Mayor Bowser Honors DC Government Leaders at Annual Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Awards Gala

(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Service, in partnership with the DC Department of Human Resources, honored the 19th and 20th Annual Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Awards recipients. The award program recognizes and rewards District government employees for outstanding performance and exemplary service. This year’s ceremony celebrated 10 individual winners who will receive $7,500 courtesy of the Cafritz Foundation, and two innovative teams that will receive $15,000 for their hard work and dedication to providing exceptional service to District residents.

“In public service, we have the opportunity to make a difference every day, and every day, I am grateful for and inspired by the work of our 37,000 strong team of DC Government employees,” said Mayor Bowser. “Our Cafritz honorees go above and beyond to protect our DC values, build a safer, stronger DC, and ensure every person in DC gets their fair shot.”

This year the Foundation also gave a special “Leadership in Crisis” Cafritz Team Award, with an accompanying $10,000 cash prize to a team that went above and beyond the call of duty to serve the District’s residents during the pandemic crisis.

The 20th Annual Cafritz Awards winners are:

• Amanda Davies, Grants Management Specialist at the DC Fire & Emergency Medical Services Department’s Special Operations/ Homeland Security Division;
• Donna Henderson, Administrative Law Judge at the DC Department of Employment Services’ Labor Standards Bureau;
• Kimberly A. Lassiter, Supervisory Forensic Mortuary Technician at the DC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Medical Examiner Transport Team Unit;
• Scott Sibley, Community Liaison Specialist at the DC Department of Human Services’ Office of the Director;
• Aisha Williams, the Emergency Preparedness Planner Specialist at the DC Department of Health’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Administration;

The 20th Annual Cafritz Team Award winner is:

• PaveDC Team at the District Department of Transportation (DDOT): Srinath Ananth, Michaud Gray, Yuan Han, Blake Holub, Andrew Kaufmann, Ting Ma, Ian Maggard, Eric Onekon, Robert Smith, and Delante Toyer

This year’s Cafritz “Leadership in Crisis” Team Award winner is:

• Pandemic Emergency Program for Medically Vulnerable Individuals (PEP-V) Team at the DC Department of Human Services (DHS): Kimberly Baxter, Lauren Bunns, Ashlee Burks, Chicora Chatmon, Derrick Hampton, Dena Hasan, Christian Howard, Omar Jones, Sheila Jones, and Anthony Newman

The 19th Annual Cafritz Award Winners:

• Thennie Freeman, Associate Director, Office of Youth Programs, DC Department of Employment Services
• Anthony Hall, , Community Response Team Director (ret.), DC Department of Behavioral Health
• Shae Harris, Senior Strategy and Project Manager (ret.), Office of the City Administrator
• Gail Kohn, Age-Friendly DC Coordinator, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services
• Dr. Kasey Marie Yturralde, , Ph.D., Forest Health, and Community Outreach Specialist, District Department of Transportation

The 19th Annual Cafritz Award Team winner is:

• Language Acquisition Division Team (LAD) at DC Public Schools: Rosanna DeMammos, Ivy Chaine, Salem Lemma, Margaret Miller, Elba Garcia, Asuncion Alvarado, Jo-Ann Perez Ramirez and Vicki Javier

Winners were recognized at the joint 19th and 20th Annual Cafritz Awards Gala held today on the GWU campus. For more information, visit cafritzawards.com.

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