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DHS fed named 2010 Federal Employee of the Year

The devastation in Haiti was so overwhelming after the January earthquake, it might have paralyzed lesser people than our next guest. But this Homeland Security...

Federal News Network Staff

September 16, 2010 10:31 am

2 min read

wfedstaff | June 3, 2015 1:58 pm

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When the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, the nation’s orphans were among the most vulnerable.

Pius Bannis stepped into the breach to help hundreds of those Haitian orphans-babies, toddlers and teens escape the tragedy and find safety in the United States.

Pius Bannis, Citizenship and Immigration Services field office director for Haiti has been named the 2010 Federal Employee of the Year.

Click the link above to hear our interview with him on his win.

The other 2010 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal recipients are:

Sandra K. Brooks, Homeland Security Medal: At Joint Interagency Task Force South, Brooks enables military, law enforcement agencies and partner nations to better combat crime on the high seas.
Jeffrey M. Baker, Science & Environment Medal: At the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Laboratory Operations, Baker led the design and construction of the world’s largest net-zero energy office building, proving that buildings can be created to decrease energy consumption at no additional cost.
Shane Kelley and Eva Ristow, Citizen Services Medal: At the Social Security Administration’s Center for Automation, through two-way video technology Kelley and Ristow developed a way to bring services to citizens living in impoverished and remote locations in the country.
Jamie Konstas, Justice and Law Enforcement Medal: As an intelligence analyst with the FBI, Konstas is advancing the fight against the sexual exploitation of children. Her work has resulted in the conviction of more than 600 pimps and predators, and the rescue of more than 1,150 children.
Teri Glass and the Army Medical Support Systems Team, National Security and International Affairs Medal: At the U.S. Army Medical Support Systems Project Management Office, Glass and her team developed life-saving medical evacuation equipment that is increasing survival rates of American soldiers wounded in combat.
Saskia van Gendt, Call to Service Medal: Seeking to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint, van Gendt, a 29-year-old EPA scientist, is fostering the innovative design of reusable and sustainable construction and packaging materials.
Susan Solomon, Career Achievement Medal: As a senior scientist with NOAA for nearly three decades, Solomon led internationally acclaimed atmospheric research that set us on a path to restoring the ozone layer and demonstrated the long-term harm to the environment caused by global warming.