Sammies

  • Kirk Yeager, chief explosive scientist at the FBI, is the go-to guy for law enforcement in the U.S. and many foreign allies when it comes to combating terrorism. For his work in national security and counter-terrorism, he's also a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program.

    September 16, 2016
  • Just a few short years ago, using challenge grants, crowdsourcing and citizen science to solve problems seemed revolutionary to federal managers. Federal Drive with Tom Temin guest Jenn Gustetic, the small business innovation research program executive at NASA, was one person behind the sea change. She started her federal career barely two years ago at the office of Science and Technology Policy. For her work on new approaches, she's also a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program.

    September 02, 2016
  • The Secret Service has a special weapon in the form of special agent Tate Jarrow. Working in an interagency fashion, he's become a leading federal cybercrime investigator. Not only has his work led to some big-time indictments, it's landed him a spot as a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program. Jarrow joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin to talk about the honor.

    September 02, 2016
  • Kimya Lee, the Office of Personnel Mangement's senior adviser on research and evaluation, and the rest of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey team are finalists for a Service to America medal in the Management Excellence category for all the work they’ve done over the years. Lee tells Jared Serbu on Federal Drive with Tom Temin, they’re still working to go deeper into federal agencies.

    August 26, 2016
  • Hurricane hunting by aircraft has been both the job and the passion of James McFadden for most of his 50-year federal career. He's chief of programs and projects at the Aircraft Operations Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He's also a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program. He talks to Federal Drive with Tom Temin about the honor.

    August 19, 2016
  • Hongwei Hsiao is chief of the protective technology branch at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. His work has made a big difference in worker safety. Now it's earned him designation as a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program. He joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin to talk about his work.

    August 12, 2016
  • Jacques Reifman, senior research scientist at the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, and his team are finalists in the science and environment category in the 2016 Service to America medals for their work on APPRIASE, which is now in the process of being licensed for civilian use. He spoke with Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu on Federal Drive with Tom Temin about the system.

    August 12, 2016
  • Both Olympic athletes and Sammies finalists have enhanced capacity to persevere, take on risk and overcome setback. Talent helps, too.

    August 10, 2016
  • When Dr. Allen Wilcox joined the National Institutes of Health 37 years ago fresh out of medical school, the research area of reproductive epidemiology was essentially a blank slate. But in the decades since, his groundbreaking studies on fertility, pregnancy and reproduction have come to define the field. Wilcox is a finalist in the career achievement category for the 2016 Service to America medals. On Federal Drive with Tom Temin, he talked about his work with Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu, including an ongoing study trying to understand the causes of Cerebral Palsy.

    August 05, 2016
  • Kathleen Hogan has been building innovative energy efficiency programs in the federal government for more than two decades – first at the EPA and now at the Energy Department. She’s had such a string of successes in cutting American energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions that Energy Secretary Ernie Moniz called her the focal point for the government’s entire energy efficiency program. Hogan is the deputy assistant secretary of Energy for energy efficiency, and she's a finalist for a 2016 Service to America medal. She talked about her work with Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

    August 05, 2016
  • Two summer agom stargazers around the world were stunned by sharp images of Pluto beamed back by a NASA probe. Scientists got a highly detailed list of what the dwarf planet is actually made of. Federal Drive with Tom Temin guest Dennis Reuter spent decades, along with his team, developing the imaging spectometer that flew by Pluto. For his work, he is a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program.

    July 22, 2016
  • By helping other nations set up systems to detect potential eruptions, the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program of the U.S. Geological Survey and USAID has saved tens of thousands of lives. Program leader John Pallister is a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals. He talks with Federal News Radio's Eric White on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

    July 01, 2016
  • For immigrants hoping to apply for residency or become citizens, working with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is among their earliest first encounters with the federal government. Mariela Melero, associate director for Customer Service and Public Engagement for USCIS, is a finalist in the Service to America Medals program. On Federal Drive with Tom Temin, Melero tells Federal News Radio's Eric White how she helps improve engagement with a highly diverse customer base. View a photo gallery of Sammies finalists.

    June 17, 2016
  • Maybe it takes a 35-year-old to work 60 days in a row to get a new federal regulation established. That’s just one of several things EPA attorney Jessica Hall Zomer did to get industry to reduce heavy metals going into the nation’s waterways. She’s a finalist in the Service to America Medals program, and joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more on her work.

    June 03, 2016