The Partnership for Public Service has announced the winners of the 2024 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals® (Sammies) awards.
The Sammies awards ceremony will be held on Wednesday, September 11 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
2024 Sammies Award Winners
Nancy Alcantara, Shannon Rebolledo, Justin Uphold and the Packers Sanitation Investigation Leads Team of the Department of Labor (Chicago) are the recipients of the Federal Employee of the Year Medal, the top honor of the Sammies program. They discovered more than 100 children ages 13 to 17 illegally working on dangerous machinery in 13 meat slaughterhouses across eight states, leading to a large civil penalty and a new approach to child labor law enforcement. The investigation led to a fine against the company, sweeping changes in how the Labor Department conducts child labor enforcement, and the launch of a national initiative to identify and address child labor.
Christopher Mark of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (Pittsburgh, Pa.) will receive the Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Medal. He devoted his federal career, which spanned decades, to preventing fatalities from roof falls and other underground mining disasters, saving countless lives. Among his achievements is developing computer software packages that contain guidelines routinely used by mine operators to develop and evaluate mining plans for most underground coal mines in the U.S.
Jerry Ma of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (West Lafayette, Ind.) will receive the Emerging Leaders Medal. He 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.
Amira Boland, formerly of the Office of Management and Budget (Washington, D.C.), will receive the Management Excellence Medal. She pioneered policies to improve government services and the customer experience in areas ranging from newborn care and disaster assistance to renewing passports online.
Marc Levitan and Long Phan of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Gaithersburg, Md.) will receive the Science, Technology and Environment Medal. They 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 from extensive property damage.
Steve Calanog, Tara Fitzgerald and Pete Guria of the Environmental Protection Agency (San Francisco) will receive the Safety, Security and International Affairs Medal. They directed more than 300 EPA personnel to remove tons of hazardous materials from the Maui wildfires while respecting local cultural norms and setting standards for federal response teams that followed.
In addition to the six winners, Yan Ping (Judy) Chen and Jay D. Evans of the Department of Agriculture (Beltsville, MD) received the annual Service to America Medals People’s Choice Award, which was presented in July. Their groundbreaking work revolutionized bee disease diagnosis and treatment. They introduced cutting-edge technologies to detect virus pathogens and develop novel medicines to enhance bee health and prevent colony collapse.
