{"id":10736,"date":"2019-10-16T16:37:24","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T16:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/16\/2019-sammies-winners-reveal-the-inspiration-for-their-public-service\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:30:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:30:33","slug":"2019-sammies-winners-reveal-the-inspiration-for-their-public-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2019\/10\/16\/2019-sammies-winners-reveal-the-inspiration-for-their-public-service\/","title":{"rendered":"2019 Sammies winners reveal the inspiration for their public service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter\" data-effect=\"slide\"><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_container swiper\"><ul class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrapper swiper-wrapper\"><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1968\" height=\"1107\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-20191\" data-id=\"20191\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Vicki-Brahm-Cropped.jpg.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Vicki-Brahm-Cropped.jpg.jpg 1968w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Vicki-Brahm-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Vicki-Brahm-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Vicki-Brahm-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Vicki-Brahm-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1968px) 100vw, 1968px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Victoria Brahm, previously the medical center director for the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center and recipient of the Federal Employee of the Year Medal. (Braun Film and Video, Inc.)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1968\" height=\"1107\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-20200\" data-id=\"20200\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ann-McKee-Cropped.jpg.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ann-McKee-Cropped.jpg.jpg 1968w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ann-McKee-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ann-McKee-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ann-McKee-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ann-McKee-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1968px) 100vw, 1968px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Ann McKee, chief of neuropathology at the VA Boston Healthcare System and recipient of the Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Award. (Braun Film and Video, Inc.)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1968\" height=\"1107\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-20206\" data-id=\"20206\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Robert-Cabana-Cropped.jpg.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Robert-Cabana-Cropped.jpg.jpg 1968w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Robert-Cabana-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Robert-Cabana-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Robert-Cabana-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Robert-Cabana-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1968px) 100vw, 1968px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Robert Cabana, director of the Kennedy Space Center and recipient of the Management Excellence Medal. (Braun Film and Video, Inc.)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1968\" height=\"1107\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-20217\" data-id=\"20217\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ryan-Shelby-Cropped.jpg.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ryan-Shelby-Cropped.jpg.jpg 1968w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ryan-Shelby-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ryan-Shelby-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ryan-Shelby-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ryan-Shelby-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1968px) 100vw, 1968px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Ryan Shelby, diplomatic attach\u00e9 and foreign service engineering officer for the U.S. Agency for International Development and recipient of the National Security and International Affairs Medal. (Braun Film and Video, Inc.)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1968\" height=\"1107\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-20228\" data-id=\"20228\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Jamie-Rhome-Cropped.jpg.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Jamie-Rhome-Cropped.jpg.jpg 1968w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Jamie-Rhome-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Jamie-Rhome-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Jamie-Rhome-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Jamie-Rhome-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1968px) 100vw, 1968px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Jaime Rhome, storm surge specialist and team lead at the National Hurricane Center and recipient of the Safety and Law Enforcement Medal. (Braun Film and Video, Inc.)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1968\" height=\"1107\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-20239\" data-id=\"20239\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Daniel-Jernigan-Cropped.jpg.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Daniel-Jernigan-Cropped.jpg.jpg 1968w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Daniel-Jernigan-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Daniel-Jernigan-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Daniel-Jernigan-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Daniel-Jernigan-Cropped.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1968px) 100vw, 1968px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Dr. Daniel Jernigan, director of the Influenza Division of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and recipient of the Science and Environment Medal. (Braun Film and Video, Inc.)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a aria-label=\"Pause Slideshow\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause\" role=\"button\"><\/a><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_pagination swiper-pagination swiper-pagination-white\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Six federal employees were recognized Oct. 16 as outstanding examples of federal service and recipients of the Partnership for Public Service\u2019s Samuel J. Heyman Service to American Medals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur nation\u2019s health and safety depend in significant measure on the work of career civil servants, who are largely unknown to the American people,\u201d said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, in a news release. \u201cWe are working to change that with our Service to America Medals, which are designed to showcase the remarkable work taking place every day on behalf of all of us. When we have a great workforce, we get big problems fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/leadership\/2018\/10\/03\/feds-reflect-on-what-made-the-sammies-special\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2015-Cropped_edited.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Feds reflect on what made the Sammies special<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The 2018 Sammies Gala honored federal employees for their exceptional public service Oct. 2.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Six feds were chosen from among <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/management\/2019\/05\/09\/sammies-names-26-finalist-feds-for-service-to-america\/\" target=_blank>26 finalists<\/a> as recipients of the 2019 medals, and shared their experiences with Federal Times:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Victoria Brahm<\/b>, previously the medical center director for the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center, was chosen to receive the Federal Employee of the Year Award for her work drastically improving employee retention at the Tomah center and leading a pioneering practice in addressing opioid addiction among patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen I went in it in late 2015, we really didn\u2019t know if that hospital would survive or not. So after investing all of that blood, sweat and tears and seeing that there were so many passionate, dedicated people, I knew that this hospital could be turned around and be the stellar hospital that it is today,\u201d said Brahm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Tacoma facility, according to Brahm, had faced bullying of staff, a lack of standard procedure and a loss of trust from patients. High employee turnover of over 16 percent meant that the facility had to close its Acute Mental Health Patient Unit because they lacked the needed number of people to staff it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brahm said that she developed a 100-day plan to rebuild trust at the facility and ensure that the problems faced by staff and patients were heard and responded to. The facility also opened the Pain University to teach patients with chronic pain alternative strategies for dealing with that pain and reduced the facility\u2019s opioid usage by 54 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Dr. Ann McKee<\/b>, chief of neuropathology at the VA Boston Healthcare System, was selected to receive the Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Award for her work on early detection of and treatment for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which predominantly impacts athletes and veterans that experience traumatic brain injuries such as concussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn the early 2000s I did the brain autopsy of a Marine veteran who was also a former boxer, and I saw a disease that totally interested me. I\u2019d never seen anything quite like it before, and I became very interested in how trauma to the brain through boxing could cause this neurodegeneration, which is called CTE,\u201d said McKee. \u201cAnd then, because I was at the VA since 1994 \u2014 I did all the brain autopsies for the VA \u2014 I started seeing it in military veterans, too. And I became quite concerned and set up a brain bank to understand the long-term effects of brain trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McKee is the first recipient of the Career Achievement Medal since it was renamed to celebrate Paul Volcker, a career civil servant that was credited with curbing the rate of inflation in the U.S. while he was chairman of the Federal Reserve in the 1970s and 80s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe\u2019s actually one of America\u2019s great public servants, having \u2014 according to many economists \u2014 saved our economy,\u201d said Thomas Ross, president of the Vocker Alliance. \u201cTo have the award named after him I think will elevate the award and elevate the winners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The medal itself is designed to honor those that have made a career-long commitment to public service, as Volcker did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m extremely honored. I have to say, I never saw myself as a public servant. I\u2019ve always seen myself as a medical doctor and a scientist, [who] was very curious about the nervous system. I wanted to create a better world where people who have these diseases don\u2019t have to suffer with them or that we can treat adequately,\u201d said McKee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Robert Cabana<\/b>, director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center, was chosen alongside his senior management team to receive the Management Excellence Medal for his work restructuring the space center from a shuttle-centered mission to one that integrates government and commercial space initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThings were pretty bleak here. We went from a workforce of 15,000 down to 7,500 in two years, the Constellation Program was canceled a year before the shuttle landed and nobody could see much of a future,\u201d said Cabana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe had all this excess capacity down here, and we couldn\u2019t afford it. And we said, \u2018What do we need, what do we keep to support [Space Launch System] and Orion, and if we don\u2019t need it will it support commercial operations? And if it\u2019s not suitable for commercial operations and we don\u2019t need it, then we\u2019re going to erase it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, SpaceX has used the site for successful launches, Boeing, under an agreement with the Air Force, moved into an old orbiter processing facility and the Space Flight Sciences Lab has been converted into a research and development park operated by Space Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf we\u2019re going to be successful as a nation, we\u2019re going to need government and commercial integrated,\u201d said Cabana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Dr. Ryan Shelby<\/b>, a diplomatic attach\u00e9 and foreign service engineering officer for the U.S. Agency for International Development, was chosen for the National Security and International Affairs Medal for his work supporting reconstruction efforts in Haiti after it was struck by a 2016 hurricane with disaster-resistant building design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s the community members themselves that were leading the recovery efforts,\u201d said Shelby, explaining that the success of his work hinged on making sure that the recovery efforts focused on what the local Haitians actually wanted and needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen we went to the local schools and actually repaired some of their sanitation blocks and other toilet facilities, that really warmed my heart. Because during the process of some of this repair work, we were able to interact with some of these students. They didn\u2019t have proper sanitary facilities and they were embarrassed about not being able to have that, and so sometimes they would just choose not to go to school. And we listened to them talk about how this work was able to give them some of their dignity back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Jaime Rhome<\/b>, a storm surge specialist and team lead at the National Hurricane Center, was chosen to receive the Safety and Law Enforcement Medal for his work developing models and warning systems that track storm surge, often the most deadly part of a hurricane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAt the time we were struggling to communicate storm surge, because it\u2019s such a complicated phenomenon and we didn\u2019t really have a dedicated toolkit for it,\u201d said Rhome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over 10 years, Rhome and his team worked with social scientists and communication experts to develop a communication strategy for the dangers of storm surge that included more layman-friendly information and media graphics that showed the dangers and locations of storm surge and was easily added into local newscasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDespite the onslaught of hurricanes we\u2019ve had over the last three years \u2026 we\u2019ve only lost five individuals to storm surge. [Hurricane] Sandy alone, which was a category one, took 41. From a societal impact perspective, we\u2019ve reversed the trend a little bit,\u201d said Rhome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Dr. Daniel Jernigan<\/b>, director of the Influenza Division of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, was chosen as the recipient of the Science and Environment award for his work to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in the United States and abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He managed teams that worked to prevent the spread of rabies through organ transplants, improve blood management practices when dealing with blood-borne West Nile virus, and responded to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve felt that these were important infectious disease crises that needed to be responded to and was always more than happy to go in to mitigate those problems, wherever they were in the world, and so it\u2019s an honor to be recognized for that,\u201d said Jernigan, who added that a project is currently underway to use innovative technologies to create vaccines that better address the new behavior of the influenza virus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Six federal employees were recognized by the Partnership for Public Service as outstanding examples of government 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By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>2019 Sammies winners reveal the inspiration for their public service - Federal Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Six federal employees were recognized by the Partnership for Public Service as outstanding examples of government service.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2019 Sammies winners reveal the inspiration for their public service\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Six federal employees were recognized by the Partnership for Public Service as outstanding examples of government service.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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