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Management Excellence finalists: Valerie Hasberry, James Kaufmann and Mark Reed

During Public Service Recognition Week 2022, the Partnership is spotlighting some finalists in each award category for this fall’s Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals® program.

Today, we are featuring three leaders at the Architect of the Capitol: Chief Security Officer Valerie Hasberry, James Kaufmann, director of the Capitol Grounds and Arboretum, and Mark Reed, superintendent of the U.S. Capitol and Capitol Visitor Center. The team is a finalist for the Management Excellence Medal.

This team led the cleanup, restoration and enhanced security of the U.S. Capitol building and grounds following the Jan. 6 insurrection, ensuring that the work of Congress would continue and the presidential inauguration would take place two weeks later.

What’s your best career advice?

Valerie Hasberry: To always leave a place better than you found it.

James Kaufmann: Always be patient and be consistent.

Mark Reed: Take a risk or accept a challenge and be accountable for your mistakes. It is far less damaging to own up and move on than it is to try to excuse yourself or place blame elsewhere.

What’s one fun or surprising thing we should know about you?

VH: My favorite hobby is genealogy.

JK: I love hiking in our national parks with my wife.

MR: I’ve visited all 50 states in the U.S.

Who is your favorite public servant?

VH: Seikichi Kaneshiro, also known as “Mr. Paul,” who retired from the Air Force after 66 years of service in the federal government.

JK: I admire Colin Powell, former secretary of state.

MR: My favorite public servant is Anthony Fauci.

What is your favorite thing about working for the U.S. government?

VH: That I have the opportunity to continue serving and to do it in support of the best known symbol of democracy in the world.

JK: To know that I am doing my part to keep government working and leaving a lasting mark on the historic grounds of the U.S. Capitol.

MR: Having the opportunity to maintain and preserve the historic and significant building that represents American democracy.

What object would you save if your house was on fire?

VH: I would save my portable drive with family photos and genealogy records.

JK: I would grab a fire extinguisher and my phone!

MR: Photos and videos of my family.

Do you have pets?

VH: We have four dogs named Kaine, Kona, Hazel and Bear.

MR: I have one dog named Snickers.

What are you reading, watching or listening to?

VH: Brene Brown’s “Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience” and genealogical standard books.

JK: “The First Conspiracy” by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch.

MR: I’m listening to a podcast called “Up and Vanished.”

What’s your favorite takeout order or favorite thing to cook?

VH: Lasagna is one of my favorite things to cook.

JK: Cooking chicken on the grill is a favorite dish of mine.

MR: I love to both order and make pizza.

Read the team’s full profile and visit servicetoamericamedals.org to learn more about the other 2022 Sammies finalists for the Management Excellence Medal.  

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