalists have made significant contributions to our nation and the world.

Learn more about these inspirational public servants and then vote your favorite for the 2022 People’s Choice Award. You can vote once every 24 hours until July 1.

Our 2022 People’s Choice Award top 6 finalists

Josh Josa, an inclusive education specialist at the U.S. Agency for International Development, promoted educational opportunities in developing nations for children and youth with disabilities. His work has reached hundreds of thousands of young people living in nearly 50 countries.

During his four decades at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. H. Clifford Lane has conducted lifesaving research for people with HIV/AIDS, combatted and treated infectious diseases overseas such as Ebola, and helped establish national treatment guidelines for COVID-19.

For 40 years, Craig McLean was a driving force in the exploration and mapping of the oceans at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. His work provided insights into climate change, helped improve weather forecasting and led to a better understanding of marine life.

Suma Nair of the Health Resources and Services Administration coordinated federal efforts to provide community-based health centers with more than 20 million lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines, 50,000 antiviral doses and critical medical supplies for communities in need. Her work helped protect underserved populations—including the urban homeless, public housing residents, migrant agricultural workers and those living in rural communities—from the pandemic.  

At the Architect of the Capitol, Mark Reed, Valerie Hasberry and James Kaufmann worked quickly to clean, restore and enhance the security of the U.S. Capitol Building to ensure that the work of Congress could continue and the presidential inauguration could take place following the Jan. 6 attack.

At NASA, Gregory Robinson oversaw the launch of the groundbreaking James Webb Space Telescope after years of delays and billions of dollars in cost overruns. The telescope will revolutionize the future of space exploration, uncovering major insights into the origins of the universe and enabling scientists to search for signs of life on distant planets outside our solar system.

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite Sammies 2022 People’s Choice Award finalists by July 1. You can help spread the word about our finalists on social media using our digital toolkit and the #Sammies2022 hashtag.

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