**2006 Administrator's Awards Nominations**

**National Ocean Service**

**Randolph Grady**

**NOS**

**Nomination \# 1**

***Part I.***

**1. Full Name of Nominee(s): Randolph O. Grady, Jr.**

**2. Major Line or Staff Office of Nominee(s):** **NOS/NCCOS/CCFHR**

**3. Position Title and Grade for Nominee(s): Electrician WG-2805-11**

**4. Past Awards for Nominee(s): None**

**5. Nominator's Name and Major Line or Staff Office: David Johnson,
NOS**

**6. Certificate Citation: For reducing risk and providing NOAA
employees with safe and efficient work spaces and conditions.**

**7. Justification:**

Randy Grady has provided exemplary service in assuring safe working
conditions for NOAA staff at the NOS, NCCOS, Center for Coastal
Fisheries and Habitat Research (CCFHR) at Beaufort, SC. His tireless
efforts have averted loss of productivity and possible closure of the
Center because of unsafe conditions. His exemplary performance is well
above and beyond the responsibilities described in his performance plan
and detailed in his position description.

Mr. Grady's defined responsibilities are to provide maintenance of all
facilities on the CCFHR campus. In the absence of an onsite supervisory
engineer, Mr. Grady took on the additional supervisory engineering role
as the Center began to engage in multiple, and often simultaneous,
construction and renovation projects (most of the facility's buildings
and infrastructure are more than 40 years old). Most of the buildings
and infrastructure are substandard by current codes, and present a
variety of health and safety concerns that Mr. Grady has worked
tirelessly to remedy.

The many projects Mr. Grady has overseen and provided expertise on
include:

-   Repairs to the bridge that provides access to Pivers Island, where
    the Center is located. The bridge was identified as vulnerable to
    failure or load limitations. Its closure would have seriously
    impacted operations of the Center not only in terms of normal staff
    access, but also in the event of emergency evacuation in the face of
    hurricanes or other threats. Contractors and the staff and students
    of the Duke University Marine Laboratory, which shares Pivers
    Island, also would have been affected.

-   Construction of a new replacement bridge. Mr. Grady served as the
    liaison between on-site general contractors and DOC NOAA PMMD
    Eastern Region engineering support for this and other major new
    construction projects at CCFHR.

-   Construction of a new Administration building for NOS and the North
    Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve, and construction of an
    addition to the main building that will serve a new elevator system.
    Mr. Grady worked with contractors to assure a safe working
    environment, identifying on-site conditions of which contractors
    would be unaware. Reestablishment of the elevator system will allow
    the safe transfer of people, equipment, and supplies to the upper
    story, which has been compromised in its absence.

-   Oversight of the renovation of electrical systems for all buildings
    on campus. These systems were substandard, and, under growing
    electrical demands, were subject to failure and risk of electrical
    fires. Mr. Grady identified numerous deficiencies in the work of the
    electrical contractors that may have reduced the safety of the work,
    thus making sure that they were corrected before the contracts were
    completed. Prior to full-scale renovations, Mr. Grady and his staff
    performed critical preventive maintenance to ensure continuing
    Center operations.

-   Mold assessment and remediation. Mr. Grady facilitated the
    assessment of serious mold problems in the aging buildings of the
    Center. He coordinated the safe demolition of an irreparably
    mold-plagued building, working with contractors to also remove
    unused radioactivity sources.

-   Hurricane preparedness and recovery response. Mr. Grady improved
    hurricane preparedness at the Center, preparing buildings for high
    winds and potential water intrusion. He led successful efforts to
    install backup electrical power generation that ensured timely
    reopening of the laboratory. After recent hurricanes, he led efforts
    to repair damages incurred at the facility.

In addition, Mr. Grady voluntarily served as *de facto* on-site
coordinator of contractors engaged in major facilities renovation
projects in all buildings on the CCFHR campus. This service, which was
in addition to his prescribed responsibilities, required long hours of
volunteer work, often after hours and on weekends, that spanned more
than two years. The overall result of Mr. Grady's exemplary efforts was
the minimal disruption of CCFHR operations and the delivery of NOAA
services, and the provision of a safe work environment to NOAA staff.

These renovations and repairs have allowed buildings and other
infrastructure to remain operable. Mr. Grady's leadership helped insure
a facility safe for NOAA's employees, contractors, and visitors. His
efforts protected valuable property and ensured continued safe operation
of NOAA's Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research.

**Matthew Chasse Group**

**NOS**

**Nomination \# 2**

**Nominees:** Matthew John Chasse, GS-9 Program Specialist

NOS, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management

Richard B. Mieremet, GS-15 Senior Policy Analyst

NOS, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management

Past Award - NOAA Administrator\'s Award (1997)

Leslie Suzanne Bass, GS-14 Attorney-Advisor

NOAA Office of General Counsel, Ocean Services

Past Award - NOAA General Counsel's Award (2004)

**Areas of Consideration:** Public Service, Policy Development, and
Environmental Conservation

**Organization:** National Ocean Service

> Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management
>
> 1305 East West Highway
>
> Silver Spring, MD 20910

**Nominated By**:

Douglas Brown, Acting Director

NOS, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management

Phone: 301-563-7200

email: Douglas.Brown@noaa.gov

**Citation:** For outstanding work with the State of Texas in the
designation of the Mission Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve.

**Summary:** The Mission Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve in
Texas was designated in May 2006 and is the 27^th^ reserve in the
national system, providing enhanced protection and management of
critical saltwater and freshwater estuarine habitats that support
threatened and endangered species like the whooping crane. Designation
of this reserve is the culmination of nearly four years of hard work by
a number of people in NOAA and at the University of Texas Marine Science
Institute. The nominees, Matthew Chasse, Richard Mieremet, and Suzanne
Bass, played significant roles in the designation process. In
particular, they were instrumental in finding solutions to challenging
policy issues related to existing and traditional uses within the
proposed reserve. Their efficiency and responsiveness allowed the
National Environmental Policy Act and designation processes to proceed
at a rapid pace, which was greatly appreciated by the various state
partners. Most importantly, their work will result in significant
environmental conservation for the 185,708-acre reserve, located
approximately 30 miles northeast of Corpus Christi in the Western Gulf
of Mexico biogeographic region.

**Details:** The National Estuarine Research Reserve System is a network
of estuarine areas that are protected for long-term research, education,
and resource stewardship. Established under the Coastal Zone Management
Act of 1972, the reserve system is a partnership between the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and state agencies and
universities. The strategic plan for the National Estuarine Research
Reserve System has as a goal the establishment of a system of reserves
representing each of 29 biogeographic regions around the coast. The
Western Gulf biogeographic region represented a significant gap in the
system. When in late 2001 the Governor of Texas sent a letter requesting
that NOAA embark on the selection and designation of a reserve in Texas,
NOAA agreed and began the process in early 2002.

Suzanne Bass was involved in the process from the beginning. She was
instrumental in providing legal advice regarding the compatibility of
existing uses, such as oil and gas development, with the designation of
a research reserve and the NOAA regulations. Her insight and analysis
enabled NOAA and the State of Texas to design a reserve that would
protect key land and water areas of the estuary through state resource
protection codes, while continuing to permit existing uses, such as oil
and gas and marine navigation. She also conducted thorough and useful
research on the effect of reserve designation on the Army Corps of
Engineers permit process.

Matt Chasse and Richard Mieremet were extremely dedicated, efficient,
and helpful as they worked with staff at the University of Texas Marine
Science Institute to develop a draft and final reserve management plan,
and a draft and final environmental impact statement. They showed
insight and skill in addressing some significant comments on the draft
documents. They, with advice from Suzanne Bass, were very effective in
negotiating solutions to issues raised by the Texas General Lands
Office, the Port of Corpus Christi, and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Specifically, they participated in meetings and phone calls to address
concerns from navigation interests that reserve designation not impede
maintenance or use of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. They worked
creatively to redesign the reserve boundary and alternatives in the
environmental impact statement to address these issues. Additionally,
they resolved concerns on the part of the Texas General Lands Office
related to allowing oil and gas development in the Mission Aransas
Estuary. They designed the core and buffer areas of the reserve to
ensure sufficient protection of resources, particularly in core areas.

All three nominees have made significant contributions to environmental
conservation and estuarine research and education. Without their hard
work, the only reserve in the Western Gulf of Mexico might not have been
designated. The Mission-Aransas Reserve is the third largest in the
national system and comprises a large contiguous complex of wetland,
terrestrial, and marine environments. The land is primarily coastal
prairie with unique habitats comprised of small stands of oaks (called
mottes). The wetlands include riparian (river-bank) habitat and fresh-
and saltwater marshes. Within the water areas, the bays are large, open,
and include extensive wind tidal flats, sea-grass meadows, mangroves,
and oyster reefs. These unique and diverse estuarine habitats support a
host of endangered and threatened species, including the endangered
whooping crane. While some areas of the reserve were already protected
through state and federal ownership and management, a significant new
area -- the Fennessey Ranch -- will be protected as a direct result of
reserve designation. The 3,200-acre ranch is privately owned and will be
protected through a conservation easement held by the University of
Texas. In addition, the designation of this reserve will foster greater
understanding of the estuary through research and monitoring, improved
environmental literacy through education programs, and enhanced resource
protection through improved stewardship. Matt Chasse, in particular,
worked closely with the University of Texas Marine Science Institute to
ensure that funding for the Fennessey Ranch conservation easement moved
forward expeditiously.

In summary, the three nominees went well above the basic aspects of
their jobs to resolve complex issues and ensure that designation of the
Mission Aransas Reserve would be accomplished in a way that reflects
well on both NOAA and the State of Texas.

**Jason Shadid Group**

**NOS**

**Nomination \# 3**

**Nominees:** Jason Shadid

GS-14 Program Analyst

NOS, Management and Budget, Policy Planning and Analysis Division

> Donna Rivelli
>
> GS-14 Program Analyst
>
> NOS, Management and Budget, Policy Planning and Analysis Division
>
> Elizabeth Davenport
>
> GS-14 Program Analyst
>
> NOS, Management and Budget, Policy Planning and Analysis Division

**Line Office:** National Ocean Service, Management and Budget, Policy
Planning and Analysis Division

**Past Awards:** Shadid: NOS Rafting Award, 2004: NOAA Bronze Medal,
2001

Davenport: NOAA Bronze Medal, 2005; NOS Employee of the Year, 2004

**Nominator's Name and Line Office:**

Mitchell Luxenberg, Deputy CFO

NOS, Management and Budget Office

Phone: (301) 713-3056, ext. 138

**Certificate Citation:** For providing outstanding leadership and
support to NOS in implementing and integrating Presidential,
Departmental and agency planning, programming, budgeting and performance
processes.

**Justification**

One of the key elements of the President's Management Agenda is the goal
to improve the integration of planning and budget in federal programs.
Through the innovative and creative efforts of Ms. Davenport, Ms.
Rivelli, and Mr. Shadid, NOS posted a unique record of accomplishment in
this important area. In NOS, the nominees successfully created clear and
tangible links ("a line of sight" in PPBES terminology) from strategic
planning, through programming, through formulation of NOS's budget, and
finally through contributions to NOAA's Annual Performance Plan executed
through the Annual Operating Plan (AOP). Due to their efforts, NOS staff
and management envisioned and implemented strategic planning and
performance management as one integrated system, and not as separate,
unrelated exercises or entities. Some highlights of their contributions
are as follows:

-   **Strategic Planning:** The nominees worked with NOS program offices
    to prepare components of the NOAA Strategic Plan that contained
    three long-term outcome performance measures. They then negotiated
    the acceptance of these measures with the Office of Management and
    Budget. These measures, reported externally pursuant to the
    Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), represent nearly
    \$.25B of NOS's resources. The nominees continue to support NOAA's
    improvements to corporate performance measures and addressing budget
    and performance integration gaps by leading NOS's contributions to
    OMB's Program Assessment Rating Tool and to NOAA's Corporate
    Performance Measures Working Group. The results of these efforts are
    that NOS has emerged as a leader in NOAA in developing cutting-edge
    measures that are cross-program and potentially cross-goal.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   **Annual Operating Plan (AOP):** The nominees worked with NOS
    offices to define a vision and needs for a new web-enabled NOS AOP
    database. The database was designed to ensure that understandable
    links could be maintained between measures and milestones in the
    AOPs and performance objectives as defined in the NOAA Strategic
    Plan. The outcome of this effort is that NOS's AOP database
    management system has been welcomed in NOAA as a "best of breed" IT
    design that clearly links measures to objectives, generates
    effective reports, and ensures the integrity of baseline and target
    data. Further, the nominees continually work with program office
    staff to develop ways to improve the quality and meaning of
    milestones and performance measures.

***Improvement Goals Are to: NOS Clearance***

-   **Budget Formulation Improvements:** A major challenge in NOAA's
    budget formulation process is the translation of guidance and
    direction provided by the programming process into actionable budget
    request packages. Through the tireless efforts of the nominees, NOS
    successfully created continuity in budget numbers running from
    programming (the "PDM," or Program Decision Memorandum) to
    formulation of NOAA\'s budget in the traditional structure, through
    the reporting of execution data in the Goal/Program structure. By
    carefully scrutinizing the numbers and paying close attention to
    Goal Team priorities, the nominees minimized discrepancies between
    NOAA\'s various tracking tables and systems (e.g., formulation
    control table, PIRS, CBS). The nominees created a single focal point
    for information and answers about NOS\'s budget during the planning,
    programming, budgeting, and execution phases. They maintained open
    lines of communication and fostered positive working relationships
    with program office specialists, goal team analysts, and analysts in
    NOAA\'s Budget Office. They also kept NOS program offices and PPBES
    participants informed of decisions made at NOS/NOAA headquarters.

As a result of the efforts of Ms. Davenport, Ms. Rivelli, and Mr.
Shadid, NOS has emerged in the strongest possible position to ensure
funding priorities as expressed in the budget, and to represent the
optimal mix of NOAA's programs as expressed in its Strategic Plan.
Accordingly, their efforts directly help NOAA and NOS generate the most
cost-effective outcomes and benefits for the nation.

**Felix Martinez/Michael Dowgiallo**

**NOS**

**Nomination \# 4**

Creation of the Caribbean Coral Reef Institute

**1. Full Name of Nominee(s)**

Dr. Felix A. Martinez and Dr. Michael J. Dowgiallo

**2. Major Line and Staff Office for Each Nominee**

Dr. Felix A. Martinez

> National Ocean Service
>
> National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
>
> Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research

Dr. Michael J. Dowgiallo

> National Ocean Service
>
> National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
>
> Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research

**3. Position, Title, and Grade for Each Nominee**

Dr. Felix A. Martinez: Physical Scientist (GS-12)

Dr. Michael J. Dowgiallo: Oceanographer (GS-14)

**4. Past Awards for Each Nominee**

> Dr. Michael J. Dowgiallo: 1994 Administrator's Award (*"For Number
> range CHAPTERDocumenting the Oceanographic Effects of the Great
> Mississippi River Flood of 1993"*); 2000 Bronze Medal (*"For
> Professional Excellence Demonstrated by his Development of an
> Interagency Research Policy on Coral Reef Issues"*)

**5. Nominator's Name, Line, and Staff Office **

> Dr. Gary C. Matlock, Director
>
> National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

**6. Certificate Citation**

> For leadership in creating a Caribbean Coral Reef Institute to conduct
> strategic research for improved resource management of coral reefs.

**7. Justification**

Dr. Martinez and Dr. Dowgiallo are honored for their exceptional
personal leadership and strategic thinking in developing and
establishing the framework for a major Caribbean Coral Reef Institute at
the University of Puerto Rico. They used creativity and innovation to
assist NOAA in transforming a major Congressionally directed coral reef
program in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico into an evolving world-class
focal point for coral reef research in the Caribbean Basin. Their
extended efforts to plan, develop, and coordinate the establishment of
this Institute were instrumental to its success. The Institute is
already making a significant contribution to the national effort to
conserve coral reefs. The principal goal of their efforts was to restore
the effectiveness of a Cooperative Agreement with the Puerto Rico
Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER), which was
experiencing significant limitations in its capability to administer a
Congressionally directed program on coral reef research involving
\$500,000 of annual appropriations over many years. By achieving this
goal, this program would provide strong support of the Departmental
Strategic Plan Goal 3 Objective to Protect and Restore Ocean, Coastal,
and Great Lakes Resources, specifically to preserve, conserve, and
restore coral reef habitats and their biodiversity, which are key
elements of the NOAA-level strategic goal to protect, restore and manage
the use of coastal and ocean resources through research to support
ecosystem-based management.

In FY 2002 and 2003, the PRDNER was the recipient of coral reef funds
allocated by Congress for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in the form of
a Cooperative Agreement between NOAA's Center for Sponsored Coastal
Ocean Research (CSCOR) and the PRDNER. Because of poor performance and
non-compliance with the terms of the Cooperative Agreement, NOAA froze
the remaining FY 2002 funding to the PRDNER and declined to award the FY
2003 funds allocated by Congress. NOAA then requested that the PRDNER
show how it intended to address the poor performance and non-compliance
issues or risk program termination actions. However, the PRDNER did not
respond in a proper fashion, the program was terminated, and the
remaining FY 2002 funds were de-obligated. Since these actions occurred
near the end of FY 2002 and during planning for the FY 2003 budget,
there was an inherent risk of Puerto Rico losing funds that were vital
to addressing the issues that affect its coral reef resources. To
prevent this funding loss, Drs. Martinez and Dowgiallo worked closely
with NOAA and Congress and identified a solution involving the
University of Puerto Rico (UPR) as an appropriate alternate recipient in
Puerto Rico for these and future funds. This enabled Congress to fulfill
its original intent to support an effective coral reef research and
monitoring program in the Commonwealth. At the same time, Drs. Martinez
and Dowgiallo developed a strategy to revise the program's structure and
leadership.

Drs. Martinez and Dowgiallo identified key weaknesses of the original
program through rigorous peer review, site visits, careful monitoring of
progress, and review of financial accountability. Through appropriate
communication channels, Congressional representatives were kept closely
informed of progress through a series of meetings and other
communications. With the backing of the Resident Commissioner of Puerto
Rico and Congressional appropriators, Drs. Martinez and Dowgiallo worked
closely with a research team at UPR to develop a framework for the new
Institute based on the highly successful Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative,
and implemented it in FY 2004. As part of the new structure, the
Institute established a Management Committee that includes the PRDNER as
an equal partner. Thus, a strong and direct collaborative effort that
meets the needs of resource managers in Puerto Rico was formed to
conduct strategic research on coral reefs.

The key result of their actions was that over \$1.3M of appropriated
funds previously at risk was redirected to an alternate recipient that
took control of the program and is excelling in its administration and
implementation. The current program is well structured, well managed,
and is receiving accolades in the scientific community through peer
reviews. As a result, numerous federal, academic, and nongovernmental
organizations in the region are expressing increased interest in
collaborative efforts. The Institute has become a focal point for
cutting-edge research in both Puerto Rico and the wider Caribbean.
Another outcome of the efforts of Drs. Martinez and Dowgiallo was
increased collaboration among resource managers at the PRDNER and
researchers at UPR to achieve the common objective of addressing
critical problems facing Puerto Rico's coral reef ecosystems. The
Institute became fully functional in 2004, and continues to gather
momentum as is evidenced through progress reports, site visits, and open
review meetings in the Commonwealth. Also, the scientific community is
rallying around the Institute, as was recently demonstrated at a major
symposium held by the Institute in collaboration with PRDNER
participants. This development reflects favorably upon NOAA's high
scientific standards and ability to work with multiple partners to
achieve a successful outcome out of a very difficult situation.
Additionally, the Institute has formed a solid working relationship with
key partners concerned with natural resource management in the region,
including the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust and the Caribbean Fisheries
Management Council.

Assuming continued Congressional appropriations for the Institute in FY
2007 and beyond, major advances in research and understanding of the
issues facing coral reefs in Puerto Rico are expected. Assessments and
predictive tools such as models will be developed that will enable
resource managers to assess alternative management strategies to help
reverse coral reef degradation and conserve the integrity of the coral
reefs of Puerto Rico. Other Federal agencies, such as the U.S.
Department of Interior, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S.
Department of Agriculture, which have interests in habitat protection
and watershed issues, are engaged in planning with the Institute and
other NOAA-funded research projects at the University of Puerto Rico.
The new Institute is making major progress in a suite of scientific
areas, including recommendations for the establishment of Marine
Protected Areas in Puerto Rico, evaluating the efficacy of various
levels of protection, and working with local partners to develop and
implement effective management strategies. A new and novel socioeconomic
component is also contributing to a far greater understanding of the
cultural influences that relate to uses of reef habitat. The Institute
is serving as a key focal point for breakthrough scientific findings,
such as the role of deep-water reefs that may serve as refuges for
overfished reef fishes and other species.

The establishment of the Institute has brought together formerly
disparate groups and is serving as a clearinghouse for scientific
findings and management outcomes with the objective of reversing
degradation of Puerto Rico's coral reefs. The Institute's customers
include a wide range of entities from the general public, to resource
management organizations such as PRDNER and regional fishery management
councils.

# David Mattila

**NOS**

**Nomination \# 5**

1\. David Karl Mattila

2\. National Ocean Service/NOAA

National Marine Sanctuary Program

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale NMS

726 S. Kihei Road, Maui, Hawaii

Routing Code: 15-9995-009

3\. Science and Rescue Coordinator/Program Specialist

Grade and Series: GS-0301-12

4\. Past Awards: None

5\. Nominator:

> Naomi McIntosh

National Ocean Service/NOAA

National Marine Sanctuary Program

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale NMS

6\. Certificate Citation: For outstanding leadership and significant
contribution to the understanding, awareness, and conservation of the
North Pacific population of humpback whales.

**Justification**

This Administrator's Award nomination recognizes David Mattila for his
outstanding contributions to NOAA's Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale
National Marine Sanctuary over the past four years. His contributions in
science have brought considerable distinction and international
recognition to NOAA, NOS, and the National Marine Sanctuary Program
through the establishment of innovative partnerships for collaborative
research to understand the population structure of humpback whales
across the entire North Pacific, and to assess the status, trends, and
potential human impacts to this population. In addition, David also led
and coordinated the sanctuary's rescue and response program and
initiatives.

[Coordinated research for North Pacific humpback whales]{.underline}

Project "SPLASH" (Structure of Populations, Levels of Abundance and
Status of Humpbacks) (2003-2006) has received broad international and
U.S. Government support and participation, and exemplifies the
progressive research strategies needed to understand the stock structure
of humpback whales across an entire ocean basin. The project's aim is to
better characterize the population of humpback whales in the North
Pacific, to understand the abundance and trends of those stocks, and to
investigate the potential effects of human activities on them by using
photographic identification and biopsy sampling techniques. Launched in
2002, the program is a cooperative effort of researchers from the United
States, Canada, Mexico, Russia, Japan, Central America and the
Philippines. Early on, David spearheaded efforts to initiate discussions
with prominent humpback whale researchers from these countries, as well
as representatives from international and U.S. agencies including NOAA
Fisheries Southwest Region and the National Marine Mammal Lab. David
furthered this effort by convening a strategic planning meeting on Maui
to encourage collaboration on an international research effort. At the
meeting, a 15-person Steering Committee developed the SPLASH project.

SPLASH is co-funded by NOAA and its partners. David played a key role in
developing the necessary partnerships and helped to secure funding for
the project. He ensured that the effort was supported and widely
understood by NOAA leadership by working with sanctuary education staff
to create outreach materials that explained the project's importance. He
also gave numerous presentations and project briefings to NOAA line
offices, governmental and nongovernmental agencies, and Hawaii's
Congressional delegation.

During the 2004/05 winter season, research cruises were completed in
waters off Hawaii, Asia (Philippines, Okinawa, and Ogasawara Island),
Mexico and Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa
Rica). During the 2004/05 summer seasons, research cruises were
conducted off the U.S. West Coast (California, Oregon, and Washington),
British Columbia, southeastern Alaska, the eastern/central Aleutian
Islands and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. In 2006, SPLASH completed its
final year of investigations with its third winter field season.

David served not only as a Steering Committee member for SPLASH since
its inception, but also as the principal investigator and coordinator
for all three winter (2003 to 2006) field seasons of SPLASH in Hawaii.
He enlisted all of Hawaii's permitted humpback whale researchers to
collect unified data and promoted a local cooperative approach to the
project. By doing so, he established a positive reputation for NOAA's
science leadership within the humpback whale research community in
Hawaii. In addition, under David's direction, NOAA provided an
opportunity for humpback whale researchers to receive training in
applying SPLASH research techniques in the field. Through David's
efforts, student interns and volunteers also had the opportunity to
contribute to the preparation of data for analysis, and the public
learned about the key role that research plays in our understanding of
humpback whales in the North Pacific.

[Founded the Hawaiian Islands Disentanglement Network]{.underline}

David founded the Hawaiian Islands Disentanglement Network in 2003. The
network is a community-based consortium of federal, state and nonprofit
organizations that works collaboratively across the Hawaiian Islands to
rescue whales from life-threatening entanglements. The network works
alongside NOAA Fisheries' Pacific Islands Regional Office and is
authorized through NOAA's Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response
Program. It has responded to numerous reports of entangled whales in
Hawaiian waters, and successfully freed three humpbacks from
life-threatening entanglements in recent years.

Disentanglement response requires skilled personnel, equipment, funding,
and cooperation among a number of agencies. Prior to creation of the
network, individuals who had no experience or training often attempted
responses to entangled humpback whales. Today, the Hawaiian Island
Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and NOAA Fisheries are highly
recognized in the community as the leaders of whale disentanglement
efforts in Hawaii. David's achievements in conserving and managing
humpback whales represent the very highest level of commitment to
recovering an endangered species. Through his dedicated efforts, the
sanctuary's science and rescue programs have quickly become a highly
respected and visible component of NOAA.

Both the SPLASH Project and the Hawaiian Islands Disentanglement
Network, like most of David's endeavors, serve as excellent examples of
collaboration across NOAA line offices.

**Brent Ache**

**NOS**

**Nomination \# 6**

1.  Brent W. Ache

2.  National Ocean Service (NOS)

3.  Physical Scientist GS -- 13/8

4.  [Past Awards]{.underline}

    a.  Quality Step Increase 2005

    b.  Bronze Award NOAA Program, Planning and Integration (PPI) 2005

5.  Nominator: Mitchell Luxenberg, Acting Director, NOS Management and
    Budget Office

6.  Certificate citation: For leadership and innovation as the project
    manager for NOAA's involvement in State and Federal partnerships
    supporting the Gulf of Mexico Alliance.

