Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division, PA –
The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD) participated in the 2020 Philadelphia Federal Executive Board’s (FEB) Excellence in Government Awards Ceremony, with numerous NSWCPD employees winning Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals. The virtual awards ceremony held on May 5, 2021 was a first for the Philadelphia FEB, and reflects the work of many people from several agencies supporting the betterment of the federal community as a whole.
Each year during Public Service Recognition Week, FEBs recognize high-performing federal employees in their local communities and highlight innovative efforts that advance the missions of federal agencies. Award nominations are reviewed by leadership panels using criteria for a variety of categories, such as Leadership, Customer Service, and Innovation.
The 2020 nominations were submitted last year just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and it was not feasible to establish the normal procedures of in-person review panels to view the nominations. The committee opted to reward every nomination as a winner until they could review and determine the individual medal winners.
“Every year, those who review the nominations share how inspired they are by the work our federal employees do. This year, it was especially true, as people stepped back and focused on the work our nominees accomplish each year. The reviewers described the nominees as impressive, dedicated, and outstanding,” stated Lisa Makosewski, Executive Director of Philadelphia Federal Executive Board.
In the end NSWCPD scored six Gold Medals, four Silver Medals and five Bronze Medals, with some of the recipients highlighted below.
The NSWCPD Infrastructure Acquisition Group earned the honor of a Gold Medal in the category of “Economy in Government Operations,” for developing new contracting means for executing facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization. This group saved the government $2.5 million within the group's first year of operation. The team members included: Renald Aponte, Thomas Bilinski, Angela Cusati, Pradeep Dangi, Kenneth Deptula, Cynthia Esposito, Alec Hess, David Hunt, Zachary Koleszar, Mark LaGatta, Zachary Mohn, Robert Nazian, David Rhoads, Anthony Tropea, Jacob Scholz, Robert Smargiassi.
Another Gold Medal for “Outstanding Technical Achievement,” went to the NSWCPD Navy Common Core Controller (NC3) Team who developed a common controller to address a significant obsolescence issue on air compressor controllers and improve Fleet readiness. The team designed an adaptable architecture that uses commonality of core components and takes advantage of economies of scale for previous disparate controller designs. The NC3 design promoted affordability and efficiencies by streamlining environmental qualification testing, software versions, and test requirements, as well as provided enhanced Cybersecurity. Team members included: Ashley Barnes, Salvatore DeSantis, Raynold Lewis, Robert Morsa, Luis Caldero Talavera.
A Gold Medal was awarded to Gary Kreger for “Outstanding Technical Support, who traveled to Yokosuka, Japan in January 2019 in support of USS John S. McCain for the Air Conditioning (AC) Plant No. 4 start-up, with a return visit in March of that year. In October 2019, Kreger supported USS Germantown, which was experiencing issues with six AC plants, putting the ship below the required available chilled water-cooling capacity. His diligence, leadership, perseverance, and expertise allowed these ships to continue to support their mission and achieve on-time delivery.
A Gold Medal was awarded to Cassandra Zook for “Community Service” as she possesses a strong history of volunteering in her community by promoting science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) initiatives. Zook also thrives as an active volunteer with the Society of Women Engineers for over 10 years, serving in a variety of positions to empower women in engineering and to expand inclusion of transgender applicants. She volunteers her time to judge local science fairs, speaks to high school students, and participates in activities to introduce young children and their parents to engineering. Zook also serves on the advisory board of the West Philly Tool Library.
Kate Black-Will earned a Gold Medal for “Improved Federal Image.” In her role as the Directives Control Point at NSWCPD, she drafts, edits, and publishes policies. Black-Will improves upon the bloated, stuff government writing reputation by steadfastly following the Executive Service Directorate Plain Language guidelines, ensuring clear, concise, and easy-to-understand policy documents. She doubled the command’s output and publication of policy documents. In addition, her efforts improved the NSWCPD and the government’s image by identifying and executing more efficient reviews.
It’s also worth noting the Bronze Medalist in this same category. In June 2019, the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) refinery experienced an explosion significantly affecting its employees. Michael Timberman recognized an opportunity to support the local community and the impacted personnel by recruiting talented engineers to fulfill the Navy and command’s mission. He demonstrated strong leadership and commitment by leading recruitment fairs and outreach to the engineers and professionals at PES, while showing and demonstrating the Navy's mission and values to the affected employees. These efforts showed compassion to the community and allowed the onboarding at NSWCPD of 13 top-level engineers and project managers.
Complete List of NSWCPD Medalists
Economy in Government Operations: Gold Medal awarded to the Infrastructure Acquisition Group and Bronze Medal awarded to the High Efficiency Super Capacity (HESC) Chiller Team.
Outstanding Technical Achievement: Gold Medal awarded to the Navy Common Core Controller (NC3) Team.
Outstanding Admin Support: Silver Medal awarded to Irene Mijalli and Bronze Medal awarded to Jacqueline Clark.
Outstanding Technical Support: Gold Medal awarded to Gary Kreger and Silver Medal awarded to Richard Weber.
Improved Federal Image: Gold Medal awarded to Kate Black-Will and Bronze Medal awarded to Michael Timberman.
Community Service: Gold Medal awarded to Cassandra Zook.
Special Accomplishment: Gold Medal awarded to Krysten A. Seabrook.
Service Excellence: Silver Medal awarded to Mark Phillip.
Outstanding Mentor/Coach: Bronze Medal awarded to Joshua Manney.
Steadfast Achievement: Silver Medal awarded to Alan McCarrick (retired) and Bronze Medal awarded to Dennis Russom.
Congratulations to all the medalists and nominees for the 2020 Excellence in Government Awards!
According to the Philadelphia Federal Executive Board website, the FEBs, established by Presidential Directive in 1961, are a forum for communication and collaboration among federal agencies outside of Washington, D.C. The need for effective coordination among the field activities of Federal departments and agencies was then, and is still, very clear. Approximately 85% of all federal employees work outside the National Capital Region. Federal programs have their impact largely through the actions of the field representatives of the departments and agencies. In addition, federal representatives are the principal contact with the federal government for the citizens of the United States. The national network of 28 FEBs, located in areas of significant federal populations, serves as the cornerstone for strategic partnering in government.