Sammies honor outstanding federal employees, innovative solutions
Each
year, the Partnership for Public Service hosts a black-tie gala honoring
federal employees for their outstanding achievements and their commitment to
public service. At the event, a select group of honorees are additionally awarded
Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, known affectionately as the
Sammies.
Maxwell
alumna Emily Simonson ’15 MPA/IR was part of the winning Urban Waters team led by
director Surabhi Shah,
which created public-private partnerships to clean and revive urban waterways
and their surrounding lands. For their
efforts, the team received the People’s Choice Award.
This
year’s gala was also the setting for a reunion of sorts between Sammie finalist Lisa Mazzuca, mission manager for NASA
search and rescue, and Partnership board member Sean O’Keefe, former NASA
administrator. O’Keefe and his son Kevin are the survivors of a plane crash that
killed five passengers including Sen. Ted Stevens. That fatal event, as well as
the disappearance of Malaysia flight 370 and others, inspired Mazzuca and her
team to design a sturdier, more reliable distress beacon that can help rescue
teams detect and reach survivors faster. For this work, she was a finalist for
a Promising Innovations Medal.
According
to O’Keefe, who is now University Professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell
School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, “This is a huge development. It’s
going to help people out in the most distressing circumstances and will have an
enormous impact on scores of people who may not otherwise have had a chance to
see another day.”
The
following week, Partnership for Public Service President and CEO Max Stier provided
remarks at Tanner Day at the Maxwell School, a daylong symposium exploring the “Future
of Citizenship and Public Service” in partnership with the National Academy of
Public Administration. Please visit Tanner Day at Maxwell to view
Stier’s remarks as well as panels exploring workforce, governance issues, and
threats to citizenship featuring Sean O’Keefe, University Professor; Christine
Todd Whitman, former New Jersey Governor and former EPA Administrator; David
Sulek, Vice President of Booz Allen Hamilton; Dustin Brown, Acting Deputy
Director for Management, U.S. Office of Management & Budget, Executive
Office of the President; Chris Meek, Senior Director of Global Relationship
Management at S&P Global; Theresa Gerton, President of the National Academy
of Public Administration Theresa Gerton; David M. Van Slyke, Dean of the
Maxwell School; and distinguished Maxwell faculty from a range of disciplines.
10/17/17