On Monday, September 22, the Partnership for Public Service presented eight outstanding public servants with the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals (Sammies). Having earned the reputation as the “Oscars” of public service, the achievements of the 2014 medal recipients range from improving the lives of paralyzed veterans to arguing 125 cases before the Supreme Court to recovering nearly a billion dollars in stolen Medicare funds.
“The Service to America Medals are a powerful illustration of the good that government workers do every day, and their impact on our lives,” said Max Stier, Partnership for Public Service president and CEO. “The best way to strengthen our government is to build on what is working. We will never get what we want from government if all we do is tear it down.”
Bloustein alumnus Sara Meyers MPP ’09, Director of the Sandy Program Management Office for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was selected as the recipient of the 2014 Call to Service Medal. This award recognizes a federal employee whose professional achievements reflect the important contributions that a new generation brings to public service.
Meyers is the co-creator of HUDStat, a sophisticated data analysis system used to evaluate the performance of federal housing programs. She was also instrumental in creating processes to track $13.6 billion in HUD economic stimulus funding in 2009 and $50 billion in Hurricane Sandy disaster relief money in 2012.
“The Bloustein School prepared me for a career in government that I could not even have conceived of while I was a student,” said Meyers. “I am grateful for having received an excellent foundation upon which to build such a rewarding career.”
To read the full presentation profile and see the related video, visit the Service to America Medals website.
