Government employees from all walks of life played a heightened role during the last year. Those efforts will be honored during this year’s Public Service Recognition Week.

The Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit focused on building a more effective and efficient government, announced the finalists for the 2021 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, aka the “Sammies.” Finalists were nominated for their dedication to public service and recent achievements.

“The 2021 Service to America Medals finalists have shown tremendous commitment to the public good, and they, like all public servants, deserve our support and recognition,” said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership.

On May 5 at 12:30 p.m. ET the Partnership will air a virtual event to recognize the finalists.

This year’s honors include a COVID-19 Response medal to recognize the efforts of federal employees combating the pandemic.

Along with the COVID-19 Response medal, the other award categories include:

• The Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement
• Science and Environment
• Emerging Leaders
• Management Excellence, and
• Safety, Security and International Affairs.

Winners are selected by a committee made up of a mix of people from “government, the media, academia, the private sector and the philanthropic community,” the Partnership described. The final winners will be announced later this year at their annual gala. There is also a public online vote to select the People’s Choice Medal winner.

See the list of this year’s nominees below, and read more about how they earned this recognition on the Partnership’s website.

• Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Category
  • C. Mark Eakin — National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Paul Friday — Census Bureau
  • Evan R. Kwerel — Federal Communications Commission
  • Gregory M. Ruiz — Smithsonian Institution
  • Dr. Anne Schuchat — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• COVID-19 Response Category
  • Ian Brownlee and the Interagency COVID Repatriation team — State Department
  • Virginia K. Busby, Dianne Garibotto, Camille Privett and the Economic Income Payment team — IRS
  • Kizzmekia S. Corbett and Dr. Barney S. Graham — National Institutes of Health
  • Dr. Gary H. Gibbons and Dr. Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable — NIH
  • Dr. Peter Marks — Food and Drug Administration

• Emerging Leaders Category
  • William Hart-Cooper —Agriculture Department
  • Callie I. Higgins — National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Edward Sisco —NIST
  • Lori Vislocky — Department of Homeland Security

• Management Excellence Category
  • Michelle Daniels, Charles D. Eldridge, Ryan E. Jones and the Foster Youth to Independence team — Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • Mary Frances Matthews — Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Mary D. Gibert — General Services Administration
  • Stephen G. Jurczyk — NASA
  • Gary Washington — USDA

• Safety, Security and International Affairs Category
  • Ana B. Hinojosa, Eric Choy and team — Customs and Border Protection
  • Kenneth Graham — NOAA
  • Adam Jacoff and the Emergency Response Robotics team — NIST
  • Chong Le — Department of the Air Force
  • Zack Schwartz and the Census Bureau Trust & Safety team — Census Bureau

• Science and Environment Category
  • Jay Barlow — NOAA
  • David L. Boucher, John Lee, Daniel Wolfe, and the Ebola Medical Countermeasures Task Force — Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority
  • Dr. Reem M. Ghandour — Health Resources and Services Administration
  • Sherry Hunt — USDA
  • Dr. Brigitte C. Widemann and team — NIH

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