Hyun Soon Lillehoj has worked hard to help reduce the use of antibiotics in commercial poultry farms. Lillehoj, a senior research molecular biologist at the Agriculture Research Service, helped ensure the poultry was safe and helped increase exports of chickens and other products overseas.
Now, Lillehoj and 29 other federal employees have been recognized for their work by being named as finalists for the Partnership for Public Service's annual Samuel J. Heyman Service to American Medals – also known as the "Sammies."
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The federal employees recognized serve in agencies across government and have helped cure diseases, protect the environment, improve food safety, strengthen national defense and help provide assistance to less fortunate people overseas.
"The Service to America Medal finalists showcase the good that our public servants do each and every day behind-the-scenes on behalf of the American public," said Max Stier, Partnership for Public Service President and CEO. "They epitomize the true spirit and value of public service."
The finalists' achievements also include creating new treatments for cancer and sickle cell disease, instituting life-saving fire safety improvements for commercial airliners, developing a geographically targeted cell phone alert system to warn of dangers from tornadoes and flash floods and in coordinating the response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa.
Sammies winners are usually chosen around the end of September.
The full list of finalists is included below:
Career Achievement Medal Finalists
This medal recognizes a federal employee for significant accomplishments throughout a lifetime of achievement in public service.
Robert J. Kavlock
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science, Office of Research and Development; Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
Transformed how the EPA tests the toxicity of industrial and household chemicals, dramatically increasing the number that are assessed for potential health risks, while reducing the cost, time and need for animal studies.
Hyun Soon Lillehoj
Senior Research Molecular Biologist, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, Maryland
Led influential research to decrease the use of antibiotics in commercial poultry, ensuring the safety of this popular food and make the U.S. poultry industry more competitive overseas.
Charles E. Milam
Principal Director, Military Community and Family Policy; Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.
Improved the lives of millions of service members and their families by instituting programs that help deployed soldiers stay in touch with loved ones, and increase health and wellness on military bases.
Dr. Steven A. Rosenberg
Chief, Surgery Branch; National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute; Bethesda, Maryland
Developed life-saving treatments for millions of cancer patients, pioneering the use of the body's immune system and genetically engineered anti-tumor cells to fight the disease.
Call to Service Medal Finalists
This medal recognizes a federal employee whose professional achievements reflect the important contributions that a new generation brings to public service.
Gretchen K. Campbell
Physicist, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland
Advanced the emerging field of physics known as atomtronics, paving the way for a new generation of technologies much like electronics has transformed our society today.
Stephanie L. Hogan
Attorney-Advisor, Acting Team Leader for Interstate Transport of Air Pollution; Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
Protected citizens from dangerous power plant emissions that blow across state lines by leading the EPA's legal defense of its interstate air pollution rule.
Bridget Lynn Roddy
Virtual Student Foreign Service Program Manager, Department of State, Washington, D.C.
Engaged a growing number of college students who contribute new skills, ideas and energy to assist diplomatic and international development programs around the world while working remotely from any location.
Adam R. Schildge
Senior Program Analyst, Federal Transit Administration, Washington, D.C.
Developed and implemented a multibillion dollar grant program after Hurricane Sandy to make public transportation systems more resilient against future natural disasters.
Citizen Services Medal Finalists
This medal recognizes a federal employee for a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to citizen services, including economic development, education, health care, housing, labor and transportation.
Lucile Jones
Science Advisor for Risk Reduction, U.S. Geological Survey, Pasadena, California
Spurred communities and states to prepare for catastrophic earthquakes by applying her groundbreaking research and taking preventive measures to protect citizens and critical infrastructure.
Constantine P. Sarkos
Manager, Fire Safety Branch; Federal Aviation Administration, Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey
Protected commercial air travelers by leading major fire safety improvements that have increased passenger survivability during blazes occurring in-flight and after crash landings.
Kevin G. Stricklin and the MSHA Mine Emergency Team
Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health; Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration; Arlington, Virginia
Improved coal mine safety and reduced deadly accidents to the lowest number in history, and led dangerous rescue operations to save trapped miners.
John P. Wagner
Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Washington, D.C.
Reduced wait times for American citizens and a growing number of foreign travelers arriving at U.S. airports by expediting the clearance process while ensuring a high level of security.
Homeland Security and Law Enforcement Medal Finalists
This medal recognizes a federal employee for a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to homeland security and law enforcement, including border and transportation security, civil rights, counterterrorism, emergency response, fraud prevention, and intelligence.
Robert Bunge, Michael Gerber and the Wireless Emergency Alerts Team
Software Branch Chief, Telecommunications Operations Center (Bunge); Meteorologist (Gerber); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service; Silver Spring, Maryland
Saved countless lives by developing a fast and geographically targeted cell phone alert system for weather emergencies such as tornadoes and flash floods.
