2013 Causey Award winners announced

Federal News Radio has announced the winners of the fourth annual Causey Awards, recognizing human-resources professionals who have gone above and beyond to ...

Federal News Radio has announced the winners of the fourth annual Causey Awards, recognizing human-resources professionals who have gone above and beyond to help the government operate better.

The awards, named for Federal News Radio Senior Correspondent Mike Causey, are in tribute to his life-long dedication to the reporting of federal workforce management, and federal pay and benefits issues.

“The purpose of it is to recognize people who are all-stars in the business of taking care of other people,” Causey said. “People helping people, in this case, government institutions taking care of the troops and doing a good job of getting the best bang for the buck for taxpayers.”

Mike Causey offers his insights on this year’s award winners. Story continues below video.

The recipients were nominated by their peers for outstanding achievements and important contributions in the human capital management field in 2012. A panel of expert judges selected the final winners.

“Some people never get any recognition because of the nature of their jobs,” Causey said. “And this is just a very small way that we can, each year, honor five people and tell them, ‘Attaboy, you’re doing very good.'”

Meet each of the winners below. Federal News Radio will interview each award recipient this week. Find links to those interviews, plus video excerpts with the winners, below.

Phil Lenowitz

Deputy Director
Office of Human Resources
National Institutes of Health

Lenowitz is credited with creating and developing initiatives beneficial to minorities, veterans and people with disabilities.

“Under Phil’s guidance, OHR has held three NIH Hiring Events for Veterans and Persons with Disabilities, which have directly resulted in increased hiring for these groups across the NIH,” Lenowitz’s nomination said.

Who is Phil Lenowitz? Listen to our full interview and read an exclusive Q&A.

Ronald Loube

Procurement Analyst-Acquisition Career Manager
Food and Drug Administration

Loube is recognized for his design and development of an in-house training program called The FDA Acquisition Academy.

“By developing, designing, administrating the program, and teaching the courses, the nominee ensured its acquisition workforce is better equipped to i) meet today’s changes in contracting, ii) manage high dollar, complex requirements, and iii) derive the best value for the goods and services procured,” Loube’s nominator wrote.

Who is Ronald Loube? Listen to our full interview and read an exclusive Q&A.

Francis McDonough

Chief Human Capital Officer
Food and Nutrition Service, Department of Agriculture

McDonough is recognized for improving the labor-management working relationship during a highly sensitive reorganization of the Food and Nutrition Service’s real estate footprint.

“His premier achievement was framing and arranging highly sensitive and critical conversations between union counsel and senior leaders regarding a major organizational restructure designed to address program integrity concerns while reducing the FNS real estate footprint,” wrote McDonough’s nominator. “Frank’s innovative, atypical approach for sharing information laid the foundation that directly attributed to the successful restructure and is seen as a major catalyst in the significantly improved labor/management working relationship.”

Who is Francis McDonough? Listen to our full interview and read an exclusive Q&A.

Lynn Simpson

Senior Advisor
National Defense University, Department of Defense

Simpson refocused the National Defense University’s human capital strategy in light of budget constraints through the NDU Task Force 2020.

“Lynn is leading the NDU Talent Management process to ensure that the NDU workforce possesses the competencies and talent needed to support the chairman and department in their initiatives to advance and transform joint education,” wrote Simpson’s nominator.

Who is Lynn Simpson? Listen to our full interview and read an exclusive Q&A.

Reginald Wells

Chief Human Capital Officer
Social Security Administration

Wells is nominated for avoiding furloughs and reductions in force during sequestration and maintaining a positive workforce environment. SSA has stayed in the top 10 of its category in the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings since 2007.

“Reg has worked tirelessly to keep SSA employees engaged and to improve their satisfaction and commitment despite considerable pressures that could have easily derailed their efforts,” Wells’ nominator wrote.

Who is Reginald Wells? Listen to our full interview and read an exclusive Q&A.

Meet This Year’s Judges:

Mike Causey, Senior Correspondent, Federal News Radio

Virginia Hill, President, Young Government Leaders

Max Stier, President and CEO, Partnership for Public Service

Steve Shih, Deputy Associate Director for Executive Resources and Employee Development, Office of Personnel Management and former Causey Award Winner

Darlene Young, National President, Blacks in Government

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