The National Public Service Awards
Award winners are selected from all levels of public service: local, state and federal governments, as well as international and public service nonprofit organizations. Awards are not made by category, so there could be, for example, two county winners and no winners from a state government. While individuals may hold a position in academia or a nonprofit organization, all recipients must have made significant contributions as career public servants in at least one level of government. Nominees holding elected office will be evaluated on the basis of their careers in public service, excluding time served as an elected official. Legislative branch staff are eligible, however legislators without public management experience should not be nominated. Nonprofit organizations are those with a service delivery mission. NPSA winners will be those who have, on a sustained basis, done some or all of the following:
- Made a profound difference in improving service to the public
- Been willing to take risks to achieve change
- Fostered a more democratic society
- Served as a champion of social equity
- Changed the way a governmental organization operates so that it better achieves its goals
- Achieved substantial savings in government
- Developed a cadre of other government leaders
Apply or nominate someone here.
Previous Winners
2023
Jocelyn Benson
Danielle Levine Cava
2022
Sylvia Mathews Burwell
Hung Cao
William Leighty
James Shuler
2021
Maria (Sandy) Matava (Suffolk University)
James Mayer (California Forward)
2020
Miguel Marquez (Santa Clara County)
Sean O’Keefe (Syracuse University)
Jennifer Riggle (Health Resources Services Administration)
P. Benjamin Smith (Indian Health Service)
2019
Thomas Becker
Hon. Barbara Favola
Jessica Ross
Hon. Anthony Williams
2018
Adm. William McRaven (ret.)
Susan Raufer
Gen. Mark Welsh, III (ret.)
2017
Marc Ott - Executive Director, ICMA
Max Stier - Founding President and CEO, Partnership for Public Service
2016
Andrew Kleine - City of Baltimore, Maryland
Captain Joseph Stenger - United States Air Force and Flying Scarfs
2015
Bill Johnson - Secretary of Commerce, State of Florida; Director, Enterprise Florida
David Warm - Executive Director, Mid-America Regional Council
2014
Ronald Bates - City Manager, Pico Rivera, Calif.
Thomas Prendergast - CEO/Chairman, New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (NYMTA)
John F. Shirey - City Manager, Sacramento, Calif.
2013
Kevin Duggan - West Coast Regional Director for the International City/County Management Association (ICMA)
Elizabeth Fretwell - City Manager, Las Vegas Nevada
Warren Gove - Director of Enterprise Computing Center, Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Jacqueline Simon - Public Policy Director, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE - CIO)
2012
Donald J. Borut - Executive Director, National League of Cities
Nani A. Colorett - Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget, Department of the Treasury
Patricia Dalton - Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Government Accountability Office
Alina Tejeda Hudak - Deputy Mayor/County Manager, Miami-Dade County
Thomas H. Warren Sr. - President and Chief Executive Officer, Urban League of Nebraska
2011
Joyce A. Adkins - Commander, 633d Medical Operations Squadron, Langley AFB, Virginia
Lester P. Claravall - Child Labor Coordinator, Oklahoma Department of Labor
2010
Ted A. Gaebler - City Manager, Rancho Cordova, California
Sallyanne Harper - Chief Administrative Officer/Chief Financial Officer, Government Accountability Office
John Berry - Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Kenneth H. Kraemer, MD - Chief, DNA Repair Section in the Demartology Branch, CCR, NCI
Bernard K. Melekian - Director Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice
2008
Theresa Parker - Executive Director, California Housing Finance Agency
David Smith - County Administrator, Maricopa County, Arizona
2007
Peter M. Blumberg - Head of the Molecular Mechanisms of Tumor Promotion Section, National Cancer Institute
Barbara S. Dorf - Director, Office of Departmental Grants Management and Oversight, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
James E. Hartwell - Program Manager, U.S. Air Force Hurlburt Field
Thomas H. Muehlenbeck - City Manager, Plano, Texas
Mark A. Pisano - Executive Director, Southern California Association of Governments
2006
Joan W. Bauerlein - Director, Aviation Research & Development, Federal Aviation Administration
Annabelle T. Lockhart - Director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Civil Rights Center