Anna M. Dozier
Senior Investigator, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Kansas City, Missouri
Protected and recovered millions of dollars in assets for American workers and their families, skillfully investigating misconduct by fiduciaries of private retirement, health and welfare plans.
John B. Price
Program Manager; Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate; Washington, D.C.
Created a device to find living disaster victims buried beneath the wreckage of toppled buildings by adapting radar-based space technology in partnership with NASA scientists.
Ron Ross
Fellow, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland
Instituted a state-of-the-art risk assessment system that has protected federal computer networks from cyberattacks and helped secure information critical to our national and economic security.
Management Excellence Medal Finalists
This medal recognizes a federal employee for demonstrating superior leadership and management excellence through a significant contribution to the nation that exemplifies efficient, effective and results-oriented government.
Kevin L. Hannes and the FEMA Operation Precious Cargo Team
Federal Coordinating Officer, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Denton, Texas
Coordinated emergency assistance when tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors from Central America crossed the Southwest border, providing them food, shelter and medical care, and helping unite the children with family members.
Edward C. Hugler
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations, Department of Labor, Washington, D.C.
As the Labor Department's "Mr. Fix-It," solved numerous critical management challenges, including saving the agency's financial management system after its service provider went bankrupt.
Susan S. Kelly and the DoD Transition to Veterans Program Office
Director, Transition to Veterans Program Office; Department of Defense, Rosslyn, Virginia
Transformed and enhanced how the federal government annually prepares more than 200,000 service members for their transition to civilian life.
Edward J. Ramotowski and the Consular Affairs Team
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services; Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs; Washington, D.C.
Increased the number of foreign visitors to the U.S., boosted economic activity and created jobs by improving visa processing capacity and reducing interview wait times at embassies worldwide.
Steven W. Zander
Director, AF Community Partnership Program; Department of the Air Force; Washington, D.C.
Developed innovative partnerships between Air Force bases and neighboring cities to save money on essential community services, from recreation activities to snow removal.
National Security and International Affairs Medal Finalists
This medal recognizes a federal employee for a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to national security and international affairs, including defense, military affairs, diplomacy, foreign assistance and trade.
Mia Beers and the U.S. Ebola Disaster Assistance Response Team
Director, Humanitarian Policy and Global Engagement Division; U.S. Agency for International Development; Washington, D.C.
Led a team of U.S. responders who risked their own health to coordinate personnel from five federal agencies and helped turn the tide on the 2014 Ebola crisis in West Africa.
Natasha M. de Marcken
Director, Office of Education U.S. Agency for International Development; Washington, D.C.
Spearheaded a new strategy to improve the quality of education in developing nations, shifting the focus from simply getting children into schools to teaching them to read.
Timothy A. Blades, Paul S. Gilmour and team
Director of Operations, Directorate of Program Integration (Blades); Edgewood Chemical Biological Center;Aberdeen, Maryland; and Deputy Director, Office of Ship Operations (Gilmour); U.S. Maritime Administration; Washington, D.C.
Led an interagency team to destroy Syria's lethal chemical weapons at sea, a first in the history of chemical demilitarization.
Peter A. Morrison and the U.S. Navy Solid State Laser Team
Program Officer, Office of Naval Research; Department of the Navy, Arlington, Virginia
Provided the U.S. Navy with a new defense system by designing, building and testing the first-ever laser weapon to be approved for combat operations aboard a Navy ship.
Rob Thayer and the Syria Emergency Food Assistance Team
Team Leader, Asia and Near East; U.S. Agency for International Development, Office of Food for Peace; Washington, D.C.
Delivered life-saving food assistance to millions of people within war-torn Syria and to refugees who fled to neighboring countries.
Science and Environment Medal Finalists
This medal recognizes a federal employee for a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to science and environment, including biomedicine, economics, energy, information technology, meteorology, resource conservation and space.
Richard Alan Feely
NOAA Senior Fellow, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington
Conducted eye-opening research on ocean acidification caused by global carbon dioxide emissions, which poses a serious risk to the health of sea life and the marine environment, and to people who rely on the oceans for food.
Jacob E. Moss
Senior Advisor, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
Built an alliance of federal and international agencies, countries and corporations to bring more efficient cook stoves and cleaner burning fuels to homes in developing nations, protecting the environment and the health of millions of people worldwide.
Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers
Director, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Developed the first effective drug treatment for sickle cell disease to lessen pain and suffering, and oversaw a stem cell transplant clinical trial that reversed the debilitating illness in a majority of patients and could soon lead to a cure for this devastating illness.
Jean C. Zenklusen, Carolyn Hutter and The Cancer Genome Atlas Team
Director, The Cancer Genome Atlas Program Office, National Cancer Institute (Zenklusen); Team Leader, National Human Genome Research Institute (Hutter); National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Mapped thousands of gene sequences for more than 30 types of cancer, advancing precision medicine in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of these deadly diseases.