Washington, D.C. - U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Kay Coles James recently announced the panel of judges who made recommendations to her as recipients of the Presidential Award for Management Excellence. The award, administered through the President's Quality Award (PQA) program, is issued to those federal agencies achieving exceptional results, through their initiatives, on components of President Bush's Management Agenda (PMA).

James designated OPM Deputy Director Dan Blair to chair the panel. Other members of the panel included:

Mr. Max Stier, President and CEO, Partnership for Public Service
Mr. Henry Romero, Senior Consultant, Federal Management Partners, Inc.
Ms. Hannah Sistare, Executive Director, National Commission on Public Service
Judge John Charles Thomas, Partner, Hunton and Williams
Ms. Diana Espinosa, Deputy Assistant Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget
Mr. Chris Mihm, Director Strategic Issues, U.S. General Accounting Office

"We are honored by the participation and expertise of this distinguished volunteer panel," remarked James. "Recommending the best from so many wonderful submissions was not easy, but I am confident the panel has made sound decisions in their recommendations."

Last year, James significantly redesigned the PQA program by aligning it with President Bush's Management Agenda (PMA). In so doing, the focus shifted from quality of service and achieved productivity, to recognizing the initiatives and the people behind those initiatives who are driving specific management changes in their agencies.

Judges considered agency submissions in the five PMA categories of Strategic Management of Human Capital, Competitive Sourcing, Improved Financial Performance, Expanded Electronic Government, and Budget and Performance Integration. Submissions had to directly and materially support the objectives of the PMA and they had to stand out as exemplary initiatives and practices worthy of adoption by others.

James announced the PQA program in July and agencies were given until September 5 to submit their applications. Once the judges' panel thoroughly reviewed each submission and made its decisions, recommendations were made to Director James. James then made final recommendations to President Bush for his decision. Current plans call for agency winners to be announced and honored in mid-December.

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.