Several Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic employees from the command’s New Orleans (NOLA) detachment were recently honored with Excellence in Service Awards from the New Orleans Federal Executive Board (FEB).
The employees were presented the awards during a ceremony June 13 at the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Excellence in Service Awards Program honors outstanding federal employees who have performed exceptional and meritorious work, demonstrating high standards of performance in the federal government.
“The program is recognized as one of the most important and coveted forms of non-monetary recognition available to federal employees,” said George Womack, Corporate Operations Manager for the NOLA detachment. “The program is also the most effective means of publicizing to the public, as well as to the federal family, the high caliber of devoted employees in the federal service.”
“Seeing our employees recognized by the local Federal Executive Board gives me immense pride,” Womack said. “Their dedication and excellence continue to set new standards within our detachment and the command.”
National Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Outstanding Leadership Award - Senior Manager/Director category
Jessie James Lee, a cybersecurity manager and competency supervisor who won at the local level in the Senior Manager/Director category, also competed at the national level, winning the National Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Outstanding Leadership Award.
This award recognizes any person that directs the work of others for a significant contribution to public service through leadership in meeting the mission and goals of their organization. The nominee must demonstrate the talent and competencies essential to the leadership culture of the federal government.
Lee was recognized for his work providing processes, tools and procedures to all employees and interns supporting NIWC Atlantic integrated product teams (IPT) and special projects. Lee also provided cybersecurity leadership and guidance to IPTs and special projects, supporting mission owners and the command’s overall objective.
“He collaborated with division heads and IPT leaders to develop, mentor, train and recruit some of the sharpest cybersecurity professionals to support unique requirements associated with IPT demand signals,” said Shannon Cole, Cybersecurity Remote Workforce competency manager, who nominated Lee. “He also routinely met with over 28 cyber professionals to provide
guidance for developing their teams, leadership skills and technical expertise. By engaging with senior leaders and experts throughout the command, Mr. Lee’s outstanding contributions improved command cyber readiness and security within NIWC Atlantic and the Department of Defense Information Network (DODIN).”
Call to Service Award
Michael Sinegar won the Call to Service award for his work as the Infrastructure as a Service Lead for NIWC Atlantic’s Data Center and Cloud Hosting Services (DC2HS) division. In addition to his core job as a software developer on the My Navy Assignment team, he is involved in the Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) Invoice Tiger Team, the New Professional Council, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) planning team, the NOLA Tech Exchange planning committee, and the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) Inclusive Workforce group.
“Michael is truly a one-of-a-kind individual,” said Scott Parr, Naval and Federal Networks and Systems IPT lead, who nominated Sinegar. “Although he only started at NIWC Atlantic in September 2020, he has already made his mark on the NOLA detachment and the entire command. He is involved in a large variety of different activities, organizations and efforts. He takes advantage of every opportunity to expose himself to something new and is constantly growing and improving as a result. He performs his tasks with a true sense of duty to the command and to the public. He uses the recognition he has received as fuel to keep forging ahead.”
Community Service Team Award for STEM Award
Information Technology (IT) specialist Melissa Earhart and software developer Samantha Meyer, both members of DC2HS, won the Community Service Team Award for STEM for their work as co-leads of the NOLA Detachment’s STEM program. Notable events Earhart and Meyer participated in were Robotics competitions, Girl’s Day Out, French Quarter Festival, and Innovation, Design and Educational Activities in STEM (IDEAS) Camp — highlighting NASA’s Aerosol and Cloud, Convection and Precipitation (ACCP) activities — and other STEM camps.
“Melissa’s hard work, volunteerism and dedication to the Greater New Orleans children and young adults is clearly evident in the many highly successful STEM events she developed and led,” said Jim Kuhn, a supervisor for the Software Engineering Competency, who nominated Earhart and Meyer. “In the conduct of these events and others, she overcame numerous obstacles and made a positive impact on hundreds of young lives.”
Of Meyer, Kuhn said, “Samantha’s demeanor, leadership, work ethic and professionalism instill the right combination of values required to make a positive impact on our youth and to our future community workforce. Because her enthusiasm and commitment are infectious, first-time volunteers often sign up for future events.”
Mentor of the Year Award
Donald Zuvich, technical Lead for the Business System Category 1 (BCAT 1) Program, Navy Personnel and Pay (NP2), was named Mentor of the Year for his contributions to the NIWC Atlantic mentoring program. Zuvich has a solid history of providing mentoring support to new professionals, student interns and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) boot camp. He also provided support to several STEM events including Girls Day Out, French Quarter Festival and the IDEAS Camp.
“His dedication to these activities generates excitement to our new and future workforce, and he is highly deserving of this Mentor of the Year award,” said Kuhn, who also nominated Zuvich.
Military Excellence Award
Information Systems Technician Chief Thomas Whipple, who recently retired, won the Military Excellence Award for his work performing complex and demanding duties as senior enlisted leader and member of the DC2HS division.
“Whipple improved the welfare, health, job satisfaction and morale of three officers and six enlisted Sailors while establishing a productive and positive command climate for military and civilian personnel,” said Cmdr. Manuel Biascoechea, former Officer in Charge (OIC) of the NOLA detachment, in his nomination for Whipple. “As a member of the Assured Compliance Assessment Solution team, he improved the Navy’s ability to provide secure infrastructure hosting and sustainment services to support DOD’s strategic and operational objectives. He also demonstrated exceptional resourcefulness throughout emergent situations, such as the fallout post Hurricane Ida, COVID-19 restrictions, special missions and various inspections. Whipple also enabled the certification of five command duty officers, three communications security (COMSEC) custodians, two Sexual Assault Prevention Representatives victim advocates, one casualty assistance calls officer and one command financial specialist.”
Leadership Excellence – Team Lead Award
Devon Vance received an Honorable Mention for the Leadership Excellence – Team Lead Award for her work as lead for the MyNavy Human Resources (HR) Information Technology (IT) Solutions Software Assurance team, and as the cybersecurity representative responsible for the MyNavy HR Mobility projects.
Vance performed and reviewed software security assessments, provided approval authority for Change Control Board, managed entrance to testing phase, and released to production in the Navy Application Locker and commercial application stores. She provided software assurance oversight and support for the legacy and transformation pillars as well as fielded new tools, engineering practices, and developed and maintained the software assurance procedures used by the organization to perform code evaluations of existing and new development. In addition, she trained and mentored new professionals, supported the NIWC Atlantic Summer Internship Program and participated in STEM outreach.
“Devon’s leadership and foresight are positively impacting the command’s mission,” said Lee, who nominated Vance.
Mission Support Excellence Award
Brian Spragins received an Honorable Mention for the Mission Support Excellence Award for his work as the Infrastructure Service Lead for the DC2HS division. Spragins has direct input and control over the business requirements of the on-premise services for DC2HS.
“Brian took the time and initiative to deep dive into what future demands would look like and saved over $800,000 of taxpayer funds by taking the lead and performing analysis outside his normal tasking,” said Chad Appe, New Orleans Data Center and Cloud Hosting team supervisor, who nominated Spragins. “This required him to look at all of the proposed Oracle hardware procurement and determine exact needs and removing what was not needed due to shifting of projected requirements. This is just one of the many areas he has made improvements. Brian’s work has provided excellent value to DC2HS, the Navy and the U.S. taxpayer.”
Innovation in Government Award
Kristopher Halvorson received an Honorable Mention for the Innovation in Government Award for his more than 19 years of experience leading government agencies in IT solutions. Halvorson is currently serving as a lead technical engineer for Nautilus Virtual Desktop (NVD) and Product Owner for End Points, working with Program Executive Office for Digital and Enterprise Services (PEO Digital) to move the Navy into the Flank Speed environment. He works with program offices, vendors and system centers to engineer and implement an enterprise-wide and Navy-wide cloud solution to deliver virtual desktops and allow Bring Your Own Device to the Navy’s workforce.
“Kris is a top-quality team member who fully displays his technical, communication, leadership and management skills to their fullest extent,” said Edura Baham, former Business Systems and Information Technology Services competency manager, who nominated Halvorson. “His dedication and perseverance make him supremely eligible for selection as an innovator for this command. His accomplishments have brought credit to the command and the U.S. Navy.”
Team Excellence Award
Zuvich and Monica Weber, lead for the Navy Personnel and Pay (NP2) Team, represented the team in accepting an Honorable Mention for the Team Excellence Award for the team’s achievements in delivering the Navy Personnel and Pay Technical Release for Government testing. This team coordinated with the Chief of Naval Personnel and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education, the functional sponsors of MyNavy HR Transformation and Navy Personnel and Pay to deliver the critical capability of providing the first-ever integrated personnel and pay solution for the U.S. Navy.
“This technical milestone achieved an objective the Navy Human Resources community initially set in 1995!” said Ray Terminie, MyNavyHR IT Solutions IPT Lead, who nominated the NP2
team. “The results have been remarkable in meeting the delivery target for testing and are on course to implement the long-held goal, which will result in more efficient Navy pay and personnel services. The team’s dedication to duty and achieving the Navy mission with the Navy Personnel and Pay Technical Release for Government Testing are highly deserving of the NOLA FEB Team Excellence award.”
Aside from Zuvich and Weber, the NP2 Team also included the following:
- Robert Antin
- Brad Compeaux
- Matthew Brown
- Ian Chesler
- James Delap
- Hong Du
- Chris Elwood
- Sandy Falgout
- Wade Fernandez
- Larry Honeywood
- Dorine Lanier
- Kenneth Lawrence
- Delmar LesterLori Natividad (Lead)
- Emerson Romero
- Jon-Rene Sanjurjo
- Kristi Savage
- Charles Scott
- Ebony Sheffield
- Daniel Skelton
- Jeri Werner
- Paul Williams
NIWC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Nicole Nigro lauded the awardees for their many accomplishments.
“I am incredibly proud to congratulate these award winners whose professionalism and dedication have earned them this recognition,” Nigro said. “Their exceptional work not only demonstrates their commitment to our warfighters, but also to our local communities, where their impactful work continues to make a significant difference both now and for years to come.”
About NIWC Atlantic
As a part of Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, formerly known as SPAWAR, NIWC Atlantic provides systems engineering and acquisition to deliver information warfare capabilities to the naval, joint and national warfighter through the acquisition, development, integration, production, test, deployment, and sustainment of interoperable command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, cyber and information technology capabilities.