7.  Justification

This Administrator's Award nomination recognizes Brent Ache for his
leadership, initiative, and innovation as the project manager for NOAA's
involvement in the unique federal/state partnership supporting the Gulf
of Mexico (GOM) Alliance.

The federal response to the Alliance is a widely acknowledged success of
the *U.S. Ocean Action Plan.* NOAA has been commended on numerous
occasions for the quality of the assistance and leadership it has
supplied as one of two federal co-leads of this effort with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.

Brent is the driving force behind this novel federal/state partnership,
which in March 2006 released the *Governor's Action Plan for Healthy and
Resilient Coasts* at the State of the Gulf Summit, hosted by the Harte
Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University in
Corpus Christi. The *Governor's* *Action Plan* provides a blueprint for
addressing priority environmental issues at a regional scale. If
successfully implemented, it will result in significant national
benefits and serve as a model for regional environmental management
around the country. Brent's efforts, more than any others, resulted in
the successful production of the *Governor's Action Plan*.

Brent's official role was project manager of a National Ocean Service
team that supported the senior NOAA principal, one of two co-chairs of
the Federal Working Group assisting the state-led GOM Alliance. Brent
provided guidance, creativity, and consistent encouragement to
participants both within NOAA and in other federal and state agencies.
His consistently high performance, his persistence when faced with
setbacks, his ability to identify imaginative solutions to problems, his
contagious enthusiasm, and his positive attitude, kept this challenging
regional experiment on track and moving forward. This held true even
when the Alliance was confronted with the disruption caused by last
summer's devastating hurricane season in the Gulf.

Documenting Brent's specific accomplishments over the last year would
produce a very long list. Following are three that stand out as areas in
which he made particularly valuable contributions.

**Coordination and collaboration** - The Alliance is a regional approach
to integrated coastal management. Partners' and stakeholders'
collaboration is at the heart of a successful regional approach. The
challenge is to involve various players and keep them engaged and
effectively contributing to solving the region's priority problems. From
the outset of this project, Brent understood the need to provide
thoughtful organization and structure to foster participant interaction.

His efforts included: (1) coordinating the working group's response to
white papers developed by state partners describing the problems, and
identifying five priority regional issues; and (2) proposing and
implementing an "Activities Commitment Matrix" that summarized actions
federal and state agencies were offering to take in response to the
needs highlighted in the white papers. The final list of commitments
grew to over 170 proposed actions, and became the primary information
source in the collaboration process. Brent also (3) coordinated the NOAA
response to the white papers. He proposed and organized the NOAA
Network, which brought together contributors from across NOAA into a
single group to share ideas and make proposals for actions the agency
could take to support the Alliance priorities; (4) organized meetings
and conference calls among the working group, the Alliance Core Team
(state leads and working group co-chairs), and the individual issue
teams, always ensuring that agendas and follow-up summaries documented
the discussions and agreements; and (5) proposed and began a series of
implementation work sessions for stakeholders following the Summit to
capitalize on the momentum generated by the formal release of the
*Governor's Action Plan.*

Each of these achievements required many time-consuming conversations,
e-mails, and, in some cases, face-to-face planning sessions with
participants to identify goals and objectives and work out details.
Brent was always willing to give this time to ensure that the
opportunities for collaboration were numerous and well planned.

**Outreach and Communication** -- Brent understood the importance of
clearly communicating the objectives and status of the working group's
and the Alliance's activities to federal and state leaders and to
interested stakeholders and the public. He proposed and produced several
outreach and communication products and activities to increase awareness
about the GOM Alliance. These included: (1) the initial Alliance
presentation that became the template for all subsequent briefing
packets; (2) a series of one-page project descriptions that Alliance
partners used to educate others in their agencies and potential
stakeholders; (3) a script and storyboard for a video that introduced
the *Governor's Action Plan* at the Summit; and (4) substantive content
and visuals for the Alliance website. Brent also played a central role
in producing the *Action Plan* itself. He proposed the structure and
organization used as the basis for the *Action Plan*; undertook an
extensive review of each draft, and wrote the executive summary, and
composed the introductory letters signed by the Gulf Governors and the
Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Finally,
he gave numerous status briefings to groups such as the Mission Goal
Team Leads and the NOAA Ocean Council to keep them apprised of the
project's progress. All of these efforts contributed greatly to
increased awareness of, and commitment to, the Alliance's goals.

**Focus** -- Critical to the Alliance's success was Brent's
determination to keep all participants focused on the most important
actions to address the priority problems. His good-natured yet firm
requests that federal and state stakeholders rein in their desires to
greatly expand and, as a consequence, dilute the list of needs, kept the
plan from becoming a "Christmas tree" of unrelated and
difficult-to-execute actions and commitments.

Over the past year, Brent helped drive forward this important experiment
in regional ecosystem management by effectively managing details both
large and small, continually encouraging participants to engage other
stakeholders, working closely with other key players in NOAA, and
directing the development of a suite of products that greatly enhanced
communication about, and awareness of, the GOM Alliance. In sum, Brent
made a significant contribution to NOAA's mission to protect, restore,
and manage the use of coastal and ocean resources through an
ecosystem-based approach to management. His energy, imagination, and
positive approach produced a singular accomplishment in the *Governor's
Action Plan*. For this important achievement, he is a most deserving
recipient of NOAA's Administrator's Award.

**Alicia L. Jarboe**

**NOS**

**Nomination \# 7**

**1. Full Name of Nominee:** Alicia L. Jarboe

**2. Major Line or Staff Office of Nominee:** NOS

**3. Position Title and Grade for Nominee:** Management and Program
Analyst, GS-0343-14

**4. Past Awards for Nominee:** NOAA General Counsel Award (1999); NOAA
Fisheries EEO Advisory Committee Award (1995)

**5. Nominator's Name and Major Line or Staff Office:** Gary C. Matlock,
NOS

**6. Certificate Citation:** For providing exemplary public service by
simultaneously fulfilling multiple responsibilities, including serving
as NCCOS Acting Deputy Director.

**7. Justification:**

Alicia Jarboe joined NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
(NCCOS) in July 2005 to assist NCCOS Headquarters with strategic
planning; budget formulation and execution; and development and
oversight of the NCCOS science agenda, with particular emphasis on
mercury contamination in U.S. estuaries and coastal areas.  She was
instrumental in the completion of a Concept of Operations document for
research on the ecological effects of mercury in coastal ecosystems,
which required the approval of three NOAA Line Offices, six PPBES
Program Offices, and two Goal Teams.  At the same time, she convinced
NOAA leadership to include a budget alternative totaling \$10.6 million
to integrate research on the transfer of mercury from the atmosphere to
people. These accomplishments are testaments to her ability to work with
and influence colleagues with diverse backgrounds, experiences,
interests, and scientific disciplines.

During the time that she was completing the aforementioned assignments,
Ms. Jarboe was asked to lead and participate in areas far beyond those
expected of her staff position. She became the primary financial grants
officer for the entire NCCOS organization, which encompasses
Headquarters, four centers, and three laboratories, and involves
approximately \$20-30 million in grants annually. This new assignment
also included the extramural research component of new legislation --
the Oceans and Human Health (OHH) Act -- which encompassed approximately
\$6 million in funds last year and involves offices NOAA-wide.  Ms.
Jarboe immediately immersed herself in this assignment, learned the
requirements, won the confidence of NCCOS employees and contractors,
offered valuable suggestions, and provided direction and oversight.  As
a result, NCCOS submitted all of its grants, including those affiliated
with OHH, to NOAA ahead of schedule.

Then, in September 2005, Ms. Jarboe accepted the vacant position of
NCCOS Acting Deputy Director. In less than nine months, she has applied
her managerial skills to guide improved business operating practices in
the NCCOS science agenda, address several contentious human capital
issues, improve the consistency of personnel performance plans and
evaluations, and address an appropriations reduction of \$25 million
from FY 05 to FY 06. Her ability to lead and guide the NCCOS
organization is clear, and has already resulted in a more productive and
efficient workplace.

In addition, based on her exemplary performance on NOS's committee to
improve NOAA's implementation of DOC regulations regarding access
limitations on information, facilities, and equipment by foreign
nationals working at NOAA ("deemed exports"), Ms. Jarboe served as the
NOS representative to the NOAA committee on deemed exports in lieu of
the NOS Deputy Assistant Administrator. Her commitment to improving the
implementation of these NOAA and DOC policies will help the agency and
country meet national security interests.

Ms. Jarboe's 30 years of Federal service, including service to NOAA
since 1992, provides a strong base of knowledge and experience about
Federal and NOAA programs, which helped her assist NCCOS staff in NOAA's
Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution System (PPBES) process,
and the Office of Management and Budget review of the NCCOS organization
using its Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) process. She makes
informed, independent decisions when necessary, and completes complex
assignments within all of the associated constraints. Ms. Jarboe's
contributions to NCCOS, NOS, and NOAA are unquestionably worthy of
recognition with the NOAA Administrator's Award.

**Jonathan Justi**

**NOS**

**Nomination \# 8**

Nominee: Jonathan C. Justi

Nominee's Office: National Ocean Service

Position title and grade: International Affairs Specialist. GS-14-Step 6

Past Awards: None

Nominator's Name: Clement Lewsey, National Ocean Service

Certificate Citation: For vision and leadership building NOAA's
engagement with China in integrated coastal and ocean resources
management.

[Justification]{.underline}

Since 1999, Jonathan Justi has been responsible for developing NOAA's
integrated coastal and ocean resources management program with China.
Over the years, he has built the program from one initially based on
short-term, low-impact exchanges into one that is increasingly
long-term, integrated and anchored within NOAA programs. NOAA's coastal
program with China now supports policy goals articulated by the White
House and the Departments of State and Commerce. Along the way, Jonathan
also built ties with the U.S. private sector and the nongovernmental
(NGO) community to build the partnerships necessary to substantially
advance capacity for ecosystem approaches to coastal management in China
and to transfer U.S. technology.

The NOAA coastal program with China is unique. It now involves discrete
scientific collaboration in many areas within a resource management
framework linked to ocean policy and governance drivers. The array of
stakeholders now involved in the NOAA coastal program not only includes
NOAA leadership and strong technical support from Program Offices, but
also the Department of State, the private sector, and the international
NGO community. Each of these elements brings critical skills, resources,
and strengths that dramatically improve the program's ability to
successfully address capacity-building needs for improved resource
management. In addition to aligning the U.S. partners, the effort could
not succeed without the support of the Chinese government from the
national to the local level. Jonathan successfully led the strategy and
negotiation process with the Chinese government from the field to the
national government to secure their buy-in to this highly innovative,
broad-based, collaborative approach.

As a result of Jonathan's vision, determination, and leadership, NOAA is
now strongly positioned to lead by example in supporting the *U.S. Ocean
Action Plan* and the goals of the Departments of Commerce and State to
promote "environmental stewardship" while "making China a responsible
stakeholder of the worldwide community." Four 2005 milestones are
highlighted in this award nomination for achievements in strengthening
NOAA's coastal program collaboration with China:

[*Ocean Policy Forum*:]{.underline} Jonathan designed a two-day,
six-nation, high-level ocean agency dialogue to showcase the President's
recent release of the *U.S. Ocean Action Plan*, raise visibility to
elevate new ocean management directions in the U.S. and NOAA's
leadership role therein, and establish a venue for ocean agencies to
explore and highlight common management challenges and response
measures. Despite initial opposition by the U.S. State Department to
including certain items on the agenda, Jonathan was able, by mobilizing
NOAA's Office of General Counsel, the Assistant Administrator of the
National Ocean Service, and the State Department's own Office of Ocean
Environmental and Science Affairs, to ultimately gain State Department
approval of the effort and its participation on the NOAA-led delegation.
As a direct result of this effort, the Chinese Ocean Press and State
Oceanic Administration translated the *U.S. Ocean Action Plan* and the
Pew Ocean Commission Report into Chinese to support their own internal
discussions on ocean governance reform in China. The Forum also helped
achieve a key U.S. interest in advancing Chinese commitment to join
interagency negotiations for an agreement to improve protection of
underwater cultural heritage and the management of submerged vessels
involving NOAA, the U.S. State Department, the China's State Oceanic
Administration, and China's State Cultural Heritage Administration. The
meeting was so successful that the Korea Ministry of Maritime Affairs
and Fisheries offered to host a second meeting in 2007 to continue this
high-level discourse.

[*Managing Biodiversity in Coastal Areas of Southern
China*:]{.underline} Jonathan successfully integrated NOAA's unfunded
marine protected area management partnership program with China into the
United Nations development assistance portfolio. Using the U.S.-led
contribution (organized by Jonathan) as a foundation, the Chinese
government launched a \$12 million/8-year initiative with financial
support from the Global Environment Facility. Two of four project sites
in this initiative are partner reserves with NOAA's Florida Keys
National Marine Sanctuary and Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research
Reserve -- partnerships that Jonathan helped establish in 1997/98. In
addition to developing NOAA's role on the project steering committee and
organizing NOAA pledges of technical assistance, Jonathan also generated
external support from two U.S. corporations and two key NGO
organizations. The initiative was ultimately approved by the Global
Environment Facility and Chinese Ministry of Finance in Spring 2005 and
formally launched in the winter of 2005/06. This program provides a
powerful platform for NOAA to showcase its global leadership in resource
conservation practices, and provides opportunities to build Chinese
management practices along lines pioneered in the U.S.

*[Integrated Coastal Management Emergency Response System Feasibility
Study:]{.underline}* Jonathan played a key early role in the creation of
an opportunity for the U.S. commercial sector to undertake a feasibility
study for a coastal ocean observation and response system in China's
Bohai Sea. He defined interest within NOAA, the U.S. Embassy, and the
Commerce Department's International Trade Administration to influence
Chinese thinking as they considered the design of a coastal ocean
observing system. The feasibility study builds on NOAA's integrated
ocean observing system (IOOS) interests and priorities and brings
potentially significant commercial opportunities to U.S. industry. The
U.S. Trade and Development Agency approved the \$400,000 feasibility
study proposal in the winter of 2005. NOAA will provide technical advice
based on its observation programs and will tap technical cooperation
efforts being pursued in the bilateral program with China in support of
this effort.

*[Zheng He Ocean Voyages and Ocean Expo]{.underline}*: With
approximately 8 months' advance notice, NOAA leadership decided to
exhibit at a major national venue in Shanghai, China, commemorating the
600^th^ year anniversary of the Chinese Explorer Zheng He. Despite
having no secured funding, no internal program partnership, no existing
exhibit, and some persistent staff-level reluctance within NOAA,
Jonathan designed a plan and led a NOAA-wide approach to secure a strong
exhibit at this major public event. He assembled funding contributions
and programmatic support across NOAA, including NOAA headquarters and
three Line Offices. Furthermore, by creatively scheduling two
technically unrelated exchanges, also under the NOAA coastal program,
Jonathan made it possible to include four NOAA scientists to support the
exhibit and participate in the public education and outreach effort in
addition to their primary technical mission. Jonathan also gained
support from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, his contacts in
China, and within NOAA to translate NOAA posters into the Chinese
language. This enabled NOAA to effectively bring its message to the
Chinese audience, which ultimately exceeded 100,000 people. Jonathan
raised approximately \$80,000 in funding support from across NOAA for
travel, shipping, and construction. During the exposition, the Chinese
government recognized NOAA' s outstanding booth, designed by the Office
of Public Affairs, with a first-place award. NOAA was also recognized in
local print and television media.

# 

# Kathy Salter

**NOS**

**Nomination \# 9**

**List of Awards and Commendations (excluding CIYA; Performance; Special
Action):**

NOS Employee of the Year, 1999.

**Nominator:** Brian Julius

Supervisor

Office of Response and Restoration (ORR)

Silver Spring, MD

**[Certificate Citation]{.underline}**

For outstanding leadership in the improvement of ORR budget processes
through the development of new approaches and training/mentoring of
financial staff.

**[Justification]{.underline}**

Per the goal of achieving organizational excellence and providing
critical support to the NOAA and ORR mission, the nominee's challenge
was twofold: (1) to develop a budget process that facilitated improved
financial decision-making and execution in support of ORR's corporate
goals, rather than narrowly focusing on the needs of a specific
division; and (2) to improve customer service to ORR managers.

Kathy Salter is responsible for executing the most complex budget within
NOS, consisting of six funding lines, five divisions/groups, over 100
separate reimbursable accounts, a multi-million-dollar revolving fund, a
dozen grants, and three large special programs (the Coral Reef
Conservation Program, Pribilof Islands cleanup, and Marine Debris
program). A \$2.8 million reduction in ORR's base funding in FY 2006
further complicated managing this budget. Additionally, since late 2004,
the primary ORR financial staff experienced more than 50 percent
turnover due to retirements and departures of longtime key personnel.

Ms. Salter worked closely with the Business Services Group (BSG) Manager
to develop a transparent, zero-based budget process where divisional
budget allocations were determined based on the projected requirements
of each division, rather than on historical allocation patterns.

On the customer service side, Ms. Salter, in concert with the BSG
managers, instituted a "Point of Contact" (POC) approach, whereby each
primary BSG financial staff member was assigned a specific division for
whose budget they would be responsible. In addition, she conducted
regular financial management meetings and extensive group and individual
training/tutorial sessions for the new financial staff. This training
imparted critical information to the staff and helped develop the
financial team's cohesiveness and identity despite the close divisional
associations of the individuals. Ms. Salter's efforts and influence in
this area are not limited to ORR. She is acknowledged throughout NOS and
NOAA as an expert in matters of budget execution, and gives generously
of her time in assisting, training and mentoring financial staff in
other NOAA offices.

In the 2005 BSG client satisfaction survey, the finance group received a
92% satisfaction rating with regard to the quality of the information
they provided, and a 98% satisfaction rating with regard to timeliness.
Based on subsequent improvements that Ms. Salter implemented in the
financial tracking and reporting processes, these numbers are expected
to climb even higher in 2006. Despite the complexities of the ORR
budget, over 98.8% of the FY 2005 ORR-appropriated base funds were
obligated according to plan. The improved budget process also assisted
the ORR managers in reaching full consensus on budget priorities despite
a \$2.8 million shortfall in FY 2006. Qualitatively, the enhanced
transparency of the budget process increased trust among the managers
and broke down longstanding walls between divisions.

The revamped budget process took two budget cycles to fully implement
(Summer 2004 to Fall 2005). Through internal BSG evaluation and feedback
from ORR senior managers, Ms. Salter continues to reevaluate and improve
components of the process. The financial POC approach was instituted in
Fall 2004; however, the training/mentoring of these POCs is ongoing.

The above accomplishments have had a number of impacts relative to DOC's
mission support goals of employing an efficient budgeting/execution
system, and improving the efficiency, accountability and transparency of
administrative processes. Specifically, the improved ORR budget process
allows for increased flexibility in aligning the budget with shifts in
ORR priorities over time. The increased transparency, which openly
documents the sources of all budget data elements and assumptions,
facilitates a consensus process among ORR managers in addressing budget
allocation issues to further the organization's broader corporate goals.

The financial POC approach allows the POCs to learn the inner workings
of their assigned division and develop a close customer relationship
with that division's manager, leading to increased understanding,
accountability, and feedback, and, ultimately, better customer service.

The enhancements to the budget process have formed the basis for a
longer-term strategic evaluation of the alignment between ORR's mission
priorities and resource allocation decisions, commencing in FY 2006. As
federal budgets are likely to be more uncertain in the coming years due
to an array of national economic forces, flexible, transparent and
accurate budget processes will be essential for the effective operation
of NOAA programs. The extensive cross-training and mentoring of the POCs
is expected to have major benefits to succession planning and continuity
within ORR, as a number of our key financial staff are eligible for
retirement within the next 3-5 years.

In addition to the specific benefits cited above, these accomplishments
proved the effectiveness of the POC approach coupled with regular,
quantitative customer feedback mechanisms and a continual improvement
process. Because of the success of this approach in the budget arena, it
has been extended to many other areas of BSG's support to ORR, resulting
in a 95% overall customer satisfaction rating. As a result, it helped
spur a major succession planning initiative within ORR.

In summary, Ms. Salter's accomplishments have both quantitatively and
qualitatively improved ORR's budget formulation and execution processes,
substantially increased customer satisfaction, and positioned ORR to
more effectively meet future financial and organizational challenges.

**National Marine Fisheries Service**

**Galen Tromble**

**NMFS**

**Nomination \# 10**

**[Nominee(s) Information]{.underline}**

  --------------- ----------------------- -------------- ----------------
  First and Last  NOAA Fisheries Service  Position Title Past Awards
  Name, Ph.D.(if                          & Grade or Pay (e.g. Department
  appropriate)                            Band           Gold Medal)

  Galen Tromble   Office of Sustainable   ZP---480-V     
                  Fisheries                              
  --------------- ----------------------- -------------- ----------------

**[Nominator's Name]{.underline}**

William T. Hogarth, Ph.D.

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

**[Certificate Text]{.underline}**

For developing and implementing a comprehensive Fish Stock
Sustainability Index as one of the

Government Performance and Results Act Performance Measures for NOAA.

**[Justification or Narrative]{.underline}**

Galen Tromble developed and implemented an innovative Government
Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Fish Stock Sustainability Index
(FSSI) that comprehensively measures the sustainability of 230 important
fish stocks. Creating such an index was necessary to meet the challenge
of measuring real world outcomes mandated by GPRA and the guidance by
the Department to NOAA to reduce the number of its GPRA performance
measures. To ensure transparency of the data used to compute the
comprehensive index, Mr. Tromble created an Internet site available to
NOAA stakeholders since fall 2005.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires
NOAA to identify overfished stocks, rebuild them to the level that
provides maximum sustainable yield, prevent overfishing on all stocks,
and scientifically assess the status of fishery stocks consistent with
these definitions. Included for the first time in the President's 2007
budget, the FSSI tracks the outcome of building and maintaining fish
stocks at highly productive levels by incorporating the critical
components of managing fish harvest rates and the status of population
levels of specific fish stocks. The value of the FSSI continuously
increases as new status determinations on unknown stocks are made, as
overfishing is ended, and as stocks rebuild, first to the level at which
they are no longer overfished, and then to the fully rebuilt level that
provides Maximum Sustainable Yield. Previously tracked as separate GPRA
measures, these critical factors now are integrated into one
comprehensive index. Also, the earlier GPRA measures tracked the
rebuilding progress of only 40 fish stocks, identified as overfished in
2000, while the new FSSI tracks the progress of 230 stocks.

During 2004 and 2005, Mr. Tromble worked with the NOAA Ecosystem
Observations Program (EOP) to identify 230 fish stocks for use in both
the FSSI and in an EOP performance measure that identifies the
increasing number of stocks for which adequate assessments are
completed. The factors used to select stocks included: importance to
commercial or recreational fisheries, status as overfished or subject to
overfishing, and likelihood of being assessed in the next 5 years. He
also developed a reporting system, updated quarterly, that tracks all
the separate data for each of the components of the FSSI across all 230
fishery stocks. Available since the fall of 2005 on a publicly
accessible web site, this reporting system ensures that the index is
transparent and provides key data to NOAA's stakeholders.

Mr. Tromble's achievement of a comprehensive and publicly available
FSSI, updated on a quarterly basis, is a major advancement in corporate
performance management and a best practice for other NOAA programs to
follow.

**Kathleen Jewett/Julie Peddy**

**NMFS**

**Nomination \# 11**

**[Nominee(s) Information]{.underline}**

+----------------+-----------------+---------------+------------------+
| First and Last | NOAA Fisheries  | Position      | Past Awards      |
| Name, Ph.D.(if | Service         | Title & Grade | (e.g. Department |
| appropriate)   |                 | or Pay Band   | Gold Medal)      |
+----------------+-----------------+---------------+------------------+
| Kathleen       | NOAA Northwest  | Business &    | N/A              |
| Jewett         | Fisheries       | Industry      |                  |
|                | Science Center  | Specialist,   |                  |
|                |                 |               |                  |
|                |                 | GS-1101-12    |                  |
+----------------+-----------------+---------------+------------------+
| Julie Peddy    | NOAA Northwest  | A             | NOAA Diversity   |
|                | Fisheries       | dministrative | Spectrum (2001)  |
|                | Science Center  | Officer,      | NOAA Best        |
|                |                 | ZA-4/3        | Practices (2001) |
+----------------+-----------------+---------------+------------------+

**[Nominator's Name]{.underline}**

William T. Hogarth, Ph.D.

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

**[Certificate Text]{.underline}**

For initiating extensive NOAA internships in science, technology,
engineering, mathematics, and business administration for students from
underrepresented communities.

**[Justification or Narrative]{.underline}**

In support of NOAA's mission goal to recruit and develop a diverse and
competent workforce, Julie Peddy and Kathleen Jewett created a highly
successful student internship program at the NOAA Fisheries Northwest
Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC). Partnering with programs such as
Minority Serving Institutions, Hollings Scholars, and the ENTRY POINT!
Program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS), this internship program grew from 20 to 68 students, annually,
during the past 5 years. Interns range from high school through
post-doctoral students, disabled students, and disadvantaged adults
returning to the workforce. These high caliber individuals, mentored by
NOAA staff, receive exposure to scientific and technical career
possibilities in NOAA. Subsequently, six of those participating were
hired as federal employees and another 15 were hired as contractor staff
at the NWFSC.

With 17% of its full-time permanent staff eligible to retire within the
next 5 years, recruiting new staff at the NWFSC is of upmost importance.
Concentrating on the professional areas where the NWFSC is most
vulnerable to pending retirements, Ms. Jewett and Ms. Peddy targeted
minority students and students with disabilities, both of which are
underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and
mathematical fields. Many of the internship programs established by Ms
Peddy and Ms. Jewett focus on these underserved populations by linking
with external partners to serve students from these communities.

Five years ago, Ms. Peddy and Ms. Jewett established a partnership with
Washington State to provide internships for students enrolled at 42
community and technical colleges. The partnership recommends that
recruitment actions be conducted through the cultural affairs offices at
the colleges as well as through career and internship centers. Due to
declining employment in the traditional fishing industry in the Pacific
Northwest Coast communities, the existing workforce requires
re-training. The young people in these often rural and
socio-economically stressed areas also require alternative career paths.
Many of the students attending community colleges in Washington State
and Oregon are enrolled for these reasons. Ms. Peddy and Ms. Jewett
assist in placing students from colleges such as the Oregon Coast
Community College and Clatsop Community College in intern programs at
the NWFSC. In recognition of its outstanding efforts to provide
internships for disabled youth, the NWFSC was honored by the Washington
State Governor's Committee on Disability and Employment Issues with a
"Youth Employer of the Year" award in 2004.

