Army engineer named as winner in 2013 GreenGov Presidential Awards

By Michael Coffey, US Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern DivisionNovember 15, 2013

Army engineer receives 2013 GreenGov Presidential Award
The US Army Chief of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, Jeanette Fiess, an electrical engineer for USACE, Northwestern Division, and Hon. Jo Ellen Darcy, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, display the GreenGov award for Sustainability ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

SEATTLE (Nov. 5, 2013) -- An Army engineer was recognized by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) during the fourth annual GreenGov Presidential Awards.

Jeanette Fiess, the sustainability and energy program manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division, was selected by the White House as this year's winner in the 'Sustainability Hero' category.

The awards honor federal civilian and military personnel as well as agency teams, facilities, and programs that have taken innovative steps to reduce energy use and carbon pollution, curb waste, and save taxpayer money in Federal agency operations.

At the White House ceremony, senior Administration officials recognized the eight award winners, including Fiess, for exemplifying President Obama's charge to lead by example and demonstrating extraordinary achievement in the pursuit of the President's 2009 Executive Order on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance (Executive Order 13514).

Under Fiess' leadership, the USACE Northwestern Division has increased the number of employees with training in high-performance building standards by 70 percent.

In 2012, Jeanette Fiess led the nationwide USACE effort to update their Unified Facilities Guide specifications, which lacked critical sustainability requirements. USACE Headquarters has recommended that training developed by Fiess be included as part of their national training platform in future years.

CEQ solicited nominations for the 2013 GreenGov Presidential awards from the Federal community earlier this year. A panel of judges that included Federal and national sustainability leaders reviewed the nominations and recommended the award finalists to the President.

Northwestern Division is one of nine U.S. Army Corps of Engineers divisions. The Northwestern Division is nearly 2,000 miles wide, enveloping 14 states and two of the country's longest rivers, the Missouri and Columbia, which drain nearly one million square miles within its boundaries that stretch from Seattle, Wash., to St. Louis, Mo.

Related Links:

Army Energy News

Environmental News

USACE Northwestern Division

US Army Corps of Engineers

GreenGov Presidential Awards