L. Ralph Mecham - Executive Director, California Legislative Analyst's Office
Jane G. Pisano - President and Director, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
2005
Frank A. Fairbanks - City Manager, City of Phoenix
Maria Gomez - Assistant Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Human Services, Child and Family Services
Elizabeth Hill - Executive Director, California Legislative Analyst's Office
M. Peter McPherson - Director, Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa
2004
Daniel Fitzpatrick - City Manager, Peeksskill, New York
Donna Gambrell - Deputy Director, Compliance and Consumer Protection Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Kay Goodwin - Secretary of Education & The Arts, State of West Virginia
Howard Hendrick - Director, Department of Human Services, State of Oklahoma
2003
Sheila W. Beckett - Executive Director, Employee Retirement Systems of Texas
Gene L. Dodaro - Chief Operating Officer, U.S. General Accounting Office
David E. Janssen - Chief Administrative Officer, County of Los Angeles, California
Larry G. Massanari - Philadephia Regional Commissioner, Social Security Administration
Merrett R. Stierheim - Superintendent, Miami-Dade County Public Schools
2002
J. Jarrett Clinton - Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs), U.S. Department of Defense
John F. Irby - Director, Federal Facilities Division, Real Estate and Facilities; Directorate, Department of Defense
Paul Lynch - Assistant Commissioner, Business Peformance Public Building Service, U.S. General Services Administration
Patricia Pileggi - chief of Special Prosecutions, US. Attoney's Office
J. Alex Valdez - Cabinet Secretary, New Mexico Department of Health
2001
Paul D. Barnes - Deputy Commissioner for Human Resources, U.S Social Security Administration
Alexander Briseno - City Manager, San Antonio, Texas
David Gaspar - Director, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections
Jane M. Kenny - Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs
James M. Serif - Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protetction
2000
Walter D. Broadnax - Dean, School of Public Affairs, American University
Gloria J. Cousar - Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Assisted Housing Delivery, US Department of Housing and Urban Development
Vola Lawson - City Manager, City of Alexandria, Virginia
Richard Y. Stevens - County Manager, Wake County, North Carolina
Helen H. Taylor - Associate Commissioner, Head Start Bureau Administration of Children, Youth & Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
1999
Kathleen A. Buto - Director, Healthcare Financing Administration
Ray E. Corpuz Jr. - City Manager, City of Tacoma, Washington
Annette M. Sandberg - Chief Washington State Patrol
George C. Sinnott - Commissioner, New York Department of Civil Service
Robert S. Winokur - Assistant Administrator, Satellite & Information Services, NOAA
1998
William Barron - Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor
Thomas Eichler - Cabinet Secretary, Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families
Joan Furey - Director, Center for women Veterans, Department of Veteran Affairs
William Kilmartin - State Comptroller, Massachusetts
Eleanor Spector - Director of Defense Procurement
1997
Wendy H. Baldwin - Deputy Director, Extramural Reseach, National Institutes of Health
David O. Cooke - Director of Administration and Management, Office of Secretary of Defense
Oscar Jackson Jr. - Administrator, Department of Human Resources, State of Oklahoma
Lane B. Ramsey - County Administrator, Chesterfield County, Virginia
1996
Ruth R. Crone - Executive Director, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
Barbara D Matula - Director, Division of Medical Assistance, North Carolina Department of Human Resources
William R. McLucas - Director, Division of Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission
Roger J. O'Neill, Jr. - City Manager, Hampton, Virginia
John Ware - City Manager, City of Dallas, Texas
1995
Israel Brooks Jr. - United States Marshals Service
William Drayton - President, Ashoka; Innovations for the Public
Grace A. Kilbane - Lead, One-Stop Career Center Initiative, U.S. Department of Labor
Edwin B. Silverman - State Refugee Coordinator, Illinois Department of Public Aid
Bruce Vladeck - Administrator, Health Care Financing Administrator
1994
Tom Allison - Director, Division of Corrections Orange County, Florida
Robert L. Armstrong - President and CEO, Omaha Housing Authority
Eleanor Chelimsky - Assistant Comptroller, General for Program Evaluation, U.S. General Accounting Office
Ruth L. Kirschstein - Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health