Similarly, the Seattle Public Schools' program targets students from
inner-city schools, many of whom are from foster homes, one-parent
families or families with socio-economic barriers. Ms. Jewett and Ms.
Peddy worked with the schools to place students in intern programs with
the NOAA Science Camp and the Western Regional Center. Coordinating with
the Seattle Jobs Initiative (SJI), a nonprofit organization that creates
opportunities for people to support themselves and their families
through living wage careers, Ms. Jewett and Ms. Peddy organize 11-week
internships at the NWFSC. For the past two years, the SJI recognized the
NWFSC as an outstanding employer at its annual Employer's Recognition
Luncheon.

Initiating a partnership with the AAAS ENTRY POINT! Program in the
summer of 2004, the NWFSC hosted two ENTRY POINT! Interns - a Ph.D. in
the biological sciences from the University of California -- Davis and a
business administration undergraduate from the University of Oregon. A
year later, the NWFSC served as a NOAA hub for this program. Expanding
participation in this program throughout NOAA and with the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, 12 interns were placed from
Hawaii, to Seattle, to New Orleans, to Maryland in the summer of 2005.
Their majors ranged from an environmental engineering undergraduate
student from the University of New Hampshire, to a meteorology
undergraduate from Northern Illinois University. The program for 2006 is
in the recruitment stage, with six interns placed for the summer and
another five internships pending. One of the six students is returning
to NOAA for a second ENTRY POINT! internship.

Ms. Jewett's and Ms. Peddy's efforts to increase the number of NOAA
internships that include students from underrepresented communities at
the high school through graduate school levels are a striking success.

**Steven L. Thomas**

**NMFS**

**Nomination \# 12**

**[Nominee]{.underline}**

Steven L. Thomas

Southwest Region, NMFS

Hydraulic Engineer, ZP-III

No past awards

**[Nominator's Name]{.underline}**

William T. Hogarth, Ph.D.

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

**[Certificate Text]{.underline}**

For design, construction, implementation, and maintenance of large
scale, cost effective fish screening projects to protect Pacific salmon
species in California's Central Valley.

**[Justification or Narrative]{.underline}**

Steven Thomas is instrumental in design, construction, and
implementation of large scale fish screening projects that protect
Pacific salmon species from entrainment mortality by large scale water
diversions in California's Central Valley. His contributions include:
developing a mathematical analysis of the importance of precise probe
alignment in the use of acoustic doppler velocimeter technology;
performing hydraulic analyses of flow patterns at existing fish screen
protection installations; creating cost-effective fish screen facility
design improvements; leading NOAA scuba diving operations in field
investigations of fish screening performance; and guiding construction
of new fish screen protection systems in critical spawning areas for
endangered winter-run Chinook salmon.

Mr. Thomas' engineering achievements substantially advanced the
state-of-the-art in the field of applied hydraulic engineering for
fisheries management. As NOAA's lead engineering advisor on state and
federal technical advisory committees, he is widely recognized as a
regional expert in the hydraulic analysis of aquatic environments. Mr.
Thomas' mathematical analysis of 'acoustic doppler velocimeter'
technology is considered a seminal work in the field of aquatic velocity
measurement and was officially adopted by the Department of Interior's
Anadromous Fish Screen Program. His analysis demonstrates the importance
of precise probe alignment in generating accurate, reliable, and
reproducible field measurements.

Mr. Thomas instituted an integrated hydraulic engineering testing
approach to optimize the performance of the world's longest fish
screening system at the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District (GCID) on
California's Sacramento River. He now is viewed as the regional expert
for efforts to optimize system performance. Currently, he is designing
new tools and technological applications for better balancing of the
flow dynamics of the 1100 foot long screens. These screens must provide
safe hydraulic conditions in the stream corridor for hundreds of
thousands of juvenile salmon in their annual migration to the Pacific
Ocean.

Mr. Thomas assisted in design, construction, and hydraulic evaluation of
the new fishways on Butte Creek, a major tributary to the Sacramento
River. After several years of refinement of the hydraulic
characteristics of the fishways, federal and state government biologists
are noticing big rewards. Last year, large numbers of *threatened*
spring-run Chinook salmon successfully returned to Butte Creek. Adult
salmon and steelhead swam successfully through the new engineered
fishways (formerly obstacles to their migration) and their progeny are
protected during their out-migration by state-of-the-art fish screens.

[]{.mark}

For more than 10 years, preventing fish entrainment at the City of
Redding, CA water diversion was a high priority for the NOAA Fisheries
Southwest Region. In 2005, City officials responded to Mr. Thomas'
persuasive reasoning by building a fish screen at the existing intake
facility, rather than delaying the project for several more years.

Mr. Thomas uses his science and engineering knowledge to ensure that
engineering designs are built in a timely and cost-effective manner. In
the case of Sutter Mutual, a project under construction, Mr. Thomas'
recommendations to improve the project design will reduce project costs
by over \$2 million without compromising fish safety. Further, in the
case of Patterson Irrigation District, he convinced CalFed Bay-Delta
Authority to withhold funds for final project engineering design until
the District agreed to significant cost-saving measures.

Assuming the role of 'NOAA Divemaster' for the Southwest Region's scuba
team in 2005, Mr. Thomas combines engineering knowledge with underwater
research capabilities to detect the effectiveness of fish passage
performance during underwater inspections of existing facilities. He
reorganized the NOAA dive unit, updated its safety equipment and
protocols, and ensured continuity in the Region's diving capabilities.
In two notable instances, the dive team identified damage to underwater
structures of multi-million dollar fish screening systems. One was at a
private agricultural water diversion on the Sacramento River
(Princeton-Codura-Glenn), and the other was at the Bureau of
Reclamation's Tracy Fish Salvage Facility in the San Francisco Delta.
These damaged structures were performing at substandard levels, allowing
significant fish entrainment to occur without detection. Following
identification of these problems, repairs were made in a timely fashion.

Mr. Thomas' extensive contributions significantly promote the economic
viability of commercial and recreational fishing as well as improve
conditions for Pacific salmon in their upper Sacramento River habitat.

[]{.mark}

**Lynne Barre/J. Brent Norberg**

**NMFS**

**Nomination \# 13**

**[Nominee(s) Information]{.underline}**

+--------------+-------------------+-----------------+----------------+
| First and    | NOAA Fisheries    | Position Title  | Past Awards    |
| Last Name,   | Service           | & Grade or Pay  | (e.g.          |
| Ph.D.(if     |                   | Band            | Department     |
| appropriate) |                   |                 | Gold Medal)    |
+--------------+-------------------+-----------------+----------------+
| Lynne Barre  | Northwest         | Marine Mammal   |                |
|              | Regional Office   | Specialist      |                |
|              |                   | ZP-03           |                |
+--------------+-------------------+-----------------+----------------+
| J. Brent     | Northwest         | Fisheries       | Administrator  |
| Norberg      | Regional Office   | Biologist Mgmt  | Award, 2003    |
|              |                   |                 |                |
|              |                   | ZP-03           |                |
+--------------+-------------------+-----------------+----------------+

**[Nominator's Name]{.underline}**

William T. Hogarth, Ph.D.

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

**[Certificate Text]{.underline}**

For creativity, teamwork, and professional excellence in protecting
endangered Southern Resident killer whales and promoting their
conservation.

**[Justification or Narrative]{.underline}**

Lynne Barre and Brent Norberg substantially advanced NOAA's protection
and conservation of Southern Resident killer whales through three key
efforts: developed the first modern conservation plan under the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA); conducted an expansive public education
campaign to reduce vessel interference -- one of the major threats to
killer whales; and completed a status review and listing determination
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Obtaining and using the best
available scientific information, this Team skillfully applied the
guiding laws and regulations to develop creative solutions, while
diligently engaging the public in the process through meaningful and
repeated outreach efforts.

In 2002, the NOAA Fisheries Service reviewed the status of Southern
Resident killer whales and concluded that this population did not
qualify as a "species" under the ESA. The Fisheries Service recognized,
however, that this important marine mammals stock was at risk for
maintaining sustainable population levels. Before its final ESA
determination, the Fisheries Service launched a further review to
determine whether these whales qualified as a "depleted stock" under the
MMPA. Ms. Barre and Mr. Norberg spearheaded this subsequent review.
Coordinating with NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National
Marine Mammal Lab, experts from Canada and Washington State, and experts
and interested parties from non-governmental whale advocacy groups, the
Team's efforts culminated in a depleted designation under the MMPA in
May of 2003.

Throughout 2003 and 2004, Ms. Barre and Mr. Norberg worked in
cooperation with these same parties to develop a conservation plan for
the Southern Resident killer whales under the MMPA. Released in March
2005 as the first modern conservation plan, it prioritizes conservation
actions, including needed research, and establishes responsibility for
those actions. The NOAA Fisheries Service is using this proposed plan to
guide its subsequent killer whale decisions.

While working on the conservation plan, Ms. Barre and Mr. Norberg also
mounted an expansive public education effort. During both the ESA and
MMPA reviews, scientists consistently warned of harm to the whales from
interference by whale-watching and recreational vessels. The Team
realized that education and outreach was the best approach to
immediately address this threat. Collaborating with their colleagues in
Canada and Washington State, as well as experts in local
non-governmental organizations, they developed posters, bumper stickers
and presentations. Their "Be Whale Wise" posters now appear at marinas
throughout Puget Sound, on the sides of city buses, and on billboards.
Ms. Barre and Mr. Norberg spoke to numerous boating groups and
classrooms, and coordinated with the Seattle Aquarium to develop the
Aquarium's killer whale family education center. Partnering with NOAA's
Office for Law Enforcement and the U.S. Coast Guard, they provided
similar information to vessels on the water. Their enthusiastic efforts
in this arena are a substantial contribution to the NOAA's cross-cutting
priority of "promoting environmental literacy."

In 2004, a U.S. district court struck down the NOAA Fisheries Service's
2002 decision that Southern Resident killer whales did not constitute a
"species" under the ESA. In the middle of developing the conservation
plan and pursuing the "Be Whale Wise Campaign," Ms. Barre and Mr.
Norberg turned to the arduous task of conducting a new status review,
under the guidelines set by the court. They convened a Biological Review
Team, composed of leading NOAA scientists, to review the "species"
question. Whale taxonomists recognize only one single world-wide species
of killer whales. NOAA biologists believed this world-wide
classification likely was in error, and killer whales probably could be
divided into more species, but a consensus in the scientific community
identifying those divisions did not exist.

Taking the lead, Ms. Barre and Mr. Norberg worked with the NOAA
Northwest Fisheries Science Center and National Marine Mammal Lab to
convene a workshop of the world's experts on killer whale taxonomy. The
meeting had to occur prior to the court-ordered deadline for a new ESA
decision. Again, the experts were unable to agree on more than one
world-wide species. This Team led the group to a breakthrough by
considering possible subspecies structures, and then developing an
analysis from that decision to conclude that the Southern Residents
qualified as a "species" under the ESA. They developed a proposed
listing package, conducted two public hearings, considered comments, and
compiled scientific information, which culminated in the final
successful determination to grant Southern Resident killer whales
protection as an endangered species under the ESA.

The outstanding efforts of Ms. Barre and Mr. Norberg enabled the listing
of the Southern Resident killer whales under the Endangered Species Act,
thereby protecting this valuable marine mammal.

> **Michelle Day Group**
>
> **NMFS**
>
> **Nomination \# 14**

+---------------+--------------------+--------------+-----------------+
| First and     | NOAA Fisheries     | Position     | Past Awards     |
| Last Name,    | Service            | Title &      | (e.g.           |
| Ph.D.(if      |                    | Grade or Pay | Department Gold |
| appropriate)  |                    | Band         | Medal)          |
+---------------+--------------------+--------------+-----------------+
| Michelle Day  | Northwest Region   | Fish         |                 |
|               |                    | Biologist,   |                 |
|               |                    |              |                 |
|               |                    | ZP-03        |                 |
+---------------+--------------------+--------------+-----------------+
| Keith         | Northwest Region   | Supv. Nat.   | Bronze (2003,   |
| Kirkendall    |                    | Resource     | 2000)           |
|               |                    | Mgmt Spec,   |                 |
|               |                    | ZP-04        |                 |
+---------------+--------------------+--------------+-----------------+
| Jane          | General Council,   | Attorney     | Gold (2004)     |
| Hannuksela    | Northwest          | Advisor, GS  |                 |
|               |                    | 15           | Bronze (1999)   |
|               |                    |              |                 |
|               |                    |              | Administrators  |
|               |                    |              | (2002, 2005)    |
+---------------+--------------------+--------------+-----------------+
| Chris         | General Council,   | Attorney     |                 |
| Fontecchio    | Northwest          | Advisor, GS  |                 |
|               |                    | 14           |                 |
+---------------+--------------------+--------------+-----------------+

**[Nominator's Name]{.underline}**

William T. Hogarth, Ph.D.

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

**[Certificate Citation]{.underline}**:

For exemplary leadership and professional excellence in completing
negotiations to restore salmon runs in the Lewis River Basin in
conjunction with re-licensing the dam complex.

**[Narrative]{.underline}:**

Michelle Day, Keith Kirkendall, Jane Hannuksela, and Chris Fontecchio
skillfully led successful negotiations to restore salmon runs in the
Lewis River Basin. Coordinating with 25 different parties during a
15-month period, this Team's successful efforts culminated more than
seven years of work in the signing of the Lewis Hydroelectric Power
Settlement Agreement in November 2004. Under the agreement, PacifiCorp
committed to future investments of more than \$100 million for
protection, mitigation, and enhancement measures covering fish,
wildlife, recreation, and flood management during the 50 year lease
period.

To obtain this agreement, the Team crafted conditions for a new
hydropower license that were well coordinated with other Federal and
state resource interests, fulfilled Tribal trust responsibilities,
considered municipal and county government concerns, and addressed
private interests. Further, the agreement contributes to the recovery of
Lower Columbia River Chinook, coho and steelhead, plus Columbia River
chum, all of which are listed under the Endangered Species Act and occur
in the project area.

The Lewis Hydroelectric Projects consist of a three-dam complex located
at the center of the Lewis River Basin. PacifiCorp operates 14 parks and
day-use facilities, used by a half of million people each year, along
the Lewis River and the shores of Merwin, Yale, and Swift reservoirs.
The dams form a complete barrier to access of over 174 miles of habitat
for anadromous fish, including chinook salmon, coho salmon, chum salmon,
and steelhead. Consequently, the public interest in this re-licensing
process was immense and diverse.

The Settlement Agreement details a complex and far-reaching plan wherein
salmon and steelhead will be reintroduced to large amounts of
historically productive fish habitat. State-of-the-art fish passage
systems will transport adult fish around dams while net collectors
gather juvenile fish for transport downstream. Hatchery fish initially
will be used to kick start the reintroduction program. Over time, as
naturally produced fish increase in numbers, hatchery supplementation
will be tapered off. Rigorous scientific monitoring and evaluation are
built into the agreement to provide for adaptive management as new data
and information become available over the next 40 years.

The agreement also addresses flood management, which first became a
critical role of these dams in the 1930's. The settlement provides a new
automated notification system for residents along the river for use
during high-runoff events. Plus PacifiCorp partnered with NOAA's
National Weather Service to install and maintain a Weather Radio
transmitter whose warnings are freely accessible to watershed residents.

The Team's exceptional leadership and negotiating skills enabled
successful completion of this agreement, avoiding years of litigation
among the parties and enabling timely implementation of important
resource protections.

**Dana Hartley**

**NMFS**

**Nomination \# 15**

**[Nominee(s) Information]{.underline}**

+---------------+------------------+--------------+-------------------+
| First and     | NOAA Fisheries   | Position     | Past Awards (e.g. |
| Last Name,    | Service          | Title &      | Department Gold   |
| Ph.D.(if      |                  | Grade or Pay | Medal)            |
| appropriate)  |                  | Band         |                   |
+---------------+------------------+--------------+-------------------+
| Dana Hartley  | Northeast        | Biologist -  | Department Bronze |
|               | Regional Office  | Marine       | Medal Award       |
|               |                  | Mammal       | (2005, 2002)      |
|               |                  | Specialist   |                   |
|               |                  |              |                   |
|               |                  | ZP 0401 III  |                   |
+---------------+------------------+--------------+-------------------+

**[Nominator's Name]{.underline}**

William T. Hogarth, Ph.D.

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

**[Certificate Text]{.underline}**

For leadership and dedication in establishing a highly effective NOAA
Northeast Region Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Program.

**[Justification or Narrative]{.underline}**

Under Ms. Hartley's leadership the NOAA Northeast Marine Mammal Health
and Stranding Program evolved into a model network. Through her
initiative, persistence, and personal diplomacy, she forged a team
spirit among NOAA staff, state officials, academics and non-governmental
organizations that quickly responds to strandings at any time, in any
weather, and anywhere from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to northern
Maine. Her outstanding efforts reflect well on NOAA as marine mammal
strandings tend to be high profile events that attract substantial media
attention.

The Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program was established
by the NOAA Fisheries Service to coordinate effective responses to
unusual mortality events, to facilitate the collection and dissemination
of data on health trends in marine mammal populations, and to correlate
the health of marine mammals with environmental parameters. To expedite
operations, stranding networks were implemented regionally. Each network
consists of volunteers who respond to standings of both dead and live
animals to gather biological information and, in the case of live
strandings, to attempt to rehabilitate and return the animals to the
sea.

As the NOAA Northeast Stranding Coordinator from 1997 to 2005, Ms.
Harley was the first person appointed to this position on a full time
permanent basis. At the time, groups of researchers responding to
strandings often viewed each other as competitors rather than
collaborators. Data was rarely shared, and opportunities to study the
stranding phenomenon on more than a local level were frequently missed.
By encouraging and facilitating communication, Ms. Hartley formed a
coherent region-wide team to organize stranding activities, ensure
consistency of data collected by network members, and maintain and
improve stranding response and rehabilitation protocols and guidelines.

Ms Hartley facilitated the development of common protocols and
procedures for obtaining and archiving information about stranding
events. She ensured that each network member was equipped to collect
biological information and samples used to understand the health,
population dynamics, and life histories of marine mammals. Ms. Hartley
also developed a marine mammal health monitoring component by helping to
establish routine analysis of tissues to determine the baseline
concentrations of chemical contaminants, biochemical components, and
biotoxins in marine mammals. She assisted in adding a quality assurance
component to the program to ensure accuracy, precision, level of
detection, and inter-comparability of data resulting from chemical
analysis of marine mammal tissues.

Due to Ms. Hartley's leadership and dedication, the NOAA Northeast
Region now operates a well-coordinated stranding network in which
cooperation among parties is the norm, and responses to stranding events
are organized quickly. Data generated from these strandings contribute
to the development of baseline marine mammal health information for
northeast stocks of marine mammals.

Although Ms. Hartley recently made a career change to focus on other
protected species issues, her legacy with the Northeast Marine Mammal
Health and Stranding Program will endure for years to come.

**Janet Miller**

**NMFS**

**Nomination \# 16**

**[Nominee(s) Information]{.underline}**

  ----------------- -------------------- -------------- -------------------
  First and Last    NOAA Fisheries       Position Title Past Awards (e.g.
  Name, Ph.D.(if    Service              & Grade or Pay Department Gold
  appropriate)                           Band           Medal)

  Janet L. Miller   Southeast Regional   Legal          Bronze Medal (2004)
                    Office               Instruments    
                                         Examiner -- GS 
                                         8              
  ----------------- -------------------- -------------- -------------------

**[Nominator's Name]{.underline}**

William T. Hogarth, Ph.D.

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

**[Certificate Text]{.underline}**

In recognition of extraordinary efforts allowing NOAA Fisheries Service
to develop the red snapper Individual Fishing Quota on an expedited
timeline.

**[Justification or Narrative]{.underline}**

Over the past 18 months, Ms. Miller performed complex data analyses,
under tight deadlines and much public scrutiny, to identify participants
in the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) program for the economically
valuable Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery. IFQ is a management
technique to improve the ability of a specific fishery to maintain
sustainable population levels while providing profitable conditions for
commercial fishermen harvesting in the fishery. Historical data on the
landings and permits for the fishery are used to determine a fisherman's
individual quota shares. Because each quota share provides harvest
priviledge and is worth a considerable amount of money, it is crucial
that the data and analyses be absolutely correct the first time. Ms.
Miller's outstanding and dedicated efforts were critical to implementing
the red snapper IFQ program in a timely manner.

With too many commercial fishermen persuing continually declining
populations of Gulf of Mexico red snapper, vessels often were used under
dangerous conditions in order to harvest as quickly as possible in this
fishery. As a result, red snapper populations were at risk for
maintaining sustainable levels, and fishermen were experiencing ever
increasing expenses per fish caught as well as unsafe conditions. To
correct these problems by reducing the number of fishermen and vessels
participating in this fishery, the NOAA Fisheries Service began the
process to implement a red snapper IFQ program under the procedures and
timelines manadated by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act.

Historical data, initiated in 1992, on the landings and permits for the
Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery resided in a database that was
orginally constructed in Rbase. The database did not possess a
capability for automated queries, which was necessary to retrieve data
at the level of detail required to reconstruct histories for individual
fishermen. Ms. Miller's unique knowledge of the database structure and
its contents was instrumental in effectively resolving discrepancies and
performing the compelx analyses to determine a fisherman's specific
quota shares. As a result of her efforts, the NOAA Fisheries Service
completed the development of the red snapper IFQ program within the
prescribed timelines. In addition, Ms. Miller created new data sets that
more readily provide landings information critical not only to
management of the red snapper fishery and its associated ecosystem, but
also to the business decisions of commericial fishermen.

Ms. Miller's outstanding efforts enabled the NOAA Fisheries Service to
expeditiously complete the IFQ for the Gulf of Mexico red snapper
fishery while under the scrutiny of Congress, the Council on
Environmental Quality, commercial fishermen, non-government
organizations, and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.

**National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service**

**David Easterling**

**NESDIS**

**Nomination \# 17**

**NOMINEE:** Dr. David R. Easterling

Chief, Scientific Services Division/Physical Scientist

DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC

**NOMINATOR:** Sharon LeDuc, Deputy Director

DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC

**Award Purpose:** Excellence in Scientific Research

**Certificate Citation:** For taking a leading role in producing
outstanding contributions to major climate assessments that provide
support in fulfilling NOAA's mission.

**Past Awards:** 2005 DOC Bronze Medal Group Award

2005 DOC Bronze Medal Group Award

2001 DOC Bronze Medal Award

1996 DOC Bronze Medal Award

Dr. David R. Easterling is recognized for his outstanding scientific
contributions that have had a long and far-reaching impact on NOAA's
mission. In particular, by conducting climate research and authoring
sections of major climate assessments Dr. Easterling has made
significant contributions to two of NOAA's mission goals: 1)
Understanding Climate Variability and Change to Enhance Society's
Ability to Plan and Respond, and 2) Serve Society's Need for Weather and
Water Information.

Dr. Easterling has made many research contributions in climate
variability and climate change. He has more than sixty peer-reviewed
journal publications, and is considered one of the world's leading
experts in observed climate variability and change, especially with
regard to temperature and precipitation during the last century. His
research has provided the underpinnings of results reported in virtually
all major national and international climate assessments since 1995. His
scientific reputation led to his selection to participate in a number of
high profile climate assessments, including the U.S. National Assessment
and the ongoing series of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) Assessment Reports. He was a contributing author on the past two
Assessment Reports and is a lead author on the IPCC Fourth Assessment
Report currently being written. He is also a lead author for the U.S.
Climate Change Science Plan (CCSP) Synthesis and Assessment Product 3.3
on climate extremes.

What was his contribution for 1995 IPCC Second Assessment Report? Dr.
Easterling accurately and skillfully described observed changes in
global temperature and precipitation. He was able to do this because he
developed the baseline datasets. He also developed effective graphics of
the IPCC results that were critical for explaining data to
non-scientists. His text and graphics were included in the Summary for
Policymakers, successfully explaining global temperature and
precipitation changes which described some of the most critical and
fundamental evidence for observed climate change.

In 1997 Dr. Easterling was a lead author on the first and only National
climate assessment in this document "Climate Change Impacts on the
United States: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and
Change" (2000). Dr. Easterling described the past climate of the
Midwest, and examined potential impacts of climate change on the region.
He also wrote about historical records and trends in climate over the
U.S. during the 20^th^ century. His clear writing and attention to
detail added to the value of the CCSP especially in the area of climate
change scenarios for the 21^st^ century. Dr. Easterling was very
responsive to the concerns of the public and addressed the review
comments of hundreds of reviewers. He provided substantive responses for
each comment and these are now a part of the public record.

Dr. Easterling also participated in the 2001 IPCC Third Assessment
Report. His lucid writing and clarifying graphics described differential
changes in maximum and minimum temperatures over the globe (based on his
1997 *Science* paper). These changes are cited as a critical indicator
of human-induced climate change. Many of his papers (*Science* and other
major climate journals) describe observed changes in climate extremes,
including changes in temperature and precipitation extremes. His table
on climate extremes (also from his 1997 *Science* paper) was used for
both the third and now the fourth IPCC Assessment Report.

He is a major IPCC participant because of his international stature. He
was an organizer of the IPCC Workshop on Uncertainty held in Ireland
(2004), helping develop the program and giving a presentation on
uncertainty in the observed climate record. This workshop made a
difference. It established a recommended lexicon for conveying
uncertainty. The lexicon is presently in use for the Fourth Assessment.
He leads dozens of scientists from around the world in describing global
and regional precipitation change. His expertise also includes drought
and the quality of data.

In addition to his past and continuing roles in these major national and
international climate assessments, Dr. Easterling also leads other
scientists as Chief of the Scientific Services Division at NCDC. He
publishes 2-3 research papers a year, lectures and serves as expert on
numerous panels. NCDC is proud to nominate Dr. Easterling for his
national and international contribution to understanding climate change.

**Sharon LeDuc**

**NESDIS**

**Nomination \# 18**

**NOMINEE:** Dr. Sharon LeDuc

Deputy Director, ZP-1301-V

DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC

**NOMINATOR:** Thomas R. Karl, Director

DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC

**Award Purpose:** Excellence in Administrative Support

**Certificate Citation:** For outstanding administration, exemplary
leadership, and innovative management in the day-to-day operations of
the NOAA National Climatic Data Center.

**Past Awards:** 2005 Bronze Medal Group Award

2004 Gold Medal Group Award

1978 Gold Medal Group Award

Dr. Sharon LeDuc is honored for her outstanding administration,
exemplary leadership, innovative management, and internal, as well as
external, coordination related to the day-to-day operations and
strategic planning of the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in
context with the Agency's Strategic Plan. NCDC employs 162 Federal
employees in three different states, 60 on-site contractors, and 391
off-site contractors. Dr. LeDuc is a skilled administrator and admired
leader who is equitable and values people. She communicates well and
strives to improve communications at all levels. National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) colleagues value her and she works
tirelessly to improve quality and capability of NCDC and OneNOAA.
Coupled with her enthusiasm, her expertise made her a major contributor
in delivering critically important services to the Nation. Her
management skills and personnel supervisory astuteness permitted the
Director to take on broader administrative responsibilities related to
NOAA's Goal Themes and interagency Presidential programs, while leaving
the day-to-day management of staff and contractors in her extremely
capable hands.

