Sammies
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The rescue effort for the Labor Department's financial management system is complete. But that effort drew a lot of attention to who owns data when the government works with a vendor. Ed Hugler is deputy assistant secretary for operations at the Labor Department and a finalist for a Service to America medal in the management excellence category. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose that he had to fix a big problem.
August 13, 2015 -
The Air Force is forming partnerships with the communities surrounding its bases to share support services and facilities. It's called the Air Force Community Partnership Program, and it's proving valuable for both the service and the local communities. Steve Zander is the program's director. For his work, he's been named one of the 33 finalists for this year's Service to America Medals. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to share more about the program.
August 11, 2015 -
The State Department is churning out student and tourist visas at a record clip. They now number about 10 million a year — a 50 percent increase over 2010. To achieve those numbers, while decreasing wait times, the department had to streamline its processes. Ed Ramotowski is the deputy assistant Secretary of State for visa services in the department's Bureau of Consular Affairs. He and his team are finalists for this year's Service to America medals for their work. On the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, he says his marching orders came from the White House. View of a photo gallery of all the Sammies nominees.
August 04, 2015 -
Customs and Border Protection had a problem: how to heighten security while grappling with rising international travel. If you traveled abroad prior to 2008, you probably remember the long wait times and seemingly overwhelmed customs officers. In stepped John Wagner, the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. He helped streamline the process, and was named one of this year's 33 Service to America Medal finalists. He spoke with Tom Temin on the Federal Drive about his work.
July 28, 2015 -
John Wagner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection implemented two groundbreaking initiatives that streamlined the screening process at airports.
July 28, 2015 -
Bridget Lynn Roddy, the Virtual Student Foreign Service program manager at the State Department, is nominated for a Service to America Medal.
July 15, 2015 -
The State Department dispatches people to countries all over the world, but now it's trying something new — employing student interns who stay at their universities while working on projects abroad. They're part of a virtual foreign service that has grown exponentially under the management of Bridget Roddy, the Virtual Student Foreign Service program manager. For her work, she's one of the 33 finalists for this year's Service to America Medals. She joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain more about the program.
July 14, 2015 -
The commercial poultry industry is getting safer thanks to the work of Hyun Lillehoj. She's senior research molecular biologist at the Agricultural Research Service and has been with USDA for more than 30 years. Her research has helped prevent and treat diseases in commercial poultry without the use of traditional antibiotic drugs. She's a finalist for a Service to America Medal in the career achievement category for making the world's poultry supply safer for all of us and making U.S. producers more competitive around the world. She tells In Depth guest host Jared Serbu about her work which has been described as a "game-changer" for the poultry industry.
July 09, 2015 -
More than 200,000 men and women leave the military every year. Many of them discover finding a job and transitioning to a civilian life can be difficult. DOD's newly redesigned Transition to Veterans Program aims to help former service members adjust to their new roles. Susan Kelly is the program director and spearheaded the program overhaul. For that, she was named one of the 33 Service to America Medal finalists. She joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the program redesign.
July 07, 2015 -
Dr. Steven Rosenberg believed in the viability of immunotherapy as an effective treatment for cancer when few others would.
July 03, 2015 -
With the ToxCast Lab, EPA scientists had new tools at their disposal that allowed them to more efficiently and cost-effectively screen chemicals for potential toxic effects. It also helped to reduce the need for laboratory animal testing of chemicals.
June 30, 2015 -
The FEMA Operation Precious Cargo Team was dispatched last summer to the South Texas border to coordinate the government's response to a massive humanitarian crisis.
June 30, 2015 -
DHS' Science and Technology Directorate worked with scientists at NASA-JPL to create FINDER, a portable piece of technology to help first responders.
June 30, 2015 -
As team leader for USAID's Syrian food assistance program, Rob Thayer has been instrumental to helping to bring life-saving help to the region, with the U.S. providing $1.1 billion in food assistance so far.
June 30, 2015 Ten years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency only knew whether a small fraction of the 80,000 chemicals in use were hazardous to people or the environment. That changed in 2005 after Robert Kavlock, deputy assistant administrator for science in the EPA's Office of Research and Development, established the ToxCast Lab. It can quickly screen large numbers of chemicals for health effects. For that, he was named one of the 33 finalists for this year's Service to America Medals. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to further discuss his work, and the problems it solved.
June 30, 2015