Awards

AFERM has two awards programs, one for individuals and one for federal agencies. Use these links to learn more:

AFERM Individual ERM Awards

We are pleased to announce that nominations for the 9th Annual AFERM Awards are now open! Submissions are due by 5 pm ET Tuesday, October 31, 2023, via the forms below. We look forward to receiving your application and supporting you in making a significant difference in the Federal ERM Community.

Please note that the awards are provided on a nomination basis. This means that to be eligible for an award you must be nominated by another individual.

Award Information

Each of these four awards honors a professional who has made a lasting impact on their organization as a part of extraordinary contributions to advancing ERM in the Federal Government. All AFERM Awards are limited to AFERM Members and federal employees, apart from “ERM Volunteer of the Year” which can be awarded to an AFERM Member who is not a federal employee. We encourage you to nominate your colleagues for the below categories:

ERM Professional of the Year

Applies to work that has only been accomplished over the past year, so one does not have to have had achievements during their entire career to earn this award.

ERM Leader of the Year

Applies to work that has only been accomplished over the past year, so one does not have to have had achievements during their entire career to earn this award.

ERM Hall of Fame

Showcases achievements over an entire ERM career.

ERM Volunteer of the Year

Honors a volunteer who has provided their time and effort to help AFERM and its members achieve all that we do.

For additional questions, please reach out to Daniella Datskovska at Past-President@aferm.org and Eliza Clark at eliclark@deloitte.com.


Past Awardees

2022

ERM Professional of the Year

Scott Nichols, U.S. Coast Guard, Office of Program Analysis & Evaluation (CG-PAE)

ERM Leaders of the Year

Jason Bruno, U.S. Department of Interior
Julie Chua, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

AFERM Volunteer of the Year

Soumya Chakraverty, RiskPro Solution, LLC

2021

ERM Professional of the Year

Melissa Reynard, Internal Revenue Service

ERM Hall of Fame

Larry Koskinen, Department of Housing & Urban Development (Retired)

AFERM Volunteer of the Year

Eric Chism, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

2020

ERM Leaders of the Year

Marianne Roth, CFPB
Curtis McNeil, Architect of the Capitol

ERM Professional of the Year

Andy Tiedman, USDA

AFERM Volunteers of the Year

Edward Hau, ASR Analytics
Meredith Stein, National Institutes of Health

2019

ERM Leaders of the Year

Karen Weber, Department of Treasury
Jessica Southwell, Department of Labor

ERM Professionals of the Year

Kimberly Burnett, United States Air Forces Europe-Air Forces Africa/Financial Management
Neil Starzynski, Department of Labor – Office of the Chief Financial Officer

ERM Hall of Fame

Sallyanne Harper, Brookings Executive Education

AFERM Volunteers of the Year

Paul Marshall, MIL Corporation
Joshua Vogel, GSA

2018

ERM Leaders of the Year

Sherri Berger, CDC
Christine Jones, HHS

ERM Professional of the Year

Mai Shintani, FEMA

ERM Hall of Fame

Tom Stanton, NAPA; Former SES at the FTC

AFERM Volunteer of the Year

Sheri Francis, SIGAR

2017

ERM Leaders of the Year

Roy Wright, FEMA
Montrice Yakimov, Treasury Fiscal Service

ERM Professionals of the Year

Lindsey Coates, NCUA
Nahla Ivy, NIST

ERM Hall of Fame

Dr. Karen Hardy, U.S. Department of Commerce

2016

ERM Leader of the Year

Ken Fletcher, TSA

ERM Professional of the Year

Debra Elkins, HHS

ERM Hall of Fame

Doug Webster, USAID

2015

ERM Leader of the Year

Nancy Potok, Bureau of the Census

ERM Professional of the Year

Cynthia Vitters, DoED

AFERM Federal Agency ERM Awards

You are invited to submit a nomination, on behalf of your organization, for the 2023 AFERM Federal Agency ERM Awards. Organizations can self-nominate for one or both awards:

  • ERM Luminary Award – for an agency that has achieved an advanced level of ERM maturity and demonstrates a sustained and broad range of accomplishment in the implementation and practice of enterprise risk management.
  • ERM Notable Achievement Award – for an agency that has accomplished a significant and noteworthy achievement in establishing an ERM program over the past year or that has achieved impressive growth in the development of a previously established ERM program or that completed a significant action that resulted in demonstrating the effectiveness of its ERM program.

Eligibility

Nominations are open to all U.S. federal Departments and Agencies, including agency and bureau sub-components of Departments. Nominations below the Bureau level are not eligible for consideration. Within the Department of Defense, nominations may be submitted by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, The Joint Staff, the Military Departments or Services, Defense Agencies, and Combatant Commands.

Key Dates

  • June 15, 2023 — Nominations open
  • August 31, 2023 — Nominations close
  • November 28-29, 2023 — Awards Ceremony at the AFERM Annual ERM Summit

Evaluation

Nominations will be evaluated against the award criteria by a panel of current and/or former AFERM Presidents and Board members. Supplemental material or a discussion with the nominating entity may be requested by the panel if required.

Completing Your Nomination

To present your nomination in the best way, please read the following tips, and keep them in mind when completing your nomination:

  • Nominations should be limited to five pages (excluding any attachments).
  • Make sure your nomination is clear and concise.
  • Focus on results and describe the specific outcomes and benefits that were achieved by your organization.
  • Provide relevant examples to use as evidence of your achievements.
  • Only attach documents that demonstrate and support your claims.

Award Notification & Acceptance

  • Agencies whose nominations are selected for award will be notified in advance of the AFERM Annual Summit.
  • A representative(s) of the agency will be asked to attend the summit to accept the award. In addition, agency award recipients may also be asked to participate in a session at the summit highlighting aspects of the award.
  • A press release and other communications announcing the award recipients will be issued by AFERM. A draft of the release will be shared with recipients in advance for review.

Questions

Any questions about the nomination process can be sent to planning@aferm.org.