NCDC employees are represented by a union. The contract that existed was
17 years old and nearly useless. Dr. LeDuc determined that a new
contract would be in the best interest of employees and she requested a
renegotiation; she led the NCDC team in the negotiation of a new
Collective Bargaining Agreement. She was so skillful and amicable that
the new agreement took less than three weeks and top labor negotiator
remarked how smoothly and openly issues had been resolved. This result
was not surprising based on her attention to employee concerns and
relationships. It is notable that under her watch NCDC has no formal
grievances by any employee. She knows each NCDC employee and works with
him/her to overcome both work-related issues and personal adversities.

The Demonstration Project (Pay for Performance) makes employee
evaluations very important. Dr. LeDuc implemented standards to promote
equity across NCDC. She presented and explained these to employees. She
emphasized to supervisors the importance of good communication with
employees and instituted anonymous employee feedback to first line
supervisors. NCDC has had no formal grievances on end-of-year ratings.
Employees are satisfied because she took time to explain the rationale
of the Project and listened to the concerns of employees. Employees
recognized her in 2003 when she was nominated and chosen as Outstanding
Manager for the "Excellence in Public Service Awards" which were
solicited over all levels of government in Western North Carolina.

Dr. LeDuc is a strong advocate for employee awards. She ensures
employees have the proper tools to complete their mission, creates a
positive atmosphere, and encourages employees to challenge themselves
allowing them to succeed. She personally considers every award and
strengthens nominations during the final review. NCDC nominations were
successful due to her attention and effort. NCDC employees have received
numerous awards (47) in her tenure: 2 DOC Gold Medal; 28 DOC Bronze
Medal; 6 NOAA Administrator's; 1 NOAA Technology Transfer; 3 NOAA
Distinguished Career; and 7 NOAA Diversity Spectrum.

Dr. LeDuc, a scientist, gave high attention to the scientific quality of
publications with NCDC authors. Because of delay in getting DOC
scientific review policy, she instituted a policy that was used for NCDC
scientific papers and also for papers with other NOAA authors. She
personally reviewed every paper. Accountability of scientific review is
extremely important with recent accusations that management might have
interfered with scientific results. NCDC can confidently stand behind
its scientific review process.

Dr. LeDuc also works well in one-on-one relationships. She has served as
a mentor to an internal NCDC employee and also to a NOAA employee in the
Leadership Career Development Program. She served as a mentor outside
the workplace with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. The only
measure of success and reward for this activity is the success of the
mentee. She selflessly continues to mentor.

Dr. LeDuc is a leader among the Federal executives in Western North
Carolina. She served as the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) Co-chair in
2005 and is the Chair this year. In leading this effort she personally
called on different agencies regarding the CFC. Her effort enabled the
Federal agencies in the region to surpass their goal by 13%; the
greatest amount ever raised and the largest increase from previous
years. She has been a strong advocate of the campaign at NCDC and has
been very innovative in stimulating interest and participation. She
suggested and implemented a silent auction the first year she arrived.
This event is now a highlight of NCDC's CFC activities.

Dr. LeDuc's skill in cross-NOAA and external partner collaboration
enabled NOAA to reach goals with minimum costs and time. She played a
key role in leadership of the Climate Reference Network for the past
five years. There are 81 stations to address "How has our climate
changed?" The NCDC is honored to have the opportunity to recognize Dr.
Sharon LeDuc for her outstanding contributions to NOAA and the Nation.

**Connie Woodhouse**

**NESDIS**

**Nomination \# 19**

**NOMINEE:** Connie Woodhouse

Physical Scientist, ZP-1301-IV

DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC

**NOMINATOR:** David M. Anderson

DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC

**Award Purpose:** Excellence in scientific research

**Certificate Citation:** For pioneering climate science at the
interface of research and applications for water resource managers.

**Past Awards:** 2005 DOC Bronze Medal Group Award

NOAA's vision of an informed society that uses scientific information in
decision-making requires an in-depth and effective partnership between
scientists and decision-makers. Dr. Connie Woodhouse has made
accomplishments in scientific analysis, developed quality data and
delivered her results through extensive outreach. She is one of a
handful of scientists improving public understanding of water
availability in the American West. Her accomplishments contribute to the
NOAA goals to *understand climate variability and change to enhance
society's ability to plan and respond*, and to *serve society's need for
weather and water information*, and support cross-cutting priorities for
*sound, reliable state of the art research*, and *to improve
environmental literacy, outreach, and education*.

Dr. Woodhouse's research provides insight and understanding of water
availability for the period of time before rain gages existed in the
West. Why is her work important? Water is one of the biggest issues
facing the Western United States, yet the influence of climate on water
resources is difficult to understand, in part because the records are
short. The challenge is to create longer records of climate, especially
with respect to water, these then can be used to understand natural
variability and to plan accordingly.

As a scientist in the Paleoclimatology Branch, Dr. Woodhouse has made
outstanding contributions in research and she has provided those results
to multiple groups. Her "above and beyond" efforts to educate and
disseminate results at this interface between research and applications
is evidenced by the continuing requests for her expertise. Much of her
work was accomplished since the record drought in 2002 which highlighted
the critical influence of climate on water in the West.

**Research**

Dr. Woodhouse has an outstanding research record. Her research had
incorporated data from other researchers, but existing data was not
sufficient for her analyses. More data were needed. To acquire
additional data and thus provide longer records of streamflow and
drought, Dr. Woodhouse led expeditions throughout the western U.S. to
find older trees that yielded longer records, and to find trees from
selected drainage basins. These samples and the data derived from them
were needed to extend gage records back in time. She performed all
aspects of this work: selection of samples, lab analysis of the tree
rings and subsequent research which is documented in her published
papers. By analyzing these new samples, Dr. Woodhouse developed dozens
of new records of stream flow and drought in the western U.S. In 2004,
Dr. Woodhouse co-authored a prestigious paper on long-term aridity
changes in the western U.S. (*Science*, 306, 1015-1018). Her nine
publications since 2002 reveal Dr. Woodhouse's analytical capability as
well as her success in field-oriented research.

Dr. Woodhouse's tree ring research (in press, Water Resources Research),
which improved and extended the reconstruction of the Colorado River
flow, provided great insight into understanding the history of the
Colorado River. The flow of the Colorado River is a powerful symbolic
measure of water in the West. It is a valuable indictor of hydrologic
conditions and is also the cornerstone of the Colorado River Compact,
the law that distributes water among western states. These new
significant databases on stream flow, fire history, and historical data
that she developed are now being used by other scientists. Through her
research and her influential roles on the National Academy and other
panels, Dr. Woodhouse has distinguished herself as a science leader for
NOAA Paleoclimatology.

**Outreach**

Dr. Woodhouse's contributions did not stop with the excellent research.
She has been unselfish and proactive in sharing her research results
with concerned decision makers, citizens and students across the West.
Between 2003 and 2005, Dr. Woodhouse gave over 60 presentations (about
20 per year) to non-technical audiences, ranging from the Audubon
Society to the Colorado Water Conservation Board, as well as to
technical audiences at professional meetings, university symposia, and
other venues. Dr. Woodhouse has reached out to hundreds of technical and
non-technical users, significantly increasing the visibility and impact
of NOAA data and information.

She identified one need through outreach, the need for a workshop for
water managers. Through this workshop she hoped to introduce water and
engineering professionals to paleoclimate reconstructions allowing them
to expand the climate information that they use in decision-making.
Using advice from interaction with resource managers and engineering
professionals, Dr. Woodhouse developed a program to fill this need. The
workshop that incorporates her program has been presented in Alamosa,
NM, and Boulder, CO, with great results. Her outreach materials are
being provided to NOAA for purpose of reaching an even greater audience.

Dr. Woodhouse's significant outreach has established her as a pioneer in
high public demand at the interface between scientific research and
applications. This role is critical if science is to benefit society.

**Kenneth Casey**

**NESDIS**

**Nomination \# 20**

**NOMINEES: Kenneth S. Casey**

**Physical Scientist, ZP-1301-IV**

**DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NODC**

**NOMINATOR: Wayne Wilmot, Division Chief**

**DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NODC**

**AWARD PURPOSE:**

> **Scientific Research**

**CERTIFICATE CITATION:**

For creating Version 5 AVHRR Pathfinder SST; the Nation's longest, most
accurate, and finely resolved space-based global SST climate data
record.

**PAST AWARDS:** Kenneth Casey - None

**JUSTIFICATION:**

Dr. Casey is honored for leading the implementation of the latest
Pathfinder AVHRR SST Version 5 (Pathfinder V5) reprocessing which has
stimulated new research and assessments across a range of ocean and
coastal disciplines. The Pathfinder V5 data set implements numerous
improvements over previously available AVHRR-based global SST data sets,
including a finer spatial resolution, greater use of ice masks in
quality level determinations, and inclusion of coastal and inland
waters. The V5 Pathfinder had a phenomenal impact on the user community
and supports NOAA's goals for Climate, Ecosystems, Weather and Water,
and Commerce and Transportation.

Dr. Casey led the NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center in partnership
with the University of Miami Rosenstiel School Of Marine and Atmospheric
Science to develop more than two decades of twice-daily sea surface
temperature (SST) estimates based on NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution
Radiometer (AVHRR) observations and an improved Pathfinder algorithm.
His improvements have resulted in a twice-daily global SST climate data
record and related parameters for 1985 through 2005, at a resolution of
approximately 4 km, the highest possible for a global AVHRR data set.
Temporal averages for 5-day, 7-day, 8-day, monthly, and yearly periods
are also produced, along with corresponding climatologies.

During calendar years 2004 and 2005, the NODC (and PO.DAAC) distribution
points for V5 Pathfinder SST data combined to serve 18,989 users (based
on unique IP addresses) approximately 14 Terabytes of data. January
through March 2006 statistics for NODC indicate an additional 1403 users
and 1.2 Terabytes of data served, bringing the total to at least 20,000
users and 15 Terabytes of data served.

The work by Dr. Casey supports the primary NOAA goals of "*Protect,
Restore, and Manage the Use of Coastal and Ocean Resources through an
Ecosystem Approach to Management"* and "*Understand Climate Variability
and Change to Enhance Society\'s Ability to Plan and Respond*" by
directly providing greater access to NODC's vast holdings of the
longest, most accurate, and finely resolved space-based global SST
climate data record. The AVHRR Pathfinder SST data set now provides a
more complete, usable form, and more timely manner through which users
can take advantage of the increased use of advanced technologies
associated with the Internet and follow-on networks.

Dr. Casey's accomplishments also support two essential activities of
NOAA cross-cutting priorities as follows:

-   Support the cross-cutting priority of *"Integrating Global
    Environmental Observations and Data Management"* by developing a
    strategy to build a framework for leading the implementation of the
    latest Pathfinder AVHRR SST Version 5 (Pathfinder V5) reprocessing
    which has stimulated new research and assessments across a range of
    ocean and coastal disciplines.

-   Support the cross-cutting priority of *"Ensuring Sound,
    State-of-the-Art Research"* by collaborating with the University of
    Miami Rosenstiel School Of Marine and Atmospheric Science to develop
    a strategy of using the proven, state-of-the-art technology and to
    implement the technology from development (research) to operational
    and ultimately provide innovative products and services to the
    public.

The feedback from user comments has been overwhelming positive and
indicates that this new data strongly supports research and scientific
work in support of climate assessment, ecosystem management by providing
a gold standard for long-term sea surface temperature studies.

**Tim Boyer/Olga Baranova**

**NESDIS**

**Nomination \# 21**

**NOMINEES: Tim Boyer**

**Oceanographer, ZP-1360-IV**

**DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NODC**

**Olga Baranova**

**Physical Scientist, ZP-1301-III**

**DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NODC**

**NOMINATOR: Sydney Levitus, Division Chief**

**DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NODC**

**AWARD PURPOSE:**

> **Excellence in Information Systems**

**CERTIFICATE CITATION:**

For exceptional initiative in developing WODselect, which allows
unprecedented on-line access to the World Ocean Database, the world's
largest collection of ocean profile data.

**PAST AWARDS:** Tim Boyer- 1995 Silver Medal (Group Award)

Tim Boyer- 2002 Gold Medal (Group Award)

Olga Baranova - none

**JUSTIFICATION:**

Mr. Boyer and Ms. Baranova are honored for outstanding accomplishment in
"information systems" for providing unprecedented access to NODC ocean
profile data, which are extensively used by the scientific community for
initializing and verifying climate system models and for diagnostic
studies describing the role of the ocean as part of earth's climate
system among other uses. Mr. Boyer and Ms. Baranova initiated,
developed, and improved an on-line data access system to the *World
Ocean Database* (WOD), the world's largest collection of ocean profile
data*.* This new access system allows for public search and retrieval
via the Internet in an easy-to-use interface. This significantly
improves public access to NOAA data. The database contains well over 10
million records indexed by geography, date, depth and over 20 observed
parameters. By providing this interface, users are able to access and
retrieve sub-sets of the database. Previous to this, users would need to
contact NODC for this sub-setting or download the entire database and
develop their own sub-setting routines.

*WODselect* provides three new features which enable selection of ocean
profile data with unprecedented granularity. The first feature allows
access to customized information, by identifying the individual
parameters, geographic area and time frame. The second feature is the
ability to graphically verify their request as being accurate or not.
Since many of the requests are large, this tool is crucial by ensuring
that the correct data are

being ordered resulting in significantly easing the burden on the user.
The third feature includes being able to select the data via a map query
by rubber-banding an area without having to type in latitude and
longitude coordinates. All of these features improve access to the data
and are in direct response to customer requests.

Beginning in 2002, Boyer and Baranova initiated development of
*WODselect* on their own initiative. They recognized the need of the
user community for a data access system for WOD that would provide
detailed selection criteria. They developed this system in addition to
their normal duties and spent many additional hours on this project
beyond their normal working hours. Their success reflects their intimate
familiarity with user needs based on years filling requests, and their
talents in recognizing techniques for optimizing searches of the complex
WOD structure.

The implementation of *WODselect* has provided data users with
unparalleled access to the oceanographic data contained in the *World
Ocean Database*. In the three years since its inception in April 2003,
the *WODselect* system has served over 920 million profiles to users, in
nearly 9,000 separate transactions. The broad appeal of the service is
demonstrated by the fact that over 96% of these transactions came from
non-NOAA users, with a nearly equal split between US domestic and
international users.

The work by Boyer and Baranova advances several of NOAA's Strategic
Goals, either directly or indirectly, because of the great utility of
ocean profile data. The Strategic Goals affected include "Predict and
Assess Decadal to Centennial Change", "Implement Seasonal to Interannual
Climate Forecasts", and "Build Sustainable Fisheries". All of these
goals require ocean profile data for work including, but not limited to,
ocean hindcasting using data to improve forecast models, diagnostic
studies describing the role of the ocean as part of earth's climate
system, climate system model-assimilation studies, and ecosystem
response to climate change.

The work by Boyer and Baranova allows NOAA to meet the challenges in the
area of ocean climate applications related to *in situ* oceanographic
profile data. As evidenced by the amount of data downloaded and the wide
variety of users, it is clear that the implementation of *WODselect* has
enhanced NOAA's visibility and reputation in the ocean and climate
sciences communities as well as in the data management community, both
nationally and internationally. Their work is a significant contribution
in the area of information systems.

**Alfreda Alexander**

**NESDIS**

**Nomination \# 22**

**Nominee**: Alfreda M. Alexander

**Line office**: NESDIS

**Title and Grade**: Administrative Specialist ZA-301/Band II

**Past Awards**: Bronze Medal Award: 10/03; Diversity Spectrum Award:
10/04

**Nominator's name**: David A. Benner, Chief, Satellite Services
Division, Office of

Satellite Data Processing and Distribution

**Award Purpose:** Excellence in Administrative Support

**Certificate Citation**:

For superior achievement in administrative support by significantly
improving the efficiency and effectiveness of telecommunication services
for the Satellite Services Division.

**Justification**:

The Satellite Services Division (SSD) provides environmental satellite
products and services to a diverse user community that includes many
domestic and international Government agencies as well as the NOAA
Mission Goals and Programs. These satellite products and services are
used, in many cases, as the basis for NOAA forecasts of severe weather,
ocean and other extreme environmental events. NWS forecasts, for
example, protect life and property and fulfill NOAA's mission of serving
society's need for weather and water information. A critical component
of SSD operations are voice, fax, and data telecommunications services.
These telecommunication lines are used for routine daily activities that
include providing Help Desk technicians with means to communicate and
resolve operational problems. In addition to land line services, SSD
managers are equipped with cellular phones to deal with operation
problems on a 24/7 basis. Effective and efficient telecommunication
services are the foundation of SSD operations, thus allowing the
division to ensure the continuity of NOAA's satellite data processing
and product distribution service.

In 2005, SSD had eight separate telecommunication accounts that provided
voice, fax, data, and cellular services. The combined mean monthly
expenditure for these telephone accounts was \$8,400/month or \$100,800
annually. Ms. Alfreda Alexander, on a rotational detail from her
secretarial position and on her own initiative, began investigating
alternative services with the goal of reducing costs. Through repeated
discussions and negotiations with telecommunication providers, Ms.
Alexander reduced costs to \$1,500/month or \$18,000 annually. Through
Ms. Alexander's persistent efforts, the division reduced annual
telecommunication costs by \$82,800 representing an 82% cost avoidance
for the U.S. Government. This stunning achievement was accomplished with
no interruption or decrease in the quality of telecommunications
services for the organization. Currently, SSD has 12 telephone accounts
that provide additional capability for a fraction of the original cost.
These new capabilities include a service to distribute real-time
environmental data from a newly established Critical Infrastructure
Protection (CIP) data processing back-up facility and a T-Mobile
Sidekick instant messaging service used to communicate with a hearing
impaired employee. Both capabilities are critical components of the
SSD's emergency Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP).

It is also noted that during the period in which the division was
transitioning to new telecommunication services that several providers
were slow in implementing the new agreed upon service rates. These
implementation delays resulted in over-charges that required Ms.
Alexander to formally petition the service providers for relief. The
result was the division receiving a one time credit resulting in "no
payment due" on the bill for land line services for the next 7 months.
This amassed another \$5,500 in cost savings for the U.S. Government.

Ms. Alfreda Alexander is recognized for her outstanding performance and
dedication in significantly improving the capability and cost
effectiveness of SSD's telecommunication services. Ms. Alexander
demonstrated superior initiative and commitment in supporting SSD\'s
mission by researching, realigning, and reducing costs for antiquated
telecommunication services. Ms. Alexander achieved these accomplishments
while learning and mastering other critically important administrative
functions such as credit card, budget, and property management duties.
Ms. Alexander's exemplary performance has contributed greatly to
ensuring that SSD is able to meet its mission goal of effectively
providing satellite products and services. I highly recommend and
endorse her nomination for NOAA's Administrator's Award.

**Robert Levin**

**NESDIS**

**Nomination \# 23**

**Nominee:** Robert Levin

**Major Line/Staff Office of Nominee:** NESDIS, OSDPD

**Position Title/Grade:** Physical Scientist/ZP-1301-III

**Past Awards:** None

**Nominator's name/Major Line or Staff Office:** Richard M. Barazotto,
NESDIS

**Award Purpose:** Excellence in Information Systems

**Certificate Citation:** For achievement in creating an innovative
system to improve POES data monitoring, quality control, and analysis
critical to the NESDIS mission.

**Justification:** The NESDIS Office of Satellite Data Processing and
Distribution (OSDPD) is responsible for the processing and distribution
of Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES) instrument level 1B
data both nationally and internationally. The office has a
responsibility to provide dependable quality data to support product
operations in areas such as weather predictions and monitoring,
atmosphere (ozone, earth radiation, moisture, etc), land (fire, smoke,
snow, ice, etc), ocean (sea surface temperature, sea ice, currents,
etc), imagery, etc. Quality control (QC) and data trending of the
instrument level 1B and navigation data needed to support NESDIS product
production are a critical part of the daily operations.

To meet our needs for an automated QC Trending system, Robert Levin
designed, implemented, and maintains a polar data QC trending system
that has proven to be key in providing dependable and accurate data to
the NESDIS user community. The QC trending system incorporates every
data item reported in the level 1B files (over 3500 active parameters
for four instruments per satellile). Plots are generated demonstrating
the data trend for each of the items allowing the analyst to relatively
easily identify anomalous events. Utilizing this system has benefited
NESDIS in the following ways:

-   Significant reduction in human resources required to perform daily
    monitoring of navigation and level 1B. Approximately, a 16 person
    hour daily manual process for minimal level 1B monitoring was
    reduced to a 1 person hour daily process. Navigation monitoring was
    reduced from requiring approximately a 5 person hour daily manual
    monitoring to a 1 person hour daily process. -- approximate savings
    of \$173,000 per year.

-   More efficient use of resources; freeing resources for use on other
    tasks

-   Significant reduction of paper usage (for navigation alone paper
    savings is on the average of 1 box a day -- approximate savings of
    \$6000 per year).

-   More efficient support of operational data analysis. Mr. Levin is
    called upon to provide trending data to NASA, to NESDIS\'s Satellite
    Operations Control Center (SOCC), and to NESDIS\'s ORA. The data is
    used in performing historical analysis of instrument behavior, in
    statistical analysis, in operational anomaly investigations, etc.
    throughout the life of the satellite.

-   Early detection of instrument problems. Data provided when utilizing
    this system has been instrumental in the safe recovery of the
    instruments in both the pre-KLM and KLM satellites. Analysis of the
    KLM instrument data has been key in devising significant
    improvements in the level 1B processing such as identifying solar
    and lunar contaminated data which results in a loss of useful
    instrument data or contaminated product models if left undetected
    and uncorrected.

-   Faster operational response to anomalous conditions (straight
    forward, quick, and easy method of viewing/analyzing satellite data
    trends) by Information Processing Division (IPD) personnel

-   Reduced analysis time required for personnel outside IPD

The QC and trending system developed by Mr. Levin is key in maintaining
the integrity of the POES weather satellite data. Mr. Levin converted a
manual, very time consuming, and limited analysis tool into an automated
computer program able to ingest, plot, and label the satellite data such
that human intervention is minimized and paper usage is eliminated. This
system is an integral part of the QC system that supports the OSDPD POES
mission and will continue in this role for future satellite data
processing. It is especially valuable for diagnosing instrument problems
and is far more comprehensive for POES instruments than any system
available. Utilizing this system initially reduces NESDIS expenditures
for personnel and materials by approximately \$179,000 a year. As the
principal archetect of the plan, Mr. Levin is truly deserving of the
NOAA Administrator\'s Award for this exceptional accomplishment in the
information Technology area.

**Charles S. Bryant**

**NESDIS**

**Nomination \# 24**

**Nominee:** Charles S. Bryant

**Major Line/Staff Office of Nominee:** NESDIS/Office of Systems
Development

**Position Title/Grade:** Information Technology Specialist/ZP-IV

**Award Purpose:** Engineering Development

**Past Awards:** 2002 Bronze Medal Group Award

2003 Silver Medal Group Award

2003 NOAA Group Administrators Award

2004 Bronze Medal Group Award

**Nominator's name/Major Line or Staff Office:** Gary K. Davis/NESDIS

**Certificate Citation:** For outstanding leadership and engineering in
restoring the National Hurricane Center to full operational capability
prior to the start of the 2006 Hurricane Season.

**Justification:** The National Hurricane Center /Tropical Prediction
Center (NHC/TPC) lost one of its two operational Geostationary
Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) antennas last hurricane
season during Hurricane Wilma. This left NHC/TPC with only one fully
functional antenna when two are required to reliably view the GOES East
and GOES West operational satellites.

In January of 2006 the TPC director asked NESDIS for help, and Mr.
Bryant was assigned the project to acquire a new antenna for TPC. He
immediately initiated the multi-faceted coordination activities with
NWS, NESDIS, Acquisition and Grants Office, antenna vendors and support
contractors necessary to bring all phases of the project together
seamlessly. He worked closely with the NHC/TPC staff to define their
requirements, and simultaneously initiated the structural engineering
analysis, design and site preparation work required to mount the new
antenna on the TPC roof. At the same time, Mr. Bryant worked with AGO to
expedite the delivery of a new antenna using an existing contract. When
it became apparent the existing contractor was quoting a premium price
and could not meet the required schedule, he prepared sources sought
documentation to get the Government a better price and schedule. When it
became apparent that the new antenna would not be available until a
month after the start of this year's hurricane season, Mr. Bryant
devised a plan to ensure that TPC would have full capability until the
new antenna became operational.

Mr. Bryant identified an aging spare antenna at NOAA's satellite
facility in Suitland Maryland that could be dismantled, shipped to Miami
and used as a replacement. He coordinated the removal and shipment of
the spare antenna, traveled to Miami to assure the antenna was
delivered, and managed the site activities. Mr. Bryant and the TPC staff
decided to use the best parts from the TPC and Suitland facility antenna
to build one fully functional antenna. Mr. Bryant personally managed and
participated in the rebuilding of the damaged antenna. He successfully
completed this work in little over a week, having the antenna fully
functional and operational two weeks before the start of hurricane
season, and left the TPC many valuable spare parts for their two
operational antennas.

He continues to work with the vendor on the delivery of the new antenna,
applying sound engineering practices and incentives to expedite the
delivery. The original plan had the new antenna replacing one existing
TPC antenna, however, due to Mr. Bryant's innovative plan and diligent
work on the structural engineering and mounting design, the TPC will now
have three GOES antennas, providing an essential "hot backup"
capability.

With the devastating hurricanes of the recent past, Mr. Bryants
achievements are all the more critical. The project has visibility all
the way up to the Deputy Secretary of Commerce, who got to witness Mr.
Bryant's work first hand on his recent visit to NHC/TPC.

As the principal architect of the plan, Mr. Bryant is truly deserving of
the NOAA Administrator\'s Award for this exceptional accomplishment not
only for NOAA, but for the American public who might be in harm's way
during the hurricane season this year.

**Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research**

**Taneil Uttal**

**OAR**

**Nomination \# 25**

**Earth System Research Laboratory**

Meteorologist, ZP-1340-IV

325 Broadway, Skaggs Building

Boulder, CO 80305

Nominated by: Dr. John A. Calder

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research

Climate Program Office, Arctic Research Program

**Awards**: None in past 5 years

**Area of Contribution:** Scientific Research

**Certificate Citation:** For exemplary leadership in implementing an
atmospheric climate observatory at Eureka, Nunavut, Canada.

**Justification:**

Taneil Uttal is nominated for the NOAA Administrator's Award in
recognition of scientific leadership and creativity in building an
international science team and funding consortium to establish an
atmospheric climate observatory in Canada's Arctic territory. NOAA's
Strategic Goal for Climate requires global observations to detect
climate change and to help understand causes and forcing factors.
Existing data have demonstrated a high rate of climate change in the
Arctic over the past several decades, and models predict continuing
change over the next century. Yet lack of atmospheric data in the Arctic
limits accuracy of climate models, hinders our ability to validate new
satellite-based sensors, and limits research into atmospheric processes
on key climate variables such as clouds, aerosols, and radiation. In
2002, the broader Arctic science community recommended that NOAA work to
improve the availability of atmospheric data in the Arctic by developing
a small network of atmospheric observatories similar to the existing
facility in Barrow Alaska. Taneil Uttal took on the challenge of making
this happen.

Taneil prepared a science plan that described the rationale for a new
atmospheric climate observatory and recommended that it be located in
northeastern Canada to capture data from a region of the Arctic that is
behaving differently than in Barrow. She promoted this idea at national
and international meetings during 2003 and 2004 and began to build a
team of interested scientists. At first, she did this in addition to her
normal responsibilities, but soon gained the attention and support of
both her Laboratory Director and the Arctic Research Program. Through
this support, funding for a modest effort in Canada became available.
But Taneil still had to gain support and permission from Canadian
authorities to establish the observatory.

During 2004, Taneil worked with Meteorological Services Canada to build
a partnership that resulted in an invitation to install the observatory
at an MSC weather station at Eureka. The station was undergoing
renovation, and MSC agreed that the atmospheric observatory could be
accommodated.

The support from NOAA was sufficient for a basic observatory, but
Taneil's full vision for the observatory would require additional
support. She took the initiative to identify opportunities for gaining
additional support, and succeeded in negotiating significant new
partnerships. In the U.S., the National Science Foundation often
supports development of new observing instruments, but rarely supports
them for routine use. Taneil became aware of two such instruments that
would benefit the observatory but were not in current use. She arranged
for both instruments to be deployed to Eureka for modest cost to NOAA,
thereby giving NOAA access to expensive instrumentation developed by
NSF, and giving NSF the ability to demonstrate transfer of research
instruments to an operational setting. Also, Taneil became aware of
other efforts in Canada that were focused on atmospheric observations,
and began exploring ways of expanding the partnership to include these
efforts as well. She agreed to combine her plans with those of a
Canadian academic group, giving the Canadian group a secure foundation
for their proposal to funding agencies. The Canadian funding agencies
agreed that the combined operation was worthwhile and provided
significant funding for the enhanced observatory. The resultant
NOAA-NSF-MSC-Canadian academic package resulted in development of one of
the most advanced atmospheric observatories in the world. It will be
officially opened in July 2006. The NOAA-supplied instruments are
already in place and delivering data in real-time to both MSC and NOAA.

The story doesn't end here. The upcoming International Polar Year (IPY)
provides an opportunity for collaboration among scientists from many
countries. Taneil proposed to the IPY a plan for completing a
circum-Arctic atmospheric observatory network and received endorsement
of her plan by the international IPY Steering Committee. She is now
working to build a multi-national collaboration that could add one to
three additional observatories to the network over the next few years.

Taneil applied her determination, diplomacy, and scientific insight to
multiply the value of NOAA's investment and deliver a scientific
facility of world-class status that will meet a critical science need
for NOAA's Climate Strategic Goal. Her efforts merit selection for the
NOAA Administrator's Award.

**Howard Friedman**

**OAR**

**Nomination \# 26**

**Nominee: Howard Friedman**

> Deputy Director, Hurricane Research Division
>
> AOML Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Manager

**Awards:** NOAA\'s Equal Employment Opportunity Award (1978)

> U.S. Department of Commerce Gold Medal for Hurricane Research
> Division\'s Performance in Hurricane Andrew (1992, group award)

Nominated by: Robert Atlas, Director

> NOAA/OAR Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory

**Certificate citation:** For dedication to advocacy of the atmospheric
sciences and of diversity programs that benefited women, minorities, and
other protected groups during 40 years of service with NOAA.

For 40 years Mr. Friedman worked tirelessly on the advancement of
meteorologists throughout their careers, from high school students
dreaming of becoming a \"weather person\" to senior staff who want to
expand their horizons to become better scientists and/or managers.
Several outstanding meteorologists can count him as a key individual who
assisted and motivated them throughout their careers including Chris
Landsea at NOAA\'s Tropical Prediction Center and Sim Aberson of AOML\'s
Hurricane Research Division. They are both shining examples of Mr.
Friedman's and AOML\'s commitment to people, starting in high school.
Attracting such stars to NOAA requires working closely with and
encouraging many, many potential scientists.

Mr. Friedman also coordinates both AOML's student intern program and
\"speaker\'s bureau.\" He and others on AOML's staff conduct, on
average, approximately 800-1000 school contacts annually. He matches
student interns with lab scientists across all of the disciplines of the
lab, also assisting with student stipends, housing, and transportation.
Mr. Friedman conducts tours of NOAA facilities in Miami, career days and
science awareness programs, and participates as a judge at science and
engineering fairs in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. He maintains a
long relationship with several programs of the Miami-Dade County Public
Schools including the MAST Academy Intern Program, MAST Academy
Weather-On-Wheels Advisory Board, and the Community Research Laboratory
Program. He is also a teacher at the Broward Community College/Aviation
Institute and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

For more than 20 years Mr. Friedman served as AOML\'s Equal Employment
Opportunity (EEO) manager, In this capacity he helps to develop and
coordinate EEO-related activities at the lab, coordinates EEO activities
with other NOAA organizations, and provides guidance on EEO-related
issues to AOML management and to NOAA overall. His contributions to EEO
have been recognized with numerous awards. He is a leader in NOAA\'s
Diversity program, participating in Diversity committees and sponsoring
Diversity-related events.

Mr. Friedman's leadership extends outside of NOAA into the greater
meteorological community represented by the American Meteorological
Society (AMS). His long-standing service on the AMS Board on Women and
Minorities is just one of many contributions he makes to the Society. He
has also served on several education, award, and scholarship committees.
He is often seen leaving for home in the evening with dozens of
nominations or applications to review.

Most recently, Mr. Friedman became a trained member of a Federal
mediation community, serving NOAA as well as other Federal Agencies in
South Florida through the Shared Neutrals and Alternative Dispute
Resolution programs. In addition to this official counseling role, Mr.
Friedman has been a wonderful listener and problem solver at AOML and
throughout the meteorological community. Annually, he conducts numerous
career-counseling sessions for employees, applicants, and women\'s and
minority organizations.

Mr. Friedman always goes the extra mile when encouraging and supporting
NOAA. our science and, in particular, our scientists. He is very
deserving of the NOAA Administrators Award for his numerous
contributions to NOAA and our science over his 40 years of federal
service.

**John F. Gamache Group**

**OAR**

**Nomination \# 27**

Nominees: **Dr. John F. Gamache**

Meteorologist, ZP-4, 214-62-2251

> **Joseph S. Griffin, Jr.**
>
> Systems Analyst, ZP-4, 262-04-5615
>
> **Nancy F. Griffin**
>
> Computer Specialist, ZP-3, 584-15-3046
>
> **Paul A. Leighton**
>
> Computer Specialist, ZP-3, 018-52-4741
>
> **Peter Dodge**
>
> Meteorologist, ZP-3, 264-13-5011

4\. Previous awards (excluding Cash-in-Your-Account and Special Act
Awards) for

each nominee. (**not provided by nominator)**

Nominated by: Dr. Robert M. Atlas

Director, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML)

> NOAA/Oceanic and Atmospheric Research

**Certificate citation:** \"For the development of the algorithms and
related software to enable real-time analysis and transmission of wind
fields and airborne Doppler radar data collected in hurricanes to
improve the initialization of the new generation of hurricane forecast
models.\"

**Justification**

Accurate depiction of the inner core of tropical cyclones is essential
to improving forecasts of hurricane intensity. The new Hurricane
Forecast model being developed at NOAA\'s Environmental Modeling Center
will be able to assimilate high-resolution observations, including those
collected by aircraft on reconnaissance missions in hurricanes.

Airborne Doppler radar analyzes can provide three-dimensional analysis
of wind speeds with horizontal resolutions of 1 km and vertical
resolution of 0.5 km. In the past it required months of data quality
control to produce quality wind fields. Then Dr Gamache developed a
suite of algorithms that greatly simplified the analysis process so that
wind fields could be computed on the aircraft. His system automatically
removes ground clutter and unfolds the Doppler velocities before wind
field synthesis. The process now runs in less than an hour on the
airborne workstation, enabling transmission in near real time during
hurricane missions. Mr. Griffin and other members of the radar
workstation team contributed by developing software and scripts to
ingest radar data from the aircraft network and to transmit analyses and
Doppler data to the National Hurricane Center and to EMC. The system was
tested and refined during the 2004 and 2005 Hurricane seasons. Forty
analyses were sent to the ground in 2005, and the higher-resolution
analyses after the fact helped to reconcile in-situ observations and
different flight levels, and stepped frequency microwave observations of
surface wind speeds, when determining the intensity at landfall of
Hurricane Katrina.

This development was supported as a project for the Joint Hurricane
Testbed. In 2006 the project was accepted by NHC for operational
transition, meaning that the Doppler-derived wind fields and
quality-controlled Doppler radial velocities will be routinely
transmitted to NHC and EMC during the 2006 Hurricane season. In future
years this project's benefits will be further felt as the GIV Doppler
radar becomes operational.

Not only will operational hurricane forecasting benefit from this
project. Dr. Gamache\'s Doppler analysis package has also been used at
the National Center for Atmospheric Research, The Pennsylvania State
University, the Naval Research Laboratory and the University of Miami by
professors and graduate students to analyze Doppler radar data collected
in many hurricanes, as well as in other tropical convection and
mid-latitude squall-line systems.

**John A. Ogren Group**

**OAR**

**Nomination \# 28**

**Nominees:** John A. Ogren

> OAR Earth System Research Laboratory
>
> Physical Scientist ZP 1301-04
>
> No Prior Awards (last 3 years)
>
> Patrick J. Sheridan
>
> OAR Earth System Research Laboratory
>
> Physical Scientist ZP 1301-04
>
> No Prior Awards (last 3 years)
>
> James W. Wendell
>
> OAR Earth System Research Laboratory
>
> Electronics Technician ZT 0856-04
>
> No Prior Awards (last 3 years)

Nominated by: David J. Hofmann, Director, and

> Russ Schnell, Global Monitoring Division,
>
> Earth System Research Laboratory, OAR,
>
> 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80309;
>
> David.J.Hofmann@noaa.gov; 303-497-6966;
>
> Russell.C.Schnell@noaa.gov; 303-497-6733.

**Area of Contribution:** Scientific Research

**Certificate Citation:** For development of a robust, responsive,
stable instrument package for unattended operation on light aircraft
that has measured 625 profiles of aerosol radiative forcing over 5
years.

**Background:** Atmospheric aerosols are complex mixtures of mineral
particles, biomass debris, sea salt, air pollutants, fossil fuel smoke,
etc., that scatter and absorb solar radiation. The combined total
radiative forcing of aerosols in the cloud-free global atmosphere is
thought to be a cooling effect of -0.5 W m^-2^ +/- 0.4, but with very
low scientific uncertainty. Methane, the second most powerful greenhouse
gas after carbon dioxide, has a radiative forcing of opposite sign with
a heating effect of 0.48 W m^-2^ +/- 0.16 W m^-2^, with a high level of
scientific understanding.

Measuring the concentrations and determining the radiative effect of a
single gas species in the atmosphere is considerably easier than
measuring the same parameters for aerosols. To measure the radiative
effects of atmospheric aerosols, instruments must be able to
simultaneously respond to concentrations and size ranges spanning up to
three orders of magnitude for particles composed of many different
materials and shapes. This variability in composition further
complicates the measurement of aerosol radiative forcing since radiative
forcing may vary from negative (e.g., light scattering sulfates) to
positive (light absorbing black carbon aerosols). Complicating these
measurements is the fact that aerosols are not distributed uniformly in
the atmosphere. For instance, regions downwind of major particulate
sources such as deserts, biomass burning areas and large cities often
have heavy atmospheric aerosol burdens while other areas in cleaner
regions have relatively low aerosol loadings. This inhomogeneity extends
upward through the atmosphere, where aerosol processing by clouds and
long range transport further adds to this inhomogeneity.

***Understanding the magnitude and distribution of aerosol radiative
effects throughout the atmosphere, and how that distribution changes
with time, is critical to supporting NOAA's strategic goal of
"understanding climate variability and change."***

**Justification: Developing and Implementing a Sustained Airborne
In-situ Aerosol Profiling (IAP) Program.**

Aerosol research programs using balloons and large aircraft over
short-term (1-3 month) field projects have not been adequate to provide
the data required to understand the effects of aerosols on climate. The
instruments on these projects generally required extensive ground
support, intense hands-on human operation, and were costly and high
maintenance. The nominees for this award made three unprecedented major
advances to aerosol radiative measurements, not in a step, but in a
quantum leap. To wit they:

1\. Designed and constructed a high quality and sophisticated airborne
instrument package (to fit into a Cessna 172) capable of monitoring
aerosol radiative forcing properties that is sensitive, compact,
lightweight, robust and capable of repeated unattended operation. At all
times the humidity of the aerosol measurements is controlled such that
aerosol radiative forcing data from all seasons, at all altitudes, at
all temperatures and all aerosol loadings are comparable over time and
space. In addition, trace gas flask samples are collected on the flights
to determine the coincident concentration of all important greenhouse
gases.

**Benefits:** This system has allowed for 625 aerosol radiative property
flights to be conducted over the past 5 years with an unprecedented 93%
data-to-flight ratio. The average cost of a profile from the surface to
12,000 ft., including instrument consumables, maintenance, pilot wages
and aircraft operating costs have been under \$500/flight.

2\. Constructed a control and data acquisition system so that a pilot
operating alone in a remote location can start the instruments
pre-flight and know they are operating within specifications, fly the
prescribed flight plan without attending to the instruments, and upon
landing immediately download and send the data to Boulder where it is
processed automatically. Flights occur 2-3 times per week, all year
around.

**Benefits:** This allows for immediate detection of instrument
malfunction (rare), but more importantly allows for decisions by
scientists monitoring the data to call for a fast aircraft turn around
to study aerosol events of particular interest. The typical time from
initiation of a flight in Oklahoma to complete data processing and
archiving in Boulder is under 5 hours.

3\. Developed and continue to produce the first long term, in situ
record of aerosol radiative profiles. These profiles are flown over a
well instrumented surface measurement site (Southern Great Plains Cloud
and Radiation Testbed (CART) facility near Lamont, Oklahoma) extending
surface measurements into a third dimension. The profiles are expected
to continue for decades to detect changes and trends in aerosol
radiative properties.

**Benefits:** This climatology of aerosol radiative profiles, the only
record of its kind on Earth, is changing the manner in which modelers
are viewing the effects of aerosols on the atmospheric radiative budget.
This is so because the profile data show that surface measurements do
not well represent above the surface atmospheric aerosol concentrations
or radiative effects, that there is a large seasonality to aerosol
composition in the central southern United States (changes from
absorbing to scattering over an annual cycle), and that there are strong
aerosol radiative effects in layers in the atmosphere that had gone
unmeasured until the institution of the IAP monitoring program.

**Further Scientific Payoffs:** To date, seven refereed articles in
science journals and 18 conference proceeding papers have been published
using the data from the aircraft profiles. A dozen more are in
preparation. The IAP will provide crucial aerosol calibration data for
the recently launched CALIPSO satellite; dedicated flights of the IAP
will be coordinated with CALIPSO overpasses.

**Future Programs:** A strong vote of confidence for the IAP program has
been given by NOAA in that a new Turbo Cessna 206 based aircraft program
(instrumented and operated by the nominees) was funded in FY2006 to
conduct measurements at another location in the U.S. In addition to the
suite of instruments on the Cessna 172, the new aircraft will conduct in
situ, real time particle chemical composition, ozone, radon, carbon
dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane measurements. This new aircraft
will have its maiden flight in May 2006 and will be deployed to
Bondville, Illinois where it will profile aerosol radiative properties
over a surface site where NOAA/ESRL/GMD has been conducting continuous
surface aerosol radiative property measurements for a decade. This new
aircraft will eventually be followed by others to produce a
constellation of "Vertical Observatories" in a network not unlike the 90
site NOAA global surface monitoring network for monitoring climate
forcing agents.

**National Weather Service**

**David R. Bright**

**NWS**

**Nomination \# 29**

**Nominator**: Dr. Louis Uccellini

Director, National Centers for Environmental Prediction

NOAA Science Center, Room 101

5200 Auth Road

Camp Springs, MD 20746-4304

Tel: 301-763-8016

**Nominee:** David R. Bright

**Pronunciation of Name**: David Brite

**Office Address**: NOAA Storm Prediction Center

1313 Halley Circle

Norman, OK 73069-8480

**Major Line Office**: NWS

**Period of Recognition**: January 1, 2003 -- April 1, 2006

**Position, Title, and Grade:** Technique Development Meteorologist

GS-1340-13

**Past Awards:** 1999 **-** WFO Tucson Organizational Bronze Medal

for Fire Weather 1999

**Nomination Category**: Administrator's Award

**Nomination Citation:** For the creation of innovative forecast
guidance that quantifies the risk for hazardous weather and its societal
impacts up to a week in advance.

**Justification**

Dr. David R. Bright of the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is the leading
NWS field advocate of ensemble forecasting. Although his NWS
responsibility is the infusion of innovative forecast tools into SPC
hazardous weather forecast operations, he is recognized within both NOAA
and the academic community as an expert on the use of ensemble forecast
data to describe critical forecast information in probabilistic terms
for key weather related societal issues. Dr. Bright has used his unique
experience as a NWS Weather Forecast Office forecaster and Science and
Operations Officer, university researcher, and SPC science infusion
meteorologist to create innovative solutions to weather related societal
issues in support of NWS and NOAA Strategic Goals. These forecast
solutions span problems including severe thunderstorms and tornadoes,
lightning from dry thunderstorms critical for wildfire ignition, extreme
snowfall rates capable of paralyzing society, and the accumulation (or
non-accumulation) of snow on road surfaces.

Community expressions of support for Dr. Bright's ensemble forecast
tools include:

> *"Thank you for these great products."\
> *Jacob Klee, Meteorologist - Dominion Corporation (energy production
> and delivery)
>
> *"Great forecast tool!"*
>
> Randy Baker, Aviation Forecaster - United Parcel Service
>
> *"As we near the beginning of another severe weather season on our
> area, I want to thank you for the SREF model (guidance) ... as well as
> the other products you (SPC) provide. On June 23rd of last year, due
> to rapidly changing weather conditions, these products allowed us to
> safely position spotters in the field in a timely fashion. I believe
> had we not had those products to refer to, we may not have been fully
> prepared. The conditions resulted in an F1 tornado which went through
> three residential neighborhoods, and 2 industrial parks. Thanks to the
> efforts of your staff ... many injuries were avoided, and I\'m sure
> lives we\'re even saved."*
>
> Chad Woodward, Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Skywarn (Dane
> County, WI)

Dr. Bright's work has uniquely advanced the NWS Mission and NOAA's
Strategic Goals in numerous areas. His initial focus was to aid in the
forecasting of tornado and severe thunderstorms in support of the
protection of life and property by increasing the accuracy and lead time
of NOAA-NWS hazardous weather forecasts. The resulting guidance was a
key contributor to the first NOAA-NWS forecast of the highest risk
category for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms a full day before the
Tennessee-Georgia tornado outbreak of April 7, 2006. Similar medium
range ensemble guidance products helped enable the NOAA-NWS to begin
experimental public forecasts of severe thunderstorms up to eight days
in advance. A severe weather forecast similar to this was beyond the
state of the science only a decade ago and Dr. Bright's exceptional work
has contributed mightily to making accurate extended range
hazard-specific forecasts a reality.

Additional product development efforts have focused on topics aligned
with cross-cutting NOAA-NWS goals. Although protection of life and
property is still central to this work, new guidance that increases the
use and effectiveness of weather information for air and surface
transportation are an importation dimension of Dr. Bright's work.
Examples include calibrated probabilistic thunderstorm guidance that
aids not only public forecasts but also safe and efficient aviation, and
guidance for the accumulation of winter precipitation on road surfaces.
This later effort also illustrates Dr. Bright's NOAA wide focus. After
the transportation impact of a NOAA-NWS forecast of heavy snowfall was
dramatically altered by the melting of snowfall on road surfaces despite
heavy accumulation on other surfaces, Dr. Bright proposed and developed
innovative ensemble-based probabilistic guidance. This effort used
detailed model physics information previously unused in practical
forecast tools and calibrated the forecasts with direct road surface
measurements from Department of Transportation sensors. The work was
external to his local efforts in support of SPC forecast operations and
was directly shared with all NWS forecast offices and the external U.S.
weather enterprise nationwide this past winter.

Accurate fire weather forecasts also impact life and property, but have
a potential future dimension related to ecosystem management. In
particular, thunderstorms producing little precipitation frequently
ignite major wildfires and thus are also a major concern to the U.S.
Forest Service and other land management agencies. Dr. Bright has
developed specific calibrated probabilistic guidance on these dry
thunderstorm events. Other ensemble based guidance aid NWS forecasts of
"conventional" fire weather conditions including the combined likelihood
of low relative humidity, strong surface winds, and warm surface
temperature. These forecast tools are used extensively by NWS
forecasters in national fire weather outlooks shared with
intra-government and external fire weather partners

Dr. Bright's extensive knowledge and broad-based experience with
operational applications of ensemble forecasting have been recognized by
the external meteorological community during activities in the NOAA
Hazardous Weather Testbed and by the American Meteorological Society
(AMS), who asked him to develop and execute a two day course on
"Downscaling Techniques and Applications" at the 2006 AMS Annual
Meeting.

David Bright's novel and groundbreaking work not only involves
extracting important forecast information from numerical models, but
also enhancing its value for critical decision making by using exemplary
meteorological insights and statistical techniques. Many of Dr. Bright's
most innovative forecast tools are designed to be self-improving through
real-time calibration based on daily verification data. His guidance
directly support the first two outcomes of the NOAA Weather and Water
Mission Goal: Increase lead time and accuracy for weather and water
warnings and forecasts, and to Improve predictability for the onset,
duration, and impact of hazardous and severe weather and water events.
The roadway snow accumulation guidance directly impacts the NOAA
Commerce and Transportation Mission Goal: Reduce weather-related
transportation crashes and delays. For these reasons, David R. Bright is
well deserving of the Administrator's Award for Scientific Research.

**Eric T. Jones/Amanda L. Roberts**

**NWS**

**Nomination \# 30**

**1. Nominator's Name**

Mr. Bill Proenza

Director, Southern Region

National Weather Service

819 Taylor Street, Room 10E09

Ft. Worth, TX 76102

817-978-1000

**4. Nominees:**

Eric T. Jones Pronunciation: As written

Senior Hydrologic Forecaster -- GS 1313-13

Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center

62300 Airport Road

Slidell, LA 70460

Amanda L. Roberts Pronunciation: ah-MAN-duh Roberts

Senior Hydrologic Forecaster -- GS 1315-13

Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center

62300 Airport Road

Slidell, LA 70460

**Line Office:** National Weather Service

**Period of Recognition:** Fall 2003 to February 2006

**5. Past Awards**

Eric T. Jones

Group Bronze Medal -- 2004

Southern Region Director's Service Improvement Award 2003

Group Bronze Medal -- 2002

Southern Region Director's Service Improvement Award 2001

Group Silver Medal - 1997

Group Bronze - 1996

Amanda L. Roberts

Southern Region Director's Teamwork Award 2004

Group Bronze Medal -- 2002

**6. Nomination Category:** Information Systems

**7. Certificate Citation**

For developing a hydrologic forecast model simulator to enhance
operational hydrologic training for National Weather Service
forecasters.

**8. Justification**

The Weather Event Simulator-Displayed Real-Time was developed to provide
meteorologists the capability to simulate operations during a warning
situation. By feeding data into the system in a simulated real-time
mode, the simulator has been a valuable training tool for meteorologists
in Weather Forecast Offices. When the simulator was implemented, there
were no River Forecast Center (RFC) modeling capabilities included in
the original design of the system.

In the past, much of the training in river forecasting at RFCs has been
done by on-the-job training. To improve the training experience and to
accelerate training opportunities, it was determined hydrologic
simulation capabilities would be a valuable tool. To meet this need,
Eric Jones and Amanda Roberts developed these real-time simulation
capabilities for RFC operations on the Weather Event Simulator-Displayed
Real-Time system. Both of these employees are Senior Hydrologists at the
Lower Mississippi River RFC. Their normal jobs involve providing
forecasts for the lower Mississippi River and its tributaries. This
information technology development effort was well beyond what is
normally expected of Senior Hydrologists at an RFC.

In the Fall of 2003, Eric Jones and Amanda Roberts began the development
of the Simulated Hydrologic Activities During Real-Time Events project
to make real-time simulations for River Forecast Centers a reality.
Using the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) and an
archive computer (which is resident at all RFCs), they were able to
develop the necessary software and procedures to archive the required
data and information to perform simulations. Software was developed to
simulate real-time receipt of incoming data on the simulator to simulate
real-time activities. In addition to this original development, they
also duplicated the operational river forecast system and all associated
software on the simulator. Development of software for the simulator
required in-depth knowledge of computer scripting languages, database
management, the National Weather Service Version 5 forecast model, and
RFC forecast operations. The initial version of simulator software was
tested at another RFC in the Spring of 2004 and comments and feedback
were incorporated into subsequent versions of the program. In the winter
of 2005/2006, Eric and Amanda made the necessary adaptations to permit
incorporation of the simulator software into AWIPS

Since its development, the simulator system has been implemented at all
four Southern Region RFCs and three RFCs in other NWS regions.

As a training tool, the simulator significantly changes hydrologic
training. The hydrologic instructors at the Cooperative Program for
Operational Meteorology, Education and Training (COMET) have adapted the
simulator system for their training activities and use this capability
on COMET workstations used in hydrologic training courses.

The simulator provides tremendous benefits in training forecasters at
both river forecast centers and weather forecast offices. Hydrologists
new to the NWS will utilize case studies to learn the hydrologic science
and reasoning in preparing river and flood forecasts. During simulations
of significant flooding events, less experienced forecasters learn more
about the forecast process from "seasoned" veterans and gain valuable
experience. Forecasters gain valuable experience on forecasting major
flood events using archived case studies.

In addition to simulating hydrologic model operations, the system
simulates Hydrometeorological Analysis and Support (HAS) operations. HAS
forecasters are responsible for processing rainfall from the radar. The
simulator is a major component in training of HAS forecasters. Archived
case studies made it easier to train new HAS forecasters. This allowed
all forecasters to experience HAS operations during a major flood event
without the stress and time constraints imposed during such an event.

The hydrologic operations simulator revolutionized training at River
Forecast Centers. The system's capabilities allow for simulation
training on hydrologic forecast applications using simulated data and
conditions.

**J. Michael Looney Group**

**NWS**

**Nomination \# 31**

Polygon Team Members

J. Michael Looney

GS1340-15 Services Division Chief

National Weather Service Central Region Headquarters

7220 NW 101^st^ Ter.

Kansas City, MO. 64153-2371

Brenton W. MacAloney II (Mac-A-Lone-Eee)

Meteorologist GS-13

NOAA/NWS Office of Climate, Weather and Weather Services\
1325 East West Highway, SSMC2, #14401

Silver Spring, MD 20910

John Michael Coyne (coin)

Meteorologist-In-Charge -- GS-14\
NOAA/NWS Weather Forecast Office

320 Sparkman Drive\
Huntsville, AL 35805

Steven Naglic (Nag-lick)\
Warning Coordination Meteorologist GS-14\
NOAA/NWS Weather Service Office\
2909 Aviation Way\
West Columbia, SC 29170\
\
Peter L. Wolf

Science and Operations Officer -- GS-14

NOAA/NWS Weather Forecast Office

13701 Fang Drive

Jacksonville FL 32218

Joseph T. Schaefer (SHA - fur)\
Director -SES

NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center\
1313 Halley Cr\
Norman OK 73069

2003 -- Presidential Rank Award

Noreen Schwein (Shwane)

Regional Hydro Services Manager GS-14

NOAA/NWS Central Region Headquarters

7229 NW 101^st^ Terrace

Kansas City, Missouri 64153-2371

2001, Bronze Medal - QPF Implementation Team\
2002, Bronze Medal - Significant River Flood Outlook Team

Jeff Lorens *(Lor ins)*\
Warning Coordination and Marine Program Manager GS-13

NOAA/NWS Western Region Headquarters\
125 S. State Street, Room 1235\
Salt Lake City, UT  84138-1102

Richard J. Okulski (Oh Cul ski)\
Warning Coordination Meteorologist GS-14

NOAA/NWS Weather Forecast Office

7777 Walnut Grove Road, OM-1\
Memphis, TN 38120

1999, Bronze Medal -- Fire Weather Program, Tucson, AZ

Ken Waters (Waters)\
Regional Scientist GS-14

NOAA/NWS Pacific Region HQ\
737 Bishop St., Ste 2200\
Honolulu HI 96813

2001 -- DOC Silver Medal -- Radar Web Team

**CERTIFICATE CITATION**: For the successful Polygon Warning Initiative
demonstration validating the value of polygon warnings to the American
public and national economy.

[Narrative Justification:]{.underline}

If tornado warnings could be refined to 25 percent of the average county
area, the value to the American economy should be at least \$100 million
per year, approximately equal, in value, to lowering the False Alarm
Ratio (FAR) to zero. These rather startling statements are taken from
studies conducted by Dr. Daniel Sutter, Associate Professor of
Economics, University of Oklahoma.

In January 2003, the National Weather Service (NWS) leadership discussed
the requirement to provide geographically concise, timely, and
geo-specific warning information in digital format, approved the
concept, and assembled a review team from five NWS Regions and the
Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services. The team first met in
January 2004 creating a draft team charter to evaluate *Warnings by
Polygon*. The NWS Corporate Board Operations Subcommittee approved the
team charter through December 2005.

From the onset of the NWS warning program, existing technologies
dictated warning by county. Over the decades of NWS warning history, the
warning by county concept was refined and the warning by county culture
became entrenched within and outside the NWS. The advent of digital
technology has, almost overnight, revolutionized communication. Warning
by polygon, unlike textual warnings by county, meshes well with digital
communication technologies. A warning consisting of a set of
latitude/longitude vertices is easily transmitted via cell phone or
Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). Warning polygons are easily displayed
in various graphical formats, ideal for television media and web
display.

The *Warnings by Polygon* team designed and implemented a field
evaluation of specific, short-duration warnings by polygon for the 2005
severe weather season from March 1 through September 30, 2005, in
addition to their normal job duties. The warnings under evaluation
included tornado, severe thunderstorm, special marine and flash flood.

In preparation for the field evaluation, a series of interactive
training sessions was developed and conducted by Pete Wolf, Science and
Operations Officer, NOAA/NWS Forecast Office (WFO) Wichita, Kansas. Each
of the 23 NWS WFOs in the field evaluation was afforded three
opportunities to participate in a training session. As a result,
virtually every forecaster in the field evaluation received training in
the basic concept of polygon warnings.

For the *Warnings by Polygon* initiative, each of the test site WFOs
used Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities to enhance their
internet displays with polygon warnings.  The polygons showed the
intended threat area as opposed to highlighting the entire county(ies)
providing more precise warning information used by partners and
customers to decide whether or not to take action. This approach has
since become a standard operating practice and has been incorporated
into the RIDGE radar display on all NWS WFO internet sites.

An aggressive outreach campaign was employed by both the test site focal
point and the Polygon Warning Evaluation Team members to fully acquaint
customers with the scheduled evaluation. Outreach targets included local
and national media, local emergency managers, members of the scientific
community including the National Weather Association and American
Meteorological Society, and private sector vendors and customers of NWS
warning information. Response was positive across this wide spectrum of
partners and customers.

In preparation for the field evaluation, a simple survey form was
developed for the purpose of evaluating impact within the forecast
office and upon segments of the customer and partner communities.

Ease of communication is, however, a secondary benefit. The primary goal
of warnings by polygon is improved warning service to the citizens of
this country. Warning by polygon allows the forecaster the opportunity
to be spatially specific and, thereby, eliminating large areas
needlessly warned when compared to warning by county. The *Warnings by
Polygon* field evaluation provided dramatic results. Warning by polygon
decreased the area warned by almost **75 percent**. Therefore, the
decrease in falsely warned area is almost **75%** based on the field
evaluation. What does this mean? According to Dr. Dan Sutter, Associate
Professor of Economics, University of Oklahoma, this decrease in warning
area represents a value to the United States economy of at least savings
of \$100 million per year which is equivalent to lower the False Alarm
Ratio (FAR) to zero.

The *Warnings by Polygon* concept has already received a warm reception
from customers. Recently, Mr. Jason Jackson, Director of Emergency
Management for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. offered his perception of the value
of *Warnings by Polygon.* According to Mr. Jackson, Wal-Mart employs a
program that displays all of their stores and other facilities that lie
within a warned area.  Their Emergency Operations Center calls those
stores and alerts them to the danger.  The facilities are instructed to
put their severe weather plans into action placing the safety of the
customers and Wal-Mart\'s associates above everything else until the
storm passes. In theory, Wal-Mart would warn approximately 75% fewer
stores with polygon-based warnings when compared to county-based
warnings.

StormCall now operates in media markets serving 5 million homes and
holds contracts for additional markets serving an additional 10 million
households. StormCall places calls to subscribing homes and businesses
within the area warned by the NWS. According to Valerie Ritterbusch,
Vice President, StormCall Inc., smaller (i.e., polygon) warnings are
crucial to services provided by StormCall. "There is a HUGE learning
curve for the public in general who have become accustomed to a history
of over-warning."

The *Warnings by Polygon* evaluation results were reported to the
Operations Subcommittee of the NWS Corporate Board in December, 2005.
The Subcommittee agreed with the primary recommendation of the *Warnings
by Polygon* team to begin implementation of warnings by polygon. The
subcommittee accepted all team recommendations and commissioned the
existing team to begin the warning by polygon implementation phase.

Polygon warnings address the NOAA Strategic Plan goal to "employ
scientific and emerging technological capabilities to advance
decision-support services and educate stakeholders." Polygon warnings,
once fully implemented, will address the NWS mission goal to "Deliver
Better Products and Services."

The *Warnings by Polygon* Team validated the continuing need to improve
the specificity and accuracy of warnings for tornadoes, severe
thunderstorms, flash floods and Special Marine Warnings. The work of
this team has designed a path for the future which allows the Agency to
meet its most critical mission goals while matching operational policy
with 21^st^ Century technologies.

**Bruce A. Sherbon**

**NWS**

**Nomination \# 32**

**Significant contribution to the development of the Radiosonde
Replacement Systems (RRS) Operators Training Video**

**Nominator: John McNulty**

> **Director, Office of Operational Systems, NWS **
>
> 1325 East West Highway, SSMC 2 Room 16212
>
> Silver Spring, MD 20910

**Nominee(s)**

Bruce A. Sherbon

10158 East 11^th^ Street

Tulsa, OK 74128-3050

National Weather Service/Southern Region/Tulsa Weather Forecast Office

GS-1340-12 Meteorological, Past Awards; NOAA Administrator's Award -
2002, Special Act Award 2004

**Period of Recognition:** July 31, 2004 -- August 1, 2005

**Nomination Category:** Public Service

**Certificate citation** (max. 150 characters): For significant
contributions to the development of the Radiosonde Replacement Systems
(RRS) Operators Training Video

**Justification**

The National Weather Service (NWS) maintained for nearly 50 years an
upper-air radiosonde network which collects upper-air data for the NWS
warning and forecast programs. NWS Headquarters has utilized policy and
procedural documentation to train and enable the upper-air field sites
to take consistent quality soundings. This technique has worked over the
years, but observers have found following written guidance and policy to
sometimes leave questions unanswered.

The NWS Upper-Air Requirements and Field Implementation groups have
recognized the need to consider alternative measures to improve
training. The development of consistent checklist and a Data Acquisition
Course have been developed. However, having a consistent hands-on
approach has always been a goal. On the job training at the various
offices often helped provide answers to many questions, but having a
consistent training regiment was impossible to maintain.

Mr. Bruce Sherbon, a meteorologist at Tulsa, Oklahoma recognized a need
for a more consistent training for the upper-air program and developed
an operators training video for the legacy upper-air system in 2003. The
NWS has been working for the past 10 years on the Radiosonde Replacement
System (RRS). Mr. Sherbon was approached to do a similar operators
training video for the new system and he agreed to do so in addition to
his normal forecasting duties. .

Mr. Sherbon has used the instruction in the Weather Service Observing
Handbook (WSOH-10), along with the various draft of the RRS User Guide,
and the radiosonde battery preparation instruction to make this video.
This effort has required him to become familiar with not only the new
software, but the tracking system, and the radiosonde instrument. His
video provides a detailed description of the various tasks the Observers
must do to during, and after flight termination. The video demonstrates
recommended actions during special in-flight situations.

The operational value of the Upper-Air Operators Training Video to the
NWS Upper-Air Network as a training aid to the field sites and to the
Data Acquisition Course at the National Weather Service Training Center
(NWSTC) can not be overstated. The benefit of having this video is
especially important with the changes occurring with the program due to
the migration of the field sites to this new upper-air tracking system.

The RRS Operators Training Video accomplishes the following:

-   The Operators Training Video improves the operators training
    process, allowing visual learners, audio learners, as well as
    cognitive learners the full extent of the information value, further
    enhancing the learning experience and ensuring quality data. The
    exceptional range of the operators (80 of over 600 to be trained)
    who have found significant benefit from visual, audio, and written
    combination of information has demonstrated a broad impact on the
    NWS upper-air products benefiting both public and private users.

-   The ingenuity and skill involved in creating this operators training
    video provides direction and guidance to field sites and observers
    previously only existing in and provided by informal monitoring by
    senior operators. This change significantly strengthens and helps
    clarify the policy and procedures of the RRS Program and Upper-air
    Program.

-   The video saves time in training by placing an emphasis on vital
    tasks. The RRS Upper-air Program introduces six times the amount of
    information previously seen by observers during the same two hour
    flight. The operators training video provides a logical view of the
    upper-air observational and data transmission requirements and what
    an operator needs to focus on when taking an upper-air sounding.

-   The video also provides hands-on direction to not only new
    observers, but seasoned observers as well. The techniques and tasks
    demonstrated eliminate improper habits and training.

-   The video answers questions on how to operate the equipment, how to
    edit, how to recognize problem data and take corrective action.

The RRS Operators Training Video has been reviewed by NWSH personnel
directly involved in writing upper-air policy and procedures and proving
guidance to the regions and field sites. After viewing, commenting and
seeing revisions to this video it is without exception this video is
highly endorsed and been disseminated to those involved with upper-air
within and outside the National Weather Service.

**Melvin "Mac" McLaughlin**, Deputy Director for Performance and
Resources, National Weather Service's Southern Region in Fort Worth, TX.
"The contribution of Mr. Sherbon can not be overstated. It is rare for a
single individual to have such a positive impact on the initial
performance of forecasters, hydrometeorology technicians, and electronic
technicians participating in GPS radiosonde program."

**Michael Bender Group**

**NWS**

**Nomination \# 33**

**Nominees**

> Michael Bender, Senior Meteorologist Instructor, GS-13, NWS Office,
> FAA Academy AMA-514, P.O. Box 25082, Oklahoma City, OK 73125
>
> John Jarboe, Senior Meteorologist Instructor, GS-13, NWS Office, FAA
> Academy AMA-514, P.O. Box 25082, Oklahoma City, OK 73125
>
> Marco Bohorquez, Senior Meteorologist Instructor, GS-13, NWS Office,
> FAA Academy AMA-514, P.O. Box 25082, Oklahoma City, OK 73125,

NOAA Administrator's Award, 2003

> Robert A. Prentice, Senior Meteorologist Instructor, GS-13, NWS
> Office, FAA Academy AMA-514, P.O. Box 25082, Oklahoma City, OK 73125
>
> Douglas Streu, Senior Meteorologist Instructor, GS-13, NWS Office, FAA
> Academy AMA-514, P.O. Box 25082, Oklahoma City, OK 73125

NOAA Administrator's Award, 2003

> Karen Lewis, Administrative Support Assistant, GS-7, NWS Office, FAA
> Academy AMA-514, P.O. Box 25082, Oklahoma City, OK 73125
>
> Susan Beckwith, Systems Analyst/Internet Program Manager. GS-13, NWS
> Southern Region Headquarters, 819 Taylor Street, Room 10A06, Fort
> Worth, TX 76102
>
> Cynthia Abelman, Meteorologist in Charge, GS-14, NWS Office, FAA
> Academy AMA-514, P.O. Box 25082, Oklahoma City, OK 73125

**2. Nominated by** Cynthia Abelman, Meteorologist in Charge, NWS Office
at the FAA Academy, FAA Academy AMA-514, P.O. Box 25082, Oklahoma City,
OK 73125. (405) 954-6870.

**3. Nomination Category**: Information Systems

**4. Certificate Citation**:

For implementing new secure web-based testing for the NWS National Pilot
Weather Briefing and Tower Visibility Certification examinations.

**5. Justification**:

The NWS Office at the FAA Academy has a unique role in the NWS' goal to
reduce aviation fatalities due to weather. Each day, the team works
closely with the FAA and Lockheed Martin to ensure the highest quality
weather services reach the flying community through pilot weather
briefings and airport visibility observations.

One of the many roles the team plays in the NWS and the FAA, the most
important are the certification of pilot weather briefers and air
traffic control tower observers. The team at the NWS Office at the FAA
Academy is responsible for ensuring controllers and specialists are
prepared to interpret, translate and disseminate NWS products to pilots
providing the best possible weather information to the pilot.

To become a NWS-certified pilot weather briefer, a candidate must
successfully complete three NWS written exams and an oral evaluation. To
become a NWS-certified Tower Visibility Observer, a controller must
successfully complete the NWS Tower Visibility Certification exam. These
certifications are granted upon the successful completion of the
requisite examinations.

Prior to March 2006, exams for Pilot Weather Briefing were administered
by NWS instructors at the FAA Academy during classroom instruction. When
Lockheed Martin became the flight services provider, they also developed
their own training academy. The requirement to take the NWS exams
remained in place, but the best method for administering the exams
needed to be determined.

Our original method was to continue to administer the exams using
existing paper copies. To maintain the integrity of the PWB
Certification exams, they were sent to neighboring NWS offices for
proctoring. These exams could be requested by any of the 61 Automated
Flight Service (AFSS) facilities in the continental U.S., Alaska,
Hawaii, or San Juan, P.R. The Tower Visibility Certification exam could
be requested from as far away as Guam but could be requested by any Air
Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) which is required to take Tower Visibility
Observations.

Obviously, this was a cumbersome and costly operation resulting in the
following:

-   Costs for packaging, unpacking, correcting exams (approximately
    \$2500 annually);

-   Costs for mailing -- standard mail and Federal Express
    (approximately \$2000 annually);

-   Delays in certification due to time en route to and from facility;

-   Delay in grades for University Partners at University of Alaska --
    Anchorage and Beaver State College in Pennsylvania;

-   Loss of material during mailing;

-   Loss of test integrity; and

-   Potential facility staffing problems waiting for results of
    certification exam.

To alleviate these costs and complications, the NWS Office at the FAA
Academy investigated and implemented a web-based exam format.

The NWS Office at the FAA Academy purchased a server with office funds
and worked with the NWS Southern Region Headquarters to integrate this
separate server into to the "web farm." This separate server would
provide a secure system for the exam without compromising the
established Southern Region web configuration. Security measures were
put into place to allow only permitted users to access the exams.

The team at the NWS Office at the FAA Academy recreated graphics to
update the original paper exam and remove questions which focused on
antiquated products. Over a matter of just a few months, the
modernization of all four of the certification exams was complete.

The web-based format was implemented in March 2006. This medium allows
up to 50 individuals to take exam at one time from different locations.
The questions and answers are scrambled so the integrity of the exam is
maintained regardless of the number of students in a computer lab taking
the exam.

Some of the benefits of converting the NWS Certification exams to
web-based testing include:

-   The image of the NWS improves by no longer sending bulky, paper
    "image booklets" to accompany the exams;

-   The results are available to the NWS Office at the FAA Academy and
    students immediately following the completion of the exam;

-   The exams can be scheduled by a simple phone call and immediately
    available;

-   The results can be e-mailed to interested individuals for tracking;
    and

-   The NWS Office at the FAA Academy saves money and time in packing
    and shipping exams.

Since March 2006, the following exams have successfully been given:

-   14 Students, Lockheed Martin FS21 Academy, Prescott, AZ

-   Lockheed Martin \-- AFSSs Burlington, VT, Juneau, AK, and San
    Angelo, TX

-   27 Students \-- University of Alaska -- Anchorage

-   6 Controllers, NWS Tower Visibility Certification Exam \-- Little
    Rock, AR, Baton Rouge, LA, Lansing, MI (2), the FAA Academy, Daytona
    Beach, FL

The tests have been overwhelmingly successful. Comments from the
training officials the University of Alaska -- Anchorage and at the FAA
Academy have been very positive ranging from the ease of taking the test
to the improvement of the graphics available to the students. The
instructor at the University of Alaska even mentioned converting his
exams to the same format.

For their hard work, dedication, and ingenuity, the team at the NWS
Office at the FAA Academy should be recognized for improving an
antiquated testing program by employing the latest software and security
advancements to produce the web-based testing.

**Christopher J. Hunt Group**

**NWS**

**Nomination \# 34**

**[Nominator's Name]{.underline}: Richard J. Vogt**

Director, Radar Operations Center, W/OPS4

1200 Westheimer Dr.

Norman, OK 73069

> Telephone Number: 405-573-8803

**Nominees:**

**Christopher J. Hunt** Number range CHAPTERPronunciation: kris-to-fer
hunt

Number range CHAPTERNWS/OOS/ROC/Program Branch 3200 Marshall Ave Ste 101

Norman, OK 73069

Configuration Management Information Specialist GS-2210-13

Past Awards: 2002 Bronze Medal, 2004 Administrator's Award

**Cheryl A. Stephenson** Pronunciation: cher-l stE-ven-son

NWS/OOS/ROC/Program Branch 3200 Marshall Ave Ste 101

Norman, OK 73069

Configuration Management Team Lead GS-301-14

Past Awards: N/A

**William Armstrong** Pronunciation: \'wil-yam ärm-stro\[ng\]

NWS/OOS/ROC/Program Branch 3200 Marshall Ave Ste 101

Norman, OK 73069

Software Engineering Team Lead GS-2210-14

Past Awards: N/A

**Period of Recognition: 1 March 2005 to 1 April 2006**

**Nomination Category**: Information Services

**Nomination Number range CHAPTERCitation:** For Development of
Innovative Software Processes to Support the NEXRAD Network.

**Justification:**

The NOAA/National Weather Service (NWS) Radar Operations Center (ROC)
team of Cheryl Stephenson, Christopher Hunt, and William Armstrong
applied their expertise in Configuration Management and Software
Engineering to implement re-engineered Next Generation Radar (NEXRAD)
software processes that accelerated the delivery of radar performance
improvements. Their successes exceeded all expectations for producing
frequent, predictable releases of operational software. They earned a
benchmark in efficiency that enabled improvement in NWS severe weather
warning performance. The team's efforts were absolutely essential for
the NWS to meet and/or exceed 4 of 5 severe weather warning measures
that are Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) performance
targets for faster, more accurate Tornado Warning Lead Time, Accuracy,
and False Alarm Ratio; and Flash Flood Lead Time and Warning Accuracy.
This was during a period in which 4 of the same 5 GPRA goals increased
their performance target in lead-time minutes and/or accuracy.

In support of those GPRA goals, Cheryl, Chris, and Bill led the ROC's
software process re-engineering that accelerated the delivery to field
operations of new and highly improved software changes provided by
researchers and implemented by the NWS Office of Science and Technology
(OS&T), NWS Office of Hydrologic Development (OHD), and Massachusetts
Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratories. Examples of timely
implementations are: an improved "Tornado Detection" capability giving
forecasters more timely and accurate data on the formation of tornadoes;
a new "Snow Accumulation" capability speeding issuance of winter storm
warnings; a new technique that increased radar data coverage during
severe weather when dangerous storms may be obscured; an improved "Storm
Cell Tracking" capability to more accurately identify and track
life-threatening storms; and a new, faster "Radar Scanning" capability
providing faster updates of severe weather data to forecasters. Through
more frequent and predictable software releases, forecasters had
improved forecast tools and radar data necessary to issue storm
forecasts and warnings in a manner enabling the NWS to meet or exceed
ambitious GPRA performance targets.

To deliver new science and improved NEXRAD capability faster, Cheryl,
Chris, and Bill instituted a process to facilitate the simultaneous
production of three software baselines. The three baselines are (1)
software under development for delivery in future months, (2) software
under operational test, and (3) the software currently used by the NWS
forecast offices. They overcame traditional software practices and
management styles by re-engineering the processes to determine the
criticality and priority of identified software problems, assessing the
impact of problems to each baseline, and communicating problem
information to the correct teams for corrective action. First, Bill
analyzed current software development and testing procedures and
identified the processes that slow down production. Next, the team
searched industry for a Configuration Management (CM) software tool to
implement the re-engineered processes. Cheryl and Chris crafted the CM
tool to support the needs of software developers, testers, and
supporting staffs while Bill managed the software engineering with ROC
staff and the offices of OS&T and OHD.

During this re-engineering effort, Cheryl, Chris, and Bill realized
great efficiency in management of resources, too. Specifically, the
staff's workload was now against multiple software baselines and release
schedules. They conquered this challenge with equal success. Each
baseline had to be complete and contain all updates from previous
software packages used by the forecast offices, plus each baseline
configuration could under go short-notice change up to the point of
formal release to the forecast offices. They developed a method to
ensure a software change made to one baseline is automatically applied
to all other relevant baselines. To this end, the team implemented a
complex system of nightly software builds...a process never used at the
ROC before! They "ran" the software to ensure all changes incorporated
that day do not stop the system from operating as designed. The result
was prompt detection of problems, followed by immediate resolution by
government and contractors....within 24 hours, saving software
development time and avoiding costly contract schedule changes. The
staff could now "concurrently" maintain and generate new capability and
apply it against site unique radar systems allowing team leaders to
manage software shared by multiple systems and users. They also created
software installation efficiencies contributing to vastly reducing
software load time by up to 1000 hours across the NEXRAD network...the
software loads in minutes instead of hours. Ease of software loading and
resource flexibility resulted in enthusiastic acceptance!

Next, Bill proposed another re-engineering change. He implemented re-use
of major communications and infrastructure software code elements that
exist through out the NEXRAD software suite. To accomplish this
initiative, Cheryl and Bill defined a CM process that identifies and
extracts specific software from one area for re-use to build code for
another area. This new practice ensured this code is identified and
always provided from a single, shared software baseline. Not only used
in "routine" builds, this effort was extremely valuable during evolution
of the \$43M Open Radar Data Acquisition (ORDA) upgrade. The ORDA
contractor re-used code to develop software at an accelerated rate.
Their software re-use process was invaluable to saving development time.
The team enabled faster delivery of new NEXRAD technology which means
improved data quality for forecast operations; meanwhile, directly
improving operational availability that beat the NWS standard of 96% by
3 percentage points! In fact, we have extended "re-use of software" to
NEXRAD partners in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), U.S. Air
Force (USAF), and OS&T reducing risk and cost for connecting FAA, USAF
and NWS display systems to the NEXRAD radar.

Maintenance of unique radar site data has always been a challenge for
radar software development. A large amount of data must be maintained to
represent each site's unique location, meteorological data, and
communication information. This is further complicated since multiple
ROC teams manage different portions of this site data. The team folded
this aspect of the software management into their re-engineering
initiative. Under old software practices, the different radar software
development projects used separate sources for the same information.
Plus, the different sources were not consistently using identical
software code for software shared among projects. A further complication
was the management of a significant amount of complex communication
data. Cheryl teamed with Chris to study the current radar site data
collection processes. Meanwhile, Bill re-engineered the software
processes used internally and by external agencies thus insuring one
source of data was available to software developers, system engineers,
Hotline support staff, and external research scientists. They attained
reliable access to the information while supporting real-time
troubleshooting or scientific development efforts. The result was a new
centralized, CM managed, software code repository! The team gained
automated generation and accelerated distribution of site unique data
plus communication information reducing the chance of error to virtually
zero increasing operational availability to forecast operations and data
distribution to commercial partners!