Marvin M. Siflinger - Executive Director, Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency
1993
N. Burton Attico - Director, Maternal Child Health Program Phoenix Area, Indian Health Service
Daniel E. Sweat Jr. - Project Coordinator, The Atlanta Project The Carter Center
Carol M. Fay - District Director, Internal Revenue Service, Salt Lake City, Utah
Harry P. Hatry - Director, State and Local Government Research, The Urban Institute
John Stewart - Executive Director, Consortium of Research Institutions, Knoxville, Tennessee
1992
Camille Cates Barnett - City Manager, Austin Texas
Steven C. Bishop - Chief, Police Department, Kansas City, Missouri
Harry S. Havens - Assistant Comptroller General, U.S. General Accounting Office
J. Michael Quinlan - Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Donna E. Shalala - Chancellor, University of Wisconsin at Madison
1991
Alvin L. Brooks - Director for Human Relations, Kansas City, Missouri
Frank C. Conahan - Assistant Comptroller General, U.S. General Accounting Office
Diana Lam - Superintendent, Chelsea School System
Robert H. Mcclain Jr. - Undersecretary of Administration and Finance, State of Massachusetts
Michael J. Murphy - Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Internal Revenue Service
1990
Marvin Andrews - City Manager, City of Phoenix, Arizona
William Barreda - Deputy Assistant Secretary, International Trade and Investment Policy
David Chu - Assistant Director for National Security and International Affairs
Nina Rothchild - Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Employee Relations
Gordon Sherman - Commissioner, Social Security/Atlanta Region
1989
Lee P. Brown - Chief of Police, City of Houston, Texas
Anthony Fauci, M.D. - Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Rosslyn S. Kleeman - Director, Federal Workorce Future Group, U.S. General Accounting Office
Dean L. Macris - Director of Planning, City and County of San Francisco, California
Marcia C. Pops - Chief Probation Officer, West Virginia Circuit Court
Thomas D. Morris - Retired, Special Assistant to the Comptroller General (special recognition award)
1988
Janet M. Hively - Deputy to the May, City of Minneapolis, Minnesota
Robert E. Lamb - Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security
Bishop L. Robinson - Secretary, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services
Jule Sugarman - Secretary, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
Paul A. Volcker - Chair, National Commission on The Public Service
1987
Randall C. Bacon - Director, Department of Social Services, San Diego County, California
Carl F. Bianchi - Administrative Director, Director of the Courts, State of Idaho
Howard M. Messner - Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resource Management, Environmental Protection Agency
William J. Pitstick - Executive Director, North Central Texas Council of Governments
Terrence A. Todman - U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Odilon Long, Peace Corps Volunteer (Recipient of special recognition award)
1986
Alan F. Kiepper - General Manager, Metropolitan Transit Authority, Harris County, Texas
Donald L. McCune - Managing Director - International Fertilizer Development Center, Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Martha A. Mcsteen - Acting Commissioner, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland
Sally R. Reed - County Executive, Santa Clara County, California
Esther C. Wunnicke - Commissioner, Alaska Department of Natural Resources
1985
John E. Dever - City Manager, Long Beach, California
Joseph L. Fisher - Secretary of Human Resources, Commonwealth of Virginia
Claiborne Haughton Jr. - Director, Civilian Equality Opportunity Programs, Department of Defense
Michael V. Reagen - Commissioner, Iowa Department of Human Services
Joel D. Valdez - City Manager, Tucson, Arizona
1984
Wayne F. Anderson - Secretary of Administration and Commerce, Commonwealth of Virginia
R. Alexander Grant - Associate Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Food and Drug Administration
Robert A. Kipp - City Manager, Kansas City, Missouri
Dewey Willard Knight - Assistant Manager, Metropolitan Dade County, Miami, Florida
Alice M. Rivlin - Director, Congressional Budget Office
1983
Charles L. Dempsey - Inspector General, Department of Housing and Urban Development
Bradford Morse - Administrator, United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
Sylvester Murray - City Manager, Cincinnati, Ohio
Janet L. Norwood - Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor
David H. Pingree - Secretary, Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services