NASA’s Orlando Figueroa will receive the 2005 Service to America Federal Employee of the Year Medal tonight during an award ceremony at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington.
This award recognizes a federal employee whose professional contributions exemplify the highest attributes of public service. The award recognizes his leadership in NASA’s successful Mars Exploration Rovers’ mission.
Figueroa is one of nine recipients of the Service to America Medals. The medals honor the outstanding contributions of federal employees across the country. The Service to America Medal was created in 2002 by the Partnership for Public Service in Washington. The group is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to revitalizing federal government service.
Figueroa was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He spent 22 years at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., in a variety of leadership positions. He was the deputy chief engineer for systems engineering at NASA Headquarters prior to being selected in 2001 as the agency’s Mars program director. He recently was named director of Goddard’s Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:
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