In summary, the innovative processes devised and implemented by Mrs.
Stephenson, Mr. Hunt and Mr. Armstrong directly complimented the ability
of NWS to meet or exceed ever more ambitious GPRA targets. Their
challenge was to "think outside the box" of standard, legacy practices.
As a result, the ROC delivered re-engineered innovations that are a
benchmark within NEXRAD business practices. Their re-engineering success
matched or beat industry standards by delivering new software as
frequently as six months...in comparison, this is against previous ROC
practices that took up to 18-24 months! A time savings of up to 75%!
They solidified a benchmark of reliable and predictable software
delivery that also matches implementation of new scientific capability
enhancing the performance of the NWS field forecast offices!

**Curtis J. Kockx Group**

**NWS**

**Nomination \# 35**

**1. Nominator:**

X. William Proenza, Director

NWS Southern Region

819 Taylor Street, Room 10A03

Fort Worth, TX 76102

Telephone: (817) 978-1000

**2. Name of Nominee:** Curtis J. Kockx

**Pronunciation:** COX

**Office Address**: National Weather Service

WFO San Angelo

7654 Knickerbocker Road

San Angelo, TX 76904

**Major Line Office:** National Weather Service

**Period of Recognition:** May 2004 through July 2005

**Position Title and Grade**: Information Technology Officer; GS-13

**Past Awards:** None

**Name of Nominee:** Jeffrey D. Williams

**Pronunciation:** WILL-yams

**Office Address**: National Weather Service

Southern Region Headquarters

819 Taylor Street, Room 10A03

Fort Worth, TX 76102

**Major Line Office:** National Weather Service

**Period of Recognition:** May 2004 through July 2005

**Position Title and Grade**: Information Technology Officer -- Active
Directory Administrator; GS-13

**Past Awards:** None

**Name of Nominee:** Don Pham

**Pronunciation:** FAM

**Office Address**: National Weather Service

Southern Region Headquarters

819 Taylor Street, Room 10A03

Fort Worth, TX 76102

**Major Line Office:** National Weather Service

**Period of Recognition:** May 2004 through July 2005

**Position Title and Grade:** Computer Specialist; GS-12

**Past Awards:** None

**Name of Nominee:** Brian Read

**Pronunciation:** READ

**Office Address**: National Weather Service

WFO Austin/San Antonio

2090 Airport Road

New Braunfels, TX 78130

**Major Line Office:** National Weather Service

**Period of Recognition:** May 2004 through July 2005

**Position Title and Grade:** Electronic Systems Analyst; GS-13

**Past Awards:** None

**Name of Nominee:** Mario Valverde

**Pronunciation:** val-VER-dee

**Office Address**: National Weather Service

Southern Region Headquarters

819 Taylor Street, Room 10A03

Fort Worth, TX 76102

**Major Line Office:** National Weather Service

**Period of Recognition:** May 2004 through July 2005

**Position Title and Grade**: Chief, Systems Integration Branch; GS-14

**Past Awards:** 1997 Bronze Medal

**3. Nomination Category:** Information Systems

**4. Nomination Citation:**

For implementing an enterprise architecture for information sharing
which became the model for the architecture being implemented NWS-wide.

**5. Justification:**

National Weather Service (NWS) offices have had almost autonomous
control over their individual Information Technology (IT) programs
establishing customized IT platforms and software capabilities without
enterprise standards. The lack of standards has resulted in a
proliferation of suppliers, excessive numbers of configurations, a
duplication of IT capabilities, high security risks, and high costs in
maintenance, replenishment, and security administration.

In support of NOAA's goal to Provide Critical Support For NOAA's
Mission, specifically to "Increase internal and external availability,
reliability, security, and use of NOAA information technology and
services," the group undertook an effort to develop an enterprise
architecture that vastly improves the productivity, quality,
dissemination and efficiency of information sharing throughout NWS
Southern Region (NWS-SR), while ensuring confidentiality, availability,
and integrity of information. Specifically, the group was tasked to
develop, configure, test and implement an enterprise architecture for
NWS-SR offices encompassing 32 Weather Forecast Offices, 7 Center
Weather Service Units, 4 River Forecast Centers and the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) Academy.

The group procured the necessary resources, evaluated various hardware
configurations, developed a comprehensive implementation plan,
configured and tested the architecture, performed in-house training to
over 30 administrators and implemented the architecture which consists
of 40 servers and over 1100 workstations serving over 900 users.

The enterprise architecture implemented by the group provides an
appropriate level of centralized control of desktop using Active
Directory which drastically reduces the amount of administration time
and effort needed to maintain the local LANs (Local Area Networks).
Security was increased through the management of anti-virus software and
the latest security patches from centralized control. The common IT
security infrastructure ensures compliance with department policies for
the entire NWS-SR. Centralization of resources increased collaboration
among NWS-SR entities and simplifies asset inventories and
identification. Centralized administration and accountability of IT
assets can be more easily ascertained and tied to future IT budget
requests. All of this translates to more IT time spent testing and
implementing more critical NWS systems that can benefit customers. It is
worthy of note that these employees normal jobs do now include
undertaking ground-breaking developmental activities. They accomplished
this effort while still performing their routine duties of information
technology maintenance and support.

Additionally, the group performed this large-scale project with NWS-SR
resources saving over \$763K what a contract would have cost in the
areas of design, configuring, testing, training and implementation. The
group's effort achieved a more secure IT environment without having to
specifically allocate funds for an infrastructure security project.

Most importantly, this architecture serves as the model being
implemented NWS-wide. With the centralized architecture, IT
administration costs can be lowered dramatically. The architecture, when
administered and maintained with existing resources will result in a
potential annual savings of over \$3.4M NWS-wide. Furthermore, the
architecture serves as a model to other NOAA entities for implementing
and maintaining a top-down security model architecture.

Number range CHAPTER

**David Ruth**

**NWS**

**Nomination \# 36**

Nomination Category

> Engineering Development

Line Office

National Weather Service

Nominee

> David P. Ruth - GS-15
>
> Salutation: Mr.

Pronunciation: Ruth

> Chief, Mesoscale Prediction Branch
>
> Meteorological Development Laboratory
>
> 1325 East West Highway
>
> Silver Spring, Md., 20910

Past Awards

NWS Modernization Award (Group) - 1994

> NOAA Bronze Medal (Group) - 1997

NWS Modernization Award (Group) - 1999

NOAA Bronze Medal (Group) - 2001

DoC Silver Medal (Group) - 2001

Nominator

Gregory A. Mandt

> Director, Office of Science and Technology
>
> 1325 East West Highway
>
> Silver Spring, Md. 20910
>
> 301-713-1748 x102

Certificate Citation

> For planning, developing, and implementing a new method of
> disseminating National Weather Service forecasts in digital and
> graphical forms.

Definitions

> BLM - Bureau of Land Management

BLN - Brookhaven National Laboratory

FEMA - Federal Emergency Management Agency

FFA - Federal Aviation Administration

FHWA - Federal Highway Administration

GIS - Geographic Information System

GPS - Global Positioning System

GRIB - WMO standard for transmitting gridded data

> IFPS - Interactive Forecast Preparation System

IWT - Integrated Work Team

NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

> NCEP - National Centers for Environmental Prediction
>
> NDFD - National Digital Forecast Database

NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NWS - National Weather Service

USDA - United States Department of Agriculture

> WFO - Weather Forecast Office

WMO - World Meteorological Organization

XML - Extensible Markup Language

Justification

> Mr. Ruth led a major transformation in the process of producing and
> disseminating weather forecasts. Forecasts formerly prepared by typing
> in textual form are now prepared in digital form. These forecasts are
> being disseminated as national products on the Internet from the
> National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) in both digital and
> graphical forms, and their availability has revolutionized the use of
> weather information. More products are being produced without increase
> in staff. Private companies are now tailoring NOAA forecasts for their
> customers\' specific needs.
>
> The 1999 NWS Strategic Plan included performance measures: (1) Post
> NWS products and data on the Internet in graphic oriented format
> (2002) and (2) Prepare and disseminate NWS forecast products in
> digital form (2003). Mr. Ruth took this to heart, and starting in 2000
> planned and led the development of the NDFD whereby those measures
> were met. This contributes directly to NOAA\'s Mission Goal 3: Serve
> society\'s needs for weather and water information.
>
> For national dissemination, the digital forecasts prepared at over 120
> WFOs had to be collected and mosaiked, and a method devised and
> implemented for providing easy access to the forecasts. Mr. Ruth led
> an NDFD IWT with membership from throughout the NWS to solve the
> myriad details for such a monumental change. Discontinuities in local
> forecasts produced at WFOs were always present, but became much more
> visible when grids were mosaiked. Procedures had to be established and
> agreement reached among all parties how such discontinuities could be
> minimized. Mr. Ruth has been the kingpin in this activity over a
> period of 5 years.
>
> The concept of a National Digital Forecast Database was born in early
> 2000, and work on the NDFD design was started with the creation of the
> IWT chartered in May 2000. Due to Mr. Ruth\'s expert leadership, the
> success criteria specified in the charter were met. Experimental
> products were available on the Internet in 2002, products from the
> NDFD became operational in 2004, and this fiscal year wind direction
> and speed, apparent temperature, and relative humidity were
> transitioned from experimental to operational status.
>
> The extraordinary change in NWS operations brought about by the
> introduction of digital forecasts and the NDFD is the most far
> reaching since the introduction of weather radar. Digital and graphic
> products are accessible from the NDFD on the Internet in a variety of
> formats in unprecedented detail. Most products, including voiced, are
> now produced automatically from the digital forecasts. User response
> is overwhelmingly positive; comments include, \"Great service. Finally
> weather data that is available,\" \"Great new product,\" Fantastic
> product and of significant value to our customers,\" \"Uniquely suited
> for generating thousands of individualized forecasts.\"
>
> Dissemination of locally produced forecasts as a combined national
> product presents challenges. The process in place, brought about by
> the implementation of the NDFD, has enhanced collaboration among WFOs
> and between individual WFOs and NCEP, and has promoted more effective
> use of national guidance forecasts; the result is improved forecasts
> and improved service.
>
> Providing the raw digital forecasts, rather than just formatted
> products, to private companies allows them to team with GIS and GPS to
> better serve individual customers who need tailored products. The next
> decade will see tremendous changes in the way weather information is
> generated and used. One user states, \"I am redesigning my database
> for NDFD data to use with our clients.\" Methods to disseminate
> uncertainty information critical for decision support systems have
> heretofore not been available; the digital IFPS and NDFD are fostering
> that much needed expansion of NOAA\'s service to the Nation.
>
> Private companies, emergency managers, and governmental agencies now
> have easy access to forecasts in machine readable form. These
> forecasts are available in a variety of formats, including the WMO
> standard GRIB and the popular XML; XML requests number 5 million per
> month. Any entity needing weather information can now easily avail
> itself of NOAA digital data. Those accessing NDFD data include FEMA,
> NASA, USDA Forest Service, BLM, BLN, FAA, FHWA.

**Larry Van Bussum**

**NWS**

**Nomination \# 37**

[Nominator]{.underline}: Elliott Jacks, NOAA National Weather Service

Chief, Fire and Public Weather Branch, W/OS22

1325 East-West Highway, Room 13228

Silver Spring, MD 20910

\(301\) 713-1858, x110

[Nominee]{.underline}: Larry Van Bussum (Van-bus-sem)

[Address]{.underline}: National Interagency Fire Center\
National Weather Service\
3833 S. Development Avenue

> Boise, ID 83705

[Line Office]{.underline}: National Weather Service

[Period of Recognition]{.underline}: March 2001 -- September 2005

[Position Title]{.underline}: Meteorologist (National Fire Weather
Operations Coordinator), GS-13

[Past Awards]{.underline}: 2003 Group Bronze Medal

[Nomination Category]{.underline}: Public Service

[Citation]{.underline}: For his leadership of NOAA's Incident
Meteorologist Program, which provides critical, on-site weather support
at wildfires and all-hazards incidents.

**Nomination Justification**

Larry Van Bussum is recognized for consistent performance above and
beyond the call of duty in his leadership of NOAA's Incident
Meteorologist (IMET) Program, which supports our nation's wildland
firefighters and all-hazards emergency responders. This effort requires
coordination with NOAA's numerous land management partners, such as the
U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and numerous state
and local agencies. All-hazards support includes dispatching IMETs in
support of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and NOAA's National
Ocean Service Office of Response and Restoration for hurricane recovery,
oil spills, chemical releases, political events, etc.

Mr. Van Bussum has an impressive record in meeting customer
requirements. He is essentially on call 365 days a year/24 hours per day
to identify and dispatch an IMET for a fire or all-hazards event. In
2001, as an IMET himself, he was named as the National Weather Service's
(NWS) National Fire Weather Operations Coordinator (NFWOC). In this
capacity, he is responsible for ensuring NWS on-site wildfire and
all-hazards support across the entire country. The land management
agencies require an IMET to arrive within 24 hours of request. Due to
his outstanding leadership and round the clock service, the NWS has
responded to 100% of the requests and the average dispatch time for an
IMET has been 11 hours. During his tenure, over 500 IMETs have been
deployed to support either fire fighting or all-hazards incidents.

The IMET Program was first instituted in 1916 to provide critical
weather support to federal and state land management partners, whose
mission is to suppress and mitigate risk from wildfires. Property losses
due to wildfires constitute a major economic impact of about \$4B
annually with 80% of this total due to large wildfires. For these large
wildfires weather is the primary influence on fire spread. Deployed to
the scene and working as part of the Incident Management Team, IMETs
forecast the local weather for conditions that could lead to extreme
fire behavior.

Accurate weather forecasting is essential to keeping fire crews safe.
IMETs work closely with the Fire Behavior Analyst, who forecasts fire
spread, by providing critical weather inputs such as relative humidity,
temperature, and wind. These predictions have saved up to \$1M a day
through effective pre-positioning of expensive firefighting human and
tactical resources, including fire retardant aircraft. The IMET Program
has received accolades from the land management agencies and, in June
2005, the Western Governors' Association cited the importance of
real-time weather support by IMETs at wildfires.

Mr. Van Bussum has aggressively led the IMET Program into an
"All-Hazards" expansion to meet the nation's needs. In the past few
years, IMETs have been deployed to non-wildfire events such as the
shuttle Challenger recovery, the two national political conventions, and
the Selendang Ayu oil spill of 2004-2005 in Alaska. He personally
volunteered to take a 2-week IMET shift at the spill site in the remote
Aleutian Islands over the Christmas-New Year's holiday to allow the
local IMET the opportunity to spend a first Christmas with his 6-month
old daughter.

IMETs were deployed to the recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina
in 2005. At this time, Mr. Van Bussum traveled to Gulf coast and, with
the help of NWS Southern Region, set up an IMET communications system so
the NWS office in Slidell, LA could have temporary communications to
resume operations and so that the staff there could communicate with
other family members. He supported the Emergency Operations Center in
Baton Rouge and ensured the IMETs dispatched there had the equipment and
resources they needed in this extremely challenging environment.

Mr. Van Bussum has ensured IMETs are well-trained and equipped to do the
job. The training and certification program he has established is widely
praised and enables IMETs to remain current on science, technology, and
procedural issues. Recently, in other demonstration of his leadership,
he quickly obtained NWS Corporate Board approval for two new IMET
workshops focusing on all-hazards support for hazardous material
releases, terrorist threats, and oil spill recovery. This essential
training will ensure IMETs respond effectively to all-hazards incidents
in addition to wildfires. Recently Larry created an innovative,
cost-effective solution which resolved a critical issue in NOAA's
contract satellite data service which ensures weather data transmission
to IMETs. This service was in jeopardy as the current contract provider
was no longer going to support the current technology and the
replacement technology was far too expensive.

The nominator has personally witnessed his rare level of leadership. At
the IMET Workshop, Mr. Van Bussum organized an awards ceremony to honor
IMETs who have distinguished themselves in the previous year with their
service. His ability to motivate and "give away" credit to those who
have earned it led to one of the most moving and motivational ceremonies
I have ever witnessed.

The following are direct quotes from his peers. According to Chuck
Redman, IMET and co-worker in Boise, Idaho, "Larry's insight and
dedication to the fire weather/IMET program has helped to bring this
program into the 21^st^ century." Brent Wachter, the IMET from
Albuquerque, New Mexico, said \"Larry is tireless and always looks at
the positive in the pursuit of enhancing NWS' Fire Weather and IMET
Programs\". He ensures that...IMETs provide products and services that
exceed the expectations of the fire community." And, with regard to the
new satellite communications system which Mr. Van Bussum has identified
for use in FY 07, Roger Lamoni, NOAA/NWS Western Region Fire Program
Manager says: \"Larry\'s work in bringing IMET response to the next
level technologically cannot be underemphasized The new technology will
allow IMETs to provide better on-site information to all incidents more
quickly than ever before. Mr. Van Bussum truly practices servant
leadership".

Mr. Van Bussum continually assures that equipment is available to be
dispatched any time and anywhere. In fact, Rick Squires, an Emergency
Operations Coordinator at the National Fire Center stated, "Larry is
very accommodating with adding essential equipment into our resource
ordering system in a timely manner." And Rick Ochoa, from the Bureau of
Land Management states \"Larry\'s passion and commitment to the IMETs
and the fire community is truly outstanding. Having held his position in
the past, I know he puts in very long hours, gets phone calls in the
middle of the night and has a unique 24/7 job. And his job is becoming
tougher with the increasing needs of all-hazards support. My hat is off
to Larry!\"

In view of the excellence cited above, Larry Van Bussum is most
deserving of a 2006 NOAA Administrator's Award for his service to the
American Public.

**Robert J. Ricks, Jr.**

**NWS**

**(Already Posted as Katrina Nomination)**

**Nomination \# 38**

1\. **Type of Award:** NOAA Administrator's

2\. **Nomination Type:** Individual

3\. **Nominator's name, title, complete office address, and phone
number:**

X. William Proenza, Director

NWS Southern Region

819 Taylor Street, Room 10A03

Fort Worth, TX 76102

817-978-1000

4\. **Name of Nominee(s), including the salutation and pronunciation of
the nominee's name, and nominee(s) position title, series and grade:**

Name of Nominee: Robert J. Ricks, Jr.

Salutation: Mr.

Pronunciation: RIX

Title: Meteorologist (Senior Forecaster)

Series and Grade: GS-1340-13

5**. Complete office address for each nominee:**

NWS, WFO New Orleans/Baton Rouge

62300 Airport Drive

Slidell, Louisiana 70460

6\. **Major Line of Staff Office for each nominee:** NWS

7\. **Period of Recognition:** August 25 -- September 15, 2005

8\. **Past Awards (excluding Cash-in-Your-Account and Special Act
Awards) for each nominee:**

2005: NWS Director D. L. Johnson Leadership Excellence Coin recipient
(#0151)

2004: Southern Region Director's Award for Service Improvement at WFO
New Orleans/Baton Rouge for leadership supporting service enhancements.

9\. **Nomination category:** Public Service

10\. **Nomination citation .**

For exemplary service to the general public, customers and co-workers
during the national crisis of Hurricane Katrina.

11\. **Justification (not to exceed two pages): See attached.**

12\. **Attach CD-326lf, Recommendation for Recognition form.**

**Justification**

Mr. Robert J. Ricks, Jr., senior forecaster at the National Weather
Service Forecast Office in Slidell, Louisiana, was instrumental in the
successful performance of the National Weather Service during the
impacts of Hurricane Katrina. He served as the Forecaster-in-Charge on
shift as Hurricane Katrina developed near the Bahamas and crossed the
southern tip of Florida into the eastern Gulf of Mexico. As the threat
of powerful Hurricane Katrina making landfall near the heavily populated
New Orleans area increased, Mr. Ricks realized the area was on a
collision course with destiny, and started a posture that the office
would sustain through the entire event.

As the National Hurricane Center Advisories issued on Sunday, August
28^th^ revealed a Category 5 hurricane just hours away from landfall,
and forecasted to make landfall as a powerful Category 4 storm, Mr.
Ricks issued perhaps one of the most prophetic warnings in NWS history.
At 1011 AM CDT, on that fateful Sunday, he crafted the warning product
that detailed the catastrophic impacts the area would likely realize in
Hurricane Katrina. In the warning, Mr. Ricks described that most gabled
roofs would fail; most native trees would break or become uprooted, the
sturdiest would become defoliated; water shortages would make human
suffering incredible by modern standards; and the area would be
uninhabitable for weeks - perhaps longer. This warning got immediate
local and national media attention that set the region into an
accelerated evacuation effort.

Past hurricane preparedness exercises and academic research suggested a
potential loss of life around 10,000 from such an event. Because of the
leadership actions of Mr. Ricks recognizing the need to issue a warning
using unprecedented wording designed to highten awareness of the
impending threat, the NWS has been credited with saving many lives,
minimizing the death toll to an estimated 1300. By modern standards this
number remains high, but the outcome could have been far worse. The
impacts on the area were as predicted by Mr. Ricks in his warning
issuance.

Early in the morning of August 29, as the hurricane made landfall, the
office received word of a possible levee break and flooding taking place
in the Lower Ninth Ward section of New Orleans, Mr. Ricks offered
invaluable guidance to the staff in issuing a concise but powerful Flash
Flood Warning that called for inundation of 3 to 8 feet. His past
experiences and anecdotal lessons dictated his decision making with
affirmation, knowing that 8 feet of water tells the residents to seek
shelter in their attic with an axe and hammer to evacuate through the
roof, as his childhood memories revealed. Over 70,000 rooftop rescues
would be conducted by rescuers in the ensuing days that followed.

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the WFO/RFC facility at Slidell had a near
miss situation with Hurricane Georges in 1998. There were many lessons
learned from the Hurricane Georges experience. Mr. Ricks compiled an
In-office Tropical Cyclone Operations Plan in 1999 that detailed staging
of the office for sleeping, food stocks and preparation, showering,
office prep for a hurricane impact, and other non-routine items of
consideration. These plans would not be implemented again until
Hurricane Katrina threatened the office in August of 2005. These
guidelines were carried out by the facility's technicians and staff
members to have the office retrofitted to handle a land-falling
hurricane. The Operations Plan proved to be a valuable instrument in
providing guidance to the staff and management of what was to be
expected in the days ahead.

On the morning of Monday, August 29^th^, 2005, around 9:05 AM CDT as the
eye of Hurricane Katrina was just east of the city of New Orleans and
heading towards Slidell, LA, the office lost all communications. The
office personnel numbering around 45 were now transformed from a fully
engaged professional workforce into sheltered refugees of the storm's
fury. Mr. Ricks transcended from his customary role of forecaster into
the role of Shelter Coordinator. Mr. Ricks, along with
Hydrologist-in-Charge, David Reed of the Lower Mississippi River
Forecast Center knew that it was imperative to establish communications
with the outside world somehow. Once the winds abated below tropical
storm force, they braved the unknown hazards and flood waters, drove
west for 65 miles before acquiring a telephone signal to notify Southern
Region Headquarters. Upon returning, and subsequent days to follow, Mr.
Ricks would orchestrate the cooking efforts, personnel accountability,
union steward issues and recovery efforts for his sheltered co-workers.
He assisted recovery personnel from Southern Region Headquarters in
efforts to help people begin the slow process of becoming whole again.
As a measure of self-sacrifice, he delayed assessing his own personal
losses at home for several days, so he could maintain a high service
posture for the entire office. One co-worker, family members of another
co-worker and several of his family members were unaccounted for. Mr.
Ricks used a satellite feed internet connection to initiate a search for
them. He was able to register them among the missing with the American
Red Cross and made "the saving of lives" his number one priority, in
step with the NWS mission statement.

He is a modern day example of Dr. Isaac Cline in his actions and public
servitude, as documented in printed media and, most notably, on NBC's
Dateline with Brian Williams. Just as Dr. Cline expressed urgency to the
people of Galveston Island in 1900, Mr. Ricks followed in his footsteps
in a manner that will always be remembered as the one who may have saved
countless number of lives because of his actions.

**NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations**

**LCDR Randall TeBeest**

**NMAO**

**(Honorary Only)**

**Nomination \# 39**

1.  **Name:** Lieutenant Commander Randall J. TeBeest, NOAA

2.  **Line Office:** NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations
    (OMAO)

3.  **Position/Title/Grade**: NOAA Aircraft Operations Center Executive
    Officer (O-4)

4.  **Past Awards:** NOAA Corps Achievement Medal (2006), NOAA Unit
    Citation Award (2004), USN Unit Citation (2002), USN Special Project
    Liaison (2000)

5.  **Nominator's Name:** Captain Stephen A. Kozak, NOAA

6.  **Certificate Citation:** For leadership in the acquisition of a
    Jet-Prop Commander aircraft to improve NOAA's capability to support
    the NWS river, flood, and water supply forecasts used to enhance the
    national economy and to save life and property.

7.  **Justification:** Lieutenant Commander Randall J. TeBeest is the
    most recent officer to serve in the position of NOAA Aircraft
    Operations Center Executive Officer. In this capacity, he reported
    directly to the Commanding Officer and Deputy Director, working on
    complex issues at the highest levels of the Aircraft Operations
    Center (AOC) as well as the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation
    Operations. Especially over the past year, LCDR TeBeest's
    contributions to the AOC and NOAA exceeded all of my expectations
    and demonstrated his overall level of ability, dedication, and
    performance normally found in a much more senior officer.

In the FY2004 budget, the AOC was provided Procurement, Acquisition and
Construction funding for the replacement of its aging TurboCommander
N53RF. In the time-critical mission of replacing this aircraft, LCDR
TeBeest was designated as the Contracting Officer's Technical
Representative (COTR) for the acquisition of NOAA\'s newest aircraft,
the AC-695 Jetprop Commander, N45RF. Outstanding planning and
preparedness were essential in his duties as COTR. As an example of his
skill in utilizing resources available, LCDR TeBeest assembled a diverse
team, empowered them to identify and resolve critical acquisition
criteria, and efficiently and effectively completed the acquisition
within the timeframe allotted.

Working with the General Services Administration's Interagency Committee
for Aviation Policy, the AOC was able to identify an aircraft owned by
the U.S. Department of Justice DEA for which we were authorized a
one-time Exchange/Sale deviation/waiver from the Federal Management
Regulation. The base aircraft was available for sale at a cost well
below the PAC authorization, but due to his efforts, the contract
modifications necessary to bring the aircraft up to the capabilities to
meet NOAA's requirements, the total cost of the aircraft was kept within
the authorization. COTR duties on this contract required considerable
knowledge and attentiveness on the part of LCDR TeBeest. His
professional competence, adaptability, and breadth of skills as an
aviator and COTR were critical in the acceptance of a fully capable
aircraft.

While maintaining exceptional performance in his duties as AOC Executive
Officer, LCDR TeBeest brought the aircraft to fully operational status.
In August 2004 LCDR TeBeest was at Indianapolis, IN when N45RF was
delivered from the DEA. In March 2005 LCDR TeBeest went to Indianapolis
to test fly N45RF for the very first time. On April 16, 2005 he
conducted the acceptance flight of N45RF for NOAA; he then served as
aircraft commander on the new platform and, as instructor pilot, trained
and qualified several pilots on this new platform. The National
Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC) Airborne Snow
Survey Program requires the use of a very safe, sturdy and reliable
aircraft with very little downtime from November through June. N45RF is
that aircraft since it has nearly instantaneous power response when
power is needed most. It is flown in very high and very remote
mountainous terrain including the conterminous western United States and
Alaska with extremely stringent capabilities. N45RF has very good
high-speed and low-speed flight characteristics with a high-wing
configuration which allows good downward visibility for the pilots while
not interfering with the gamma signal. The airborne snow water
equivalent measurements are essential to the National Weather Service
river, flood, and water supply forecasts used to enhance the national
economy and to save life and property. LCDR TeBeest's performance
enabled NOHRSC to expand its operational area with the improved
capabilities and reliability of this new platform. Of special note he
redesigned how the snow survey sensor package is mounted in the aircraft
so that the aircrew can now collect data while fully pressurized as
opposed to flying unpressurized in the past often times at 10,000 foot
altitudes which can increase crew fatigue.

It cannot be overstated what an exceptional job LCDR TeBeest has done in
his primary operational duties as an aircraft commander on the WP-3D and
as an aircraft commander and instructor pilot on the new Jetprop
Commander. When these duties are assessed in conjunction with his COTR
performance as well as his full-time responsibilities as Executive
Officer, LCDR TeBeest has demonstrated a remarkable ability to ensure
that multiple tasks are completed without overlooking any details. As
the instructor pilot on the Jetprop Commander, LCDR TeBeest trained four
officers; this involved the challenge of learning the intricacies of a
new aircraft, developing a new training syllabus, transferring his
ideas, concepts, and abilities to the other pilots all the while
conducting the operational mission safely while continuing to accomplish
his considerable office duties. Teamwork is critical in the safe,
effective accomplishment of any flight mission and under LCDR TeBeest\'s
guidance, even under the trying conditions of a tropical cyclone in the
WP-3D and low altitude flights in the Jetprop Commander, the crews were
always able to accomplish their missions. The AOC had its most
productive year in history in FY2005 and LCDR TeBeest played a critical
role in this exceptional accomplishment.

Lieutenant Commander TeBeest's extraordinary and exceptional performance
over the past year makes him richly deserving of this prestigious award.
His career in serving NOAA and his country is unlimited, and I look
forward to the success of this outstanding officer.

> **Corporate Offices**
>
> **Ahsha Tribble**

# Office of the Assistant Secretary

> **Nomination \# 40**

1\. Full name of nominee: Dr. Ahsha N. Tribble

2\. Major Line or Staff Office for each nominee: Office of the Assistant
Secretary

3\. Position title and grade for each nominee: Technical Chief of
Staff/Senior Science Advisor, GS 0343 -Management Analyst -- GS-14

4\. Past awards for each nominee: December 2005 Performance Award,
September 2004 Performance Award

5\. Nominator's name and major Line or Staff Office: Dr. James R.
Mahoney, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, USAO

6\. Certificate citation: For NOAA and Interagency policy development
for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and representation of the
United States in international Climate Change Fora

7\. Justification:

Dr. Asha Tribble was assigned to her current position on a short-term
detail to assist the Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) Director with
the process of finalizing and rolling out the CCSP Strategic Plan -- a
process that incurred great political attention and several rounds of
review and a product that fulfilled an important policy mandate. More
generally, her position was to assist in science and policy development
for NOAA's stewardship's for CCSP. Her detail was designed to give her
experience working at the science/policy nexus, an area of which she
expressed an interest.

The Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) was announced in 2002 with
DOC/NOAA directed to provide leadership for the program. Climate change
science and technology is a priority for this Administration and NOAA
has the responsibility to coordinate research programs and budgets and
well as the delivery of all CCSP Products. In addition, Climate is one
of five mission goals for NOAA and the climate priorities for NOAA are
aligned with those for CCSP. CCSP is a \$2 billion program and is
mandated, through the Global Change Research Act of 1990, to
periodically produce a comprehensive Strategic Plan, climate
assessments, and other communications products, as well as the annual
program update, *Our Changing Planet*. CCSP is clearly an administration
priority and NOAA's contribution to CCSP (the work of the Climate
Program and Climate Services) is critical to NOAA's mission.

Dr. Tribble immediately immersed herself in the technical reviews of
each chapter and rapidly gained knowledge of the key Principals,
procedures, and bureaucracy that came along with CCSP. Within a short
period of time, Dr. Tribble became the point person on CCSP issues and
was keeping CCSP issues moving, especially during extended absences (due
to illness) of the CCSP Director. Her leadership and tact for dealing
with these issues were invaluable to CCSP and NOAA. Because of her
skills, her position was made permanent. Dr. Tribble changed from a
staff person to the NOAA leader and clearinghouse for climate issues for
CCSP.

Dr. Tribble is now recognized as the primary focal point/knowledge
stream for federal interagency climate matters within the Department of
Commerce and NOAA. She has gained the respect and appreciation of senior
leaders at DOC/NOAA and the other 12 CCSP agencies, the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Office of Science and Technology Policy
(OSTP), and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to efficiently
and effectively staff the Administration's climate science program and
it's Director. The CCSP senior leadership has come to know her as
dependable and responsive to their high-level requests. Because of the
high-visibility and political sensitivities of climate change issues
during the past few years, she has become an essential link between the
CCSP Director and the CCSP Departments/Agencies and the Executive Office
of the President (EOP).

Because of her working relationship with the other agencies and EOP, the
process of obtaining clearances and keeping the information flowing to
and from EOP is more effective. This has been critical due to the time
and politically sensitive issues regarding CCSP.

In addition, Dr. Tribble was lead DOC/CCSP representative in all
meetings with Counsels from the Department of Commerce, the Department
of Justice, the Government Accountability Office, CEQ, and OSTP. She
provided the scientific and programmatic perspective to the complex
legal issues encountered by the CCSP, including the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, the Information Quality Act, the OMB Peer Review
Bulletin, and 1990 Global Change Research Act. She worked for several
days at a time with the Counsels to obtain a workable process to present
to the CCSP senior body. Her leadership, along with the work of several
others, has put the development process for the CCSP Synthesis and
Assessment Products back on a more routine production schedule.

Dr Tribble's ability, dedication, and leadership have been invaluable to
the NOAA effort in support of the Climate Change Science Plan. Her
contribution to NOAA and the Nation are unmatched and most deserving of
recognition.

Ted Wolfgang Group

**CFO**

**Nomination \# 41**

Nominee, Position title, Series and grade:

Edward Wolfgang, Chief, Financial Systems Division, 510-15

Candace Myers, Chief, Systems Integrity Branch, 510-14, 2005
Administrator's Award

Bill Holdsworth, Chief, Requirements Branch, 340-14; Part of Group Admin
Award 2005

Katy Carmel, Systems Accountant, 510-13

Mike Boller, Budget Analyst, 560-14

Mike Shatzer, Systems Accountant, 510-13

Larry Hiemenz, IT Specialist, 2210-14

Allison Elgin, Management Analyst

Rufus Washington, IT Specialist, 2210-14; Part of Group Admin Award 2005

Pat O'Connor, Systems Accountant, 510-14

Phil Jun, IT Specialist, 2210-13

Kathy Downs, Budget Analyst, 560-13

Office and Routing Code: Office of Finance, OFA 23

Period Recognition: March 2005 through December 2005

Nominating Official: Maureen E. Wylie, Chief Financial Officer

Certificate Citation: For efforts to successfully implement the Mass
Reclassification Enhancement which automatically generates adjusting
transactions throughout CBS and executes NOAA's budget.

Basis of Recommendation: For efforts to successfully implement the Mass
Reclassification Enhancement which automatically generates adjusting
transactions throughout CBS and executes NOAA's budget. The enhancement
automates an extensive manual process, thereby saving NOAA thousands of
work hours and improving the accuracy of the data in the accounting
system. Having accurate information available sooner allows Line Offices
more time to execute their budgets. This allows NOAA maximum utilization
and proper stewardship of budgetary resources.

The Mass Reclassification Enhancement Project (a.k.a. "Mass Reclass")
was a significant software enhancement to the Commerce Business Systems
(CBS) to address mass adjustments necessary due to changes in the budget
structure. The enhancement provided the Department of Commerce (DOC)
bureaus with an automated capability to adjust transactions from one
fund/program code combination to another fund/program code. These
adjustments are normally required at the conclusion of a Continuing
Resolution (CR). After Congress has enacted a new appropriation, NOAA
must record new funding/fund codes to track the signed appropriation and
must "change" existing transactions to reflect the new program code
structure prior to regulatory reporting. Before FY 2006, NOAA was forced
to manually make these program code structure changes, at the summarized
level, leaving no clear audit trail of the adjustments. The Mass Reclass
process allows bureaus to process global changes to existing
transactions, in an automated fashion, to reflect the new budget
structure, while maintaining an audit trail at the document level. The
implementation of Mass Reclass will allow NOAA to execute the budget as
passed by Congress and signed by the President within the required
timeframe. Recognizing the benefits that would accrue from using this
process, the NOAA CFO gave completing the project the highest priority
of all accounting system enhancements.

NOAA's CBS Mass Reclass team worked for many months to achieve this
success. The successful completion required the team to work extensive
overtime and weekends to meet a December 2005 implementation. NOAA
management placed heavy demands on the CBS Mass Reclass team to ensure
the software enhancement was implemented and ready for use during the
first quarter of FY 2006. The December 2005 implementation also
minimized the number of adjustments necessary to meet NOAA's regulatory
reporting requirements to accurately report financial data according to
the new budget structure. The project began in March 2005, with NOAA
staff participating in the DOC requirements gathering phase of the
project. In June 2005, NOAA staff formally requested to receive
deliveries early and test the software in NOAA's environment, during
development. Early testing provided NOAA the opportunity to identify
issues, prior to the final delivery, so that a timely software promotion
and CBS production implementation could occur in December 2005. Because
the CBS staff was proactive with testing, NOAA was able to implement the
software for FY 2006 use.

Mass Reclass generated over half a million accounting transactions in
the general ledger to reclass FY 2006 activity generated during the
continuing resolution. In past fiscal years, this would have been a
manual effort and would have taken three or more months to complete. The
Mass Reclass implementation saved, and will continue to save each fiscal
year, NOAA's Line, Finance and Budget Office staff from working
extensive overtime hours to process these accounting changes manually.
This implementation success demonstrates outstanding preparatory work
for this critical software delivery. The success of the Mass Reclass
enhancement was a top priority for NOAA and a crucial step in meeting
the Department's regulatory compliance efforts. NOAA's resources and
audit process will continue to benefit from the Mass Reclass
functionality in the future.

The major components of this Mass Reclass effort were:

NOAA's design, testing and internal development efforts -- NOAA staff
led the requirements phase with the Department on this project, by
participating and providing clear and thorough requirements so that the
enhancement would meet NOAA's needs. The Commerce Business Systems
Support Center (CSC) delivered four separate "early release" software
deliveries, over four months, providing different functionality to be
tested by NOAA. NOAA testers conducted acceptance testing and multiple
regression tests on the various "early release" deliveries beginning on
August 19, 2005, and continuing through December 1, 2005. The extensive
level of communication between NOAA and the CSC was critical and
contributed to the success of this project. On December 1, 2005, NOAA
received the official Mass Reclass software for final testing. NOAA
testers worked extended hours and weekends to conduct final acceptance
and regression testing on the official software delivery. All
resolutions to problems identified during testing were reviewed to
assure no negative impact on CBS production operations occurred. NOAA
software development staff reviewed CSC software deliveries and analyzed
the impact of Mass Reclass'd transactions for changes necessary to the
NOAA production environment.

Hardware/Software Environment Support and Software Promotion -- NOAA's
CBS technical staff worked day and night to ensure multiple environments
that included the various software deliveries were available for
testing. Without the efforts of the CBS technical staff, the Mass
Reclass testing effort and production implementation would not have been
successful. CBS technical staff analyzed the time necessary to complete
the software promotion to the production environment and limit the
system downtime from NOAA's CBS users. Originally scheduled to be
completed in five days, the software promotion was completed within four
days because of CBS staff efforts. The CBS production environments were
therefore opened for NOAA users to resume normal business operations
sooner than anticipated.

Production Implementation -- NOAA's CBS staff coordinated with various
end user groups to inform them of the Mass Reclass implementation and
impact on NOAA in December 2005. In addition to implementing the Mass
Reclass process, various development efforts were necessary to make mass
changes in the CBS system after the process completed. During
preparation for production implementation, CBS technical staff
discovered and addressed various performance issues identified which
would have negatively impacted the NOAA CBS production environment.
After communication efforts between NOAA and the CSC, all performance
issues were addressed prior to production implementation. Due to NOAA
CBS staff efforts to minimize the impact on CBS users, a three-day
production implementation plan was completed within two days and the CBS
production environments were opened for NOAA users to resume normal
business operations.

The NOAA Mass Reclass CBS team is much deserving of the Administrator's
Award for their sustained effort on the Mass Reclass Enhancement CBS
project. Through the team's efforts, extensive overtime and weekend
work, the accelerated schedule was achieved without impacting NOAA
financial reporting or programs. This award will recognize their efforts
to improve NOAA's financial systems technology and operational
effectiveness.

**Jason Manthey**

**CAO**

**Nomination \# 42**

**Name: Jason L. Manthey**

**Office:** Office of the Chief Administrative Officer

Project Planning & Management Division Eastern Region

**Position Title and Grade:** General Engineer GS 13

**Past Awards:** None

**Nominator and Office:** William F. Broglie

NOAA Office of the Chief Administrative Officer

**Certificate Citation:**

For exemplary service in support of the NOAA Pascagoula laboratory
recovery effort

**Justification:**

It is with great pleasure that the Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer is recommending that Mr. Jason L. Manthey be recognized for his
substantive accomplishments in support of the post Hurricane Katrina
efforts coordinating the stabilization and recovery of damaged
laboratory facilities belonging to the National Marine Fisheries
Southeast Fisheries Science Center and National Seafood Inspection
Laboratory at Pascagoula, Mississippi. Mr. Manthey has provided
exemplary service to NOAA as detailed below.

Mr. Manthey is cited for his exceptional "on the ground" service in
management of the immediate stabilization of the damaged laboratory and
initial recovery efforts. Hurricane Katrina came ashore on the Gulf
Coast on August 28, 2005, and Mr. Manthey responded rapidly, traveling
to the Pascagoula Lab on Saturday, September 3, 2005. Upon arrival, Mr.
Manthey immediately initiated efforts to stabilize the facilities. He
disconnected electrical feeds, turned off gas utilities and took other
steps to prevent further damage and insure personnel safety. Working
closely with the lab directors and other NOAA offices and personnel, he
diligently produced an initial evaluation of damages, determination and
tabulation of immediate needs and actions, and prepared cost analysis
for funding required. He then turned to managing and supervising
emergency contracts for the removal of debris, removal of hazardous
materials and placement of temporary storage facilities.

With no permanent housing available, Mr, Manthey stayed on board the
NOAA ship RV Gordon Gunter. He worked from before sunup to after sunset
working in excess of eighty hours per week for a four week period. After
a brief trip back to Kansas City on October 5, he returned to serve at
Pascagoula from October 19 through November 18 - once again working
eighty hour weeks. Jay Manthey was the on site "eyes and ears" for OCAO
for the design and installation of approximately 17,730 square feet of
temporary modular buildings, housing approximately 100 lab and support
personnel. As a direct result of Mr. Manthey's selfless service, the
Southeast Fisheries Science Center component moved into their temporary
facility, complete with new furniture, beginning in the first week of
November. Mr. Manthey also administered the contracts that completed a
new office building for the lab on an accelerated schedule while working
on removal and closing of two warehouse support buildings on the dock.

To date, Mr. Manthey continues to be involved in the long term recovery
of the lab. In the words of Mr. Perry Thompson, the Lab's acting
Facility Manager, "Jay has been everything you would ever want and then
some". Mr. Manthey's performance in support of the Pascagoula Lab has
been in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States
Government. Mr. Manthey has brought great credit upon himself, and the
Chief Administrative Officer, NOAA, and the United States Department of
Commerce.

**Michael Daniels Group**

**CFO**

**Nomination \# 43**

Nominee, Position title,

Series and grade:

Michael Daniels, Fiscal Accounting Supervisor, GS-0501, 15/5

Lois Coleman, Supervisory Accountant, GS-0510, 15/4

Steve Robar, Supervisory Accountant, GS-0510, 14/10

Office and Routing Code: Office of Finance

ECI

MC1

OFA 23

Nominating Official: Maureen E. Wylie, Chief Financial Officer

Certificate Citation: For using Business Process Reengineering (BPR) as
the methodology to review the finance function's current processes and
develop the optimal organizational structure for NOAA's finance service
delivery points.

Basis of Recommendation:

The Administrator's Award is being recommended for a team consisting of
Michael Daniels, Lois Coleman, and Steve Robar who used Business Process
Reengineering (BPR) as the methodology to review the finance function's
current processes, and develop the optimal organizational structure for
NOAA's finance service delivery points. As a result of their efforts,
approximately \$800,000 can be allocated to other areas and improved
delivery of services will be realized. The following outlines their
effort:

In an effort to improve the delivery of financial services to NOAA's
Line Offices, and determine the optimal structure to accommodate the
realignment of NOAA CFO/CAO Office along function lines, NOAA Finance
embarked on an in-depth detailed review of the work processes related to
the accounts payable function. The BPR effort began in March 2005 with
full implementation targeted for January 2006. The team conducted
interviews with key finance staff at the five service delivery points.
The interviews were designed to allow the team to gain a better
understanding of how each office provided services to its clients. The
team developed detailed data templates and process maps to capture each
activity associated with the processes and sub-processes required in the
delivery of accounts payable services for each document type processed
by NOAA finance. Additionally, the team collected cost data for each
activity so the finance office would be able to identify the labor cost
associated with processing each of the various document types. The team
conducted customer surveys to capture customer service data for each of
the service delivery points. The information obtained from the customers
was used to ensure the resulting changes not only improved efficiency
and effectiveness, but also improved customer satisfaction. This effort
took in excess of 6 months to complete due to the complexity of the
information.

Analysis by the team of the data revealed inequities in resources,
inconsistencies in document processing, and issued related to customer
satisfaction. To remedy these conditions, the team identified best
practices and created a model for each office which yielded a more
efficient and effective organization. For example, standard processing
times were developed for each document type. This allowed the team to
establish FTE requirements for each document type, and determine the
optimal FTE requirement and employee mix for each service delivery point
based on workload requirements. By reviewing the activities required for
each payment process, the team was also able to streamline document
processing by eliminating unnecessary processing steps and ensure that
proper controls were in place to prevent erroneous payments. To further
promote efficiency, the team established a model work design for each
payment sub-process, and established standards for staffing positions,
grades and series, based on the types of documents to be processed. The
team established performance standards for document processing (both
internal and external), and established performance standards for each
service delivery point office. Their efforts also resulted in the
establishment of Paper Check Conversion at each service delivery point.

To accommodate customer concerns related to inconsistencies in service
delivery, the team developed a Standard Operating Procedure Manual for
processing accounts payable documents. Not only does this document serve
to ensure consistency in the manner in which documents are processed at
each service delivery point, it substantially reduces the time required
to orient employees on new processes.

The team's accomplishments will allow NOAA's finance function to better
service the programs of NOAA by:

-   Eliminating inconsistencies in processing accounts payable
    documents;

-   Allocating resources to the finance function based on workload
    requirements;

-   Ensuring that NOAA has proper controls in place to guard against
    fraudulent and erroneous payments;

-   Reducing the costs associated with processing documents by both
    eliminating unnecessary process steps and consolidating payments
    where practical;

-   Reducing the number of FTE required to manage and process NOAA
    payments; and

-   Establishing a baseline for out-year comparison.

This award is to recognize the efforts of Mr. Daniels, Mr. Robar, and
Ms. Coleman. As a result of their efforts, NOAA will save \$800,000 and
have improved delivery of services.

**Patricia Johnson Group**

# CFO

**Nomination \# 44**

Formulation and Analysis Division

  --------------------- -------------------------------- -------- --------
  Name                  Position                         Series   Grade

  Patricia Johnson      Supervisory Budget Analyst       560      15

  Jennifer Baffi        Budget Analyst                   560      14

  Pecola Davis          Budget Analyst                   560      14

  Lamont Jackson        Budget Analyst                   560      14

  DeeDee Hunter         Budget Analyst                   560      13

  Nakita Parker         Budget Analyst                   560      11

  LaTeisha O'Brien      Secretary                        318      7
  --------------------- -------------------------------- -------- --------

INTEGRATION DIVISION

  -------------- --------------------- ----- -----------------------------
  Peter Olivere  Supervisory Budget    560   15 -- previous Adminstrator's
                 Analyst                     Award

  -------------- --------------------- ----- -----------------------------

OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATION DIVISION

  ------------------- -------------------------------- -------- ---------
  Name                Position Title                   Series   Grade

  Julie Hite          Supervisory Budget Analyst       560      15

  Keeley Knudsen      Management Analyst               343      14

  Matthew Borgia      Financial Analyst                501      13

  Erin Olson          Budget Analyst                   560      12

  Alyssa Denzer       Program Analyst                  343      9

  Franda Davis        Secretary                        318      7
  ------------------- -------------------------------- -------- ---------

Office and Routing Code: Office of NOAA Budget

OFA 23

Period Recognition: October 1, 2005 through February 28, 2006

Nominating Official: Steven I. Gallagher, NOAA Budget Officer

Certificate Citation: For the exceptional effort, dedication, and
commitment demonstrated in the successful completion and timely delivery
of the FY 2007 President's Budget.

Basic of Recommendation: Sustaining NOAA's mission to Protect Lives and
Livelihoods through fiscal constraints

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Budget
Office (NBO) serves the nation through the management of fiscal
resources and planning efforts enabling NOAA to carry out its mission of
understanding and predicting changes in the Earth's environment and
conserving and managing coastal and marine resources to meet our
Nation's economic, social, and environmental needs. This benefits public
safety, the economy, and the environment of the nation. The NOAA Budget
Office is challenged every year to meet the needs of the nation and
further NOAA's mission and strategic goals within the financial
resources allotted.

Three Divisions of the NBO prepare and deliver NOAA's portion of the
President's Budget Request (PBR) and handle all the follow up activities
required and requested by Congress. The preparation and delivery of the
PBR was an 11 month endeavor. The success of the FY 2007 PBR was a
direct result of the dedication and commitment of the NBO team. They
worked many late nights and numerous weekends ensuring the February 6,
2006 delivery to Congress was met. Those 11 months required 100% effort,
commitment and focus from each staff member as the NBO was understaffed
and the financial database used in producing the PBR was problematic
resulting in an extensive manual undertaking by the team.

The major components of the PBR effort were:

Budget Formulation and Analysis (BFA) Division -- BFA began the
development of the President's FY 2007 Budget in March 2005. Extensive
demands were placed on BFA by NOAA's management, Department of Commerce
(DOC) budget office, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure
continuity and consistency of over 1000 lines of financial information
and the development of resource requirements and justifications that
support NOAA's mission and strategic goals within fiscal constraints
provided. This division excelled in their development and preparation of
PBR, budget exhibits, and back-up materials, which are needed for
analysis. This could only be achieved by coordinating requirements from
and providing information to the OMB, DOC, NOAA Headquarters Staff, and
NOAA Line Offices (LOs). BFA's coordination efforts and diplomatic
abilities proved to be an invaluable asset in dealing with a diverse
array of personalities. The BFA staff ultimately ensured that NOAA's
mission and strategic goals were met within the resources allotted and
on time.

Budget Integration Division (BID) -- BID provided extensive financial
support to the BFA division. They prepared and balanced NOAA's financial
tables. These tables track each phase of budget process from planning to
the delivery of the PBR. The BID staff accommodated NOAA's continually
changing needs and requirements, and short turn-around times. They have
also been required to continually crosswalk financial information
between the various financial structures that exist to track NOAA's
financial data. NOAA's financial tables consist of over 1000 lines of
financial data. This effort is extremely time-consuming and challenging.
It became BID's responsibility to translate these budget crosswalks to
OMB, DOC, NOAA budget staff, and the LOs. The outcome of their
achievements resulted in financially balanced and sound budget
submission delivered on schedule to Congress. They performed their
activities in an exemplary manner meeting tight deadlines and high
priorities.

Budget Outreach and Communication Division (BOC) - BOC developed and
delivered the PBR Summary "Blue Book" while providing considerable
assistance to both BFA and BID. The Blue Book is used to quickly digest
and understand NOAA's portion of the PBR. BOC staff also developed and
presented 45 briefings to DOC, OMB and the House and Senate
appropriations committees in support of this effort. Concurrent with the
preparation of the Blue Book BOC developed Question and Answer (Q&A)
briefing books for NOAA leadership. The Q&A book contained over 200 Q&As
on "hot" topics. Each Q&A also contained budget summaries, "sound byte"
answers, and background information. This book is of paramount
importance to NOAA leaders in preparation for upcoming testimonies. It
gives them the ability and confidence to answer questions asked during
Congressional hearings. These Q&As are also of utmost importance when
answering Questions for the Record (QFRs) formally submitted after the
Congressional hearings. Finally, BOC prepares the Vice Admiral's oral
and written testimony for his Congressional hearings when presenting
NOAA's FY 2007 budget. Coordinating all of these products across lines
and goals and among the necessary NOAA offices was challenging, but
consensus was reached, clearance was granted, and the products produced
were accurate, timely, and useful.

Overall, NOAA's budget office continuously juggled numerous assignments.
Each of these assignments required development, changes, and updates of
data. Regardless of accelerated deadlines placed on the budget staff
they continually maintained professional attitudes in their dealings
with others. Their intuitiveness and ability to think and act fast makes
each of them an important team member. They continually tried to find
ways to improve and streamline the budget process. Each staff member was
quick to participate and willing to cooperate in group endeavors. They
were willing to help and provide assistance to others, who sought their
counsel. Each staff member gave freely of their time. They were eager to
contribute and that was evident in their enthusiastic nature. NOAA's
Budget Office reacted well to changes, tight timeframes, and a stressful
work environment, producing a quality product. As a result, NOAA
Management was confident with the FY 2007 President's Budget submission
prepared by them.

[]{.mark}

[]{.mark}