The 2023 winners represent a diverse cross section of public servants whose work, commitment and dedication are essential to the functioning and vitality of New York City.
(New York, NY, May 15, 2023) – Today, the Fund for the City of New York (Fund) announced the winners of the 2023 Sloan Public Service Awards. Referred to as the “Nobel Prize for New York City public servants,” the Sloan Public Service Awards are the most prestigious recognition the city’s public servants can receive. This is the 50th anniversary of the awards, and a rare year in which seven, rather than six awardees were selected. The distinguished civic leaders on the Sloan Public Service Award Selection Panel, chaired by Georgia Boothe, the Executive Vice President of Child Welfare & Family Services at Children’s Aid, selected the winners after extensive vetting. The more than 310,000 city employees from mayoral and non-mayoral agencies are eligible to be nominated.
“Public service is the lifeblood of our democracy, and civil servants are the unsung heroes who keep our communities running smoothly,” said Adam F. Falk, President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “We congratulate this year’s Sloan Public Service Award winners for their tireless commitment to New York City.”
This 2023 winners are: Sergeant James Clarke, Community Affairs Officer, NYC Police Department; Kenneth Cobb, Assistant Commissioner, NYC Department of Records & Information Services; Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin, Executive Director of Housing Initiatives, NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice; Jennifer Lenihan, Senior Advisor / Assistant Commissioner, NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment; Dina Maniotis, Executive Deputy Commissioner and Chief of Staff, NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner; Anita Reyes, Assistant Commissioner, Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Eric Smalls, Chief Technology Officer, NYC Emergency Management.
The winners will be honored today at their offices by the Fund’s executive team and members of the Sloan Selection Panel. The contingent’s day-long, cross-borough trip is a tradition going back decades, allowing winners to be recognized in the presence of their colleagues, where their accomplishments have taken place. Each winner receives a prize package which includes $10,000, a portrait, a video retrospective, and a commemorative plaque and brochure.
“Since 1973, the Fund for the City of New York’s Public Service Awards Program has been honoring outstanding civil servants whose accomplishments and commitment to public service are extraordinary,” said Lisette Nieves, President of the Fund for the City of New York. “Their tireless work exemplifies the contributions and sacrifice of the City’s hundreds of thousands of dedicated public servants. The Sloan Awards give us the opportunity to share their achievements with the citizens of New York City who benefit from their work every day.”
“The remarkable talent that exists in New York City government is embodied by the Sloan winners, who are super civil servants going above and beyond the call of duty. Despite facing difficult circumstances, unparalleled pressures and unprecedented crises, these extraordinary city employees serve all New Yorkers on a daily basis with expertise, integrity, ingenuity, dedication and excellence,” said Aldrin Rafael Bonilla, Executive Vice President of the Fund for the City of New York.” The seven winners, from diverse fields such as public health, municipal archives, law enforcement, media and entertainment, housing justice, emergency management and forensic science, are representative of the hardworking public servants who keep the largest and most densely populated city in the country running smoothly. The routine, delicate and complex work they perform is often overlooked, but essential to the functioning and vitality of our city. The Sloan Public Service Awards are a gesture of gratitude and appreciation for their exceptional service to the city we all love and call home.”
About The Fund for the City of New York
The Fund for the City of New York was established by the Ford Foundation in 1968 with the mandate to improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers. For 55 years, in partnership with government agencies, nonprofits and foundations, the Fund has developed and helped to implement innovation in policy, programs, practices and technology in order to advance the functioning of government and nonprofit organizations in New York City and beyond. Signature Fund programs include the: Cash Flow Loan Program, Partner Project Program, Sloan Public Service Awards, Sloan Awards for Excellence in Teaching Science and Mathematics, and Community Planning Fellowship Program. To learn more visit Fund for the City of New York.
About the Sloan Public Service Awards
Since 1973, the Fund for the City of New York has honored outstanding civil servants with the Sloan Public Service Awards. The Awards, generously supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for over two decades, honor civil servants each year who exhibit an extraordinary level of commitment to the public. Award winners are carefully selected by the Sloan Public Service Awards Panel. The 325,000 employees working for mayoral and non-mayoral agencies, the Transit and Housing Authorities, the Health and Hospitals Corporation, the City University of New York, Department of Education, district attorneys’ offices, public libraries and others are eligible.
Media Coverage: