The Secretary’s Award for Excellence 2017

The 2017 Secretary’s Award for Excellence recognizes outstanding individual achievement or innovation by an employee engaged in work to advance the mission of the Department of Homeland Security. This work may have resulted in superior performance, significant operational improvements or notable innovation in support of Department of Homeland Security missions.

Alyssa Smiley

Management Directorate
Washington, D.C.

In recognition of outstanding leadership and innovation in creating cross-functional training programs for financial IT systems resulting in a more knowledgeable, better-trained, and more efficient workforce that will support and help eliminate Department-wide IT material weaknesses in the financial statement audit.

Brian S. Parsons

Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Washington, D.C.

For creating policy and resources that strengthen the access DHS provides to individuals with disabilities.

Demetrios Lambropoulos

Transportation Security Administration
London, England

For outstanding collaboration and partnership in drafting United Nations (U.N.) Security Resolution 2309, focused on the threat posed by terrorism to civil aviation, unanimously adopted by the U.N.

Denise L. Bechtol

United States Coast Guard
Washington, D.C.

For demonstrating exceptional leadership, professionalism, and technical expertise in guiding three competing shipbuilders through a complex contract deliverable worth several billion dollars to the Coast Guard.

Dr. Mark Wrobel

Domestic Nuclear Detection Office
Washington, D.C.

For leading his team in three complex projects that were transformed into viable technologies to be used in operational settings to help make the Nation safer.

Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration Reinsurance Team

Federal Emergency Management Agency
Washington, D.C.

Andy Neal
Barbara Montoya
Dan Spafford
Melanie Milligan
Mitchell Waldner

For exceptional teamwork creating and implementing an unprecedented program to secure reinsurance for the National Flood Insurance Program, resulting in an additional $1 billion available to the Department for paying survivors’ claims and to aid in post-disaster recovery.

Grace I. Cheng

Office of the General Counsel
Washington, D.C.

For outstanding work as the lead counsel for DHS Freedom of Information Act litigations facing exponential caseload growth, and for establishing a regular quarterly data call to enhance awareness and actions related to this immense caseload across the department.

Intelligence Oversight Guidelines Development Team

Office of Intelligence and Analysis
Washington, D.C.

Arthur R. Sepeta
Bradley J. Altvater
Miriam R. Moore (Civil Rights and Civil Liberties)
Brian A. Sterling (Civil Rights and Civil Liberties)
Jennifer S. Brand (Civil Rights and Civil Liberties)
Kristin M. Bergman (Office of the General Counsel)
Christopher P. D’Antonio (Office of the General Counsel)
Andrew D. Fausett (Office of the General Counsel)
Matthew L. Kronisch (Office of the General Counsel)
John F. Dermody (Office of the General Counsel)
Scott S. Mathews (Privacy Office)
Nicole M. Sanchez (Privacy Office)

For outstanding teamwork in securing the U.S. Attorney General’s approval of DHS Intelligence Oversight Guidelines that reinforce the Department’s commitment to delivering timely, actionable, and predictive intelligence to our partners across the intelligence enterprise.

Mark Singer

National Protection and Programs Directorate
Washington, D.C.

For outstanding service and innovation, developing and implementing agreements regarding biometric identity services and expanding the use of facial recognition, and iris and fingerprint matching.

Richard Conrad

Office of Intelligence and Analysis
Washington, D.C.

For implementing a pilot program using another federal agency’s "next generation identification rap back service" which provides an automated mechanism to recurrently vet individuals’ criminal history that aids in protecting the Department from insider threats.

San Francisco Secure Communities Program Team

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
San Francisco, California

Mark Moser
Michael Acayan
Jonathan Watamaniuk
Hamid Khamseh
Kenny Louie

For outstanding service, working diligently to screen 21,586 immigration noncitizen responses in real time, with 118 detainers, in support of fugitive operations officers’ field work.

Theresa Mendez

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Santa Ana, California

For outstanding service and accomplishment, aiding in the arrest of bank robbery suspects using data mining systems to understand their flight patterns, resulting in their arrest as they attempted to board an international flight.

U.S. Border Patrol Consequence Delivery Team

U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Washington, D.C.

Carlos L. Villarreal
Charles R. Klingberg
Jacob L. Bollini
Johnny F. McGahee
Phea Par

For developing the sector web application portal which helps to significantly reduce data entry and time developing charts for the Consequence Delivery System, a CBP post-apprehension analysis tool.

TINMAN/C-LAN Merger Team

Office of Intelligence and Analysis
Washington, D.C.

Luay Z. Murad
Stevie W. Davis
Damon L. Bryant
Chantelle R. Lee
Meikole L. Hall
Savitha Manohar (Management Directorate)
Balaji Subramaniam (Transportation Security Administration)
Kristin Banzhof (Transportation Security Administration)
Reginald Kelly (Transportation Security Administration)
Jason M. Mills (Transportation Security Administration)
Niels Kidd (Transportation Security Administration)
Alexander Samimi (Transportation Security Administration)
Johnny Tomczyk (Transportation Security Administration)
Evans Swinson (Transportation Security Administration)
Anthony Santasania (Transportation Security Administration)

For significant contributions and outstanding teamwork in merging two different classified DHS network environments to enhance the DHS mission.