This award is named for Dr. Frances Kelsey, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration employee who resisted pressure to approve Thalidomide, and thus prevented countless birth defects. This award will be given to a person who has demonstrated courage in promoting the public interest while employed in government, contractors or grantees.

*The National Capital Area Chapter Award for Outstanding Service

This award is given to a member of the National Capital Area Chapter of ASPA who demonstrates outstanding service to the chapter.

Keynote: Nancy Potok, Chief Statistician of the U.S. & leading member of the Evidence-Based Policy Commission

Dr. Nancy Potok was the Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Census Bureau. She previously served at the U.S. Department of Commerce as Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, the Census Bureau’s Associate Director for Demographic Programs, and the Principal Associate Director and Chief Financial Officer in charge of Field Operations, Information Technology, and Administration during the 2000 Census.

Dr. Potok has more than 30 years of public, private, and nonprofit senior management experience. She was the Chief Operating Officer of McManis & Monsalve Associates, a small business specializing in helping Fortune 500 companies and government agencies manage change and innovation. She was also the Senior Vice President and Director of the Economic, Labor and Population Studies Department at the University of Chicago National Opinion Research Center (NORC), a social science survey research organization.

Her public service includes working in the Judicial and Legislative Branches, as well as at the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

Dr. Potok is an adjunct professor at The George Washington University, an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), and a recipient of numerous awards, including The George Washington University Trachtenberg School Distinguished Alumni Award and the Arthur S. Flemming Award. She has published numerous articles on governmental management topics, and has presented papers, lectures, workshops, and classes in both national and international forums.

Dr. Potok earned her B.A. from Sonoma State University, M.A.S. from the University of Alabama, and Ph.D. from The George Washington University.