Nominations are now open for 2026! Roger W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership

Review eligibility requirements and how to submit nomination packages.

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About the Award Nominations are due by October 31st, 2026

Since 1978, the Roger W. Jones Award has honored and recognized federal career executives for the Senior Executive Service who have demonstrated dedication to superior leadership in achieving their agency's mission and nurturing future managers.

Award recipients are not only committed to mission success, but also inspire those they lead, consistent with the career of the extraordinary public servant for whom the Award is named.

Roger Jones (February 3, 1908 - May 28, 1993) served seven U.S. presidents over four decades, including tours as Deputy Secretary of State, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Chairman of the Civil Service Commission.

He extolled the importance of public administration and service, stressing the need to provide professional education for public managers.

Nomination Links

Nominations are now open! Please follow the links below to find all information.

Nomination Criteria

The criteria for this prestigious award for active federal career executives (members of SES) are demonstrated exceptional capabilities in the following areas:

superior leadership which has resulted in outstanding organizational achievements
a strong demonstrated commitment to develop the careers of people who will serve as managers and executives in the future federal service, contributing to the continuing excellence of government

Any career civilian employee of the executive branch of the U.S. government or member of the uniformed services who has at least three (3) years of service as of June 30, 2026, and who is not retirement eligible, may be submitted for nomination for the Roger Jones Award.

Presidential appointees, other administration appointees, and career civil service agency heads (acting or permanent) are invited each year to submit nominations of career executives responsible to them who have demonstrated outstanding executive leadership.

Award Presentation

Recipients of the Roger W. Jones Award will be honored in a ceremony hosted by American University.

2025 Award Recipients

Scott Bauer

Executive Director, Human Capital and Resource Management for the Office of the Under Secretary of War (Comptroller), U.S. Department of War

Mr. Scott Bauer currently serves as Executive Director, Human Capital and Resource Management for the Office of the Under Secretary of War (Comptroller) (OUSW(C)). Mr. Bauer is responsible for shaping the future of the Department of War (DoW) Financial Management (FM) workforce and guiding approximately 60,000 high-performing professionals across the enterprise. He leads the DoW FM Functional Community driving excellence, innovation, and growth through transformational workforce development programs, including the DoW FM Certification Program; the USW(C) Awards Program; and training platforms including FM Online, FM myLearn, and the FM Certification Learning Management System. In addition, he facilitates key modernization efforts related to Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution reform, and manages OUSW(C) internal operations to ensure the optimal allocation of over $180M in personnel, contracts, and facilities resources supporting mission readiness.

Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Bauer served as Vice President of Business Development at Integrated Data Services, where he drove innovative and impactful branding and strategic initiatives, including launching the company’s inaugural advertisement and journal publication, significantly elevating its visibility, reach, professional connections, and market positioning. At the Veterans Health Administration, he served as Executive Director of Strategy and Operations, comprehensively re-engineering the budget formulation process, securing additional funding for critical initiatives, and aligning priorities with federal oversight, earning recognition from the Government Accountability Office. At the Department of Homeland Security, Mr. Bauer served as Acting Senior Executive Advisor in the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, where he led professional development initiatives, reduced a certification backlog, expanded training programs, and strengthened the agency’s talent pipeline. At the DoW, he served as the Director of Acquisition Career Management for 32 defense agencies, improving workforce programs, developing enterprise-wide retention strategies, and launching a leadership development initiative. At the Defense Acquisition University, he helped redesign the DoW workforce framework, streamlining career paths for 185,000 acquisition professionals and increasing engagement through social media vignettes. As Director of Acquisition Human Capital Initiatives, he secured congressional funding, safeguarded an alternative personnel system, and professionalized the workforce. His nearly decade-long financial management experience includes serving as Chief, Exercise Branch at the Pentagon, where he defended the Air Force’s $167 billion FY17 budget request to Congress with a live presentation aired on MSNBC.

Mr. Bauer was recently named Wright State University (Dayton, Ohio) 2025 Alumnus of the Year and was inducted into the Fairborn (Ohio) City Schools Hall of Honor in 2019. He received the Secretary of War Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service, the Secretary of Homeland Security Medal for Outstanding Public Service, and American University’s inaugural Tobias Achievement Award. His work appears in the Armed Forces Comptroller Journal, Defense Acquisition Magazine, and other influential publications. Scott is a graduate of the Partnership for Public Service Excellence in Government Fellows, the Department of Defense Executive Leadership Development Program and Air War College.

Andrea Kock

Director, Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Ms. Kock serves as the NRC’s Director of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

Ms. Kock has served the USNRC for over 25 years in a broad range of positions in both the reactor and materials areas. In 2025, she was the Regional Administrator of the NRC’s Region I office in King of Prussia. From 2021-2024, Ms. Kock was the Deputy Office Director for Engineering in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR). Between 2018 and 2021, Ms. Kock held positions as Directors in the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) in the Division Fuel Management and the Division of Materials Safety, Security, State and Tribal Programs.

Ms. Kock was selected into the Senior Executive Service in 2014, and between 2014 and 2018 served as Deputy Directors in the Division of Site Safety and Environmental Analysis in the Office of New Reactors and the Deputy Director of the Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs in NMSS. From 2007-2014, she held supervisory positions in both NMSS and NRR as the Chief of the Environmental Review Branch, Chief of the Performance Assessment Branch, and Chief of the Financial and International Projects Branch. From 2010- 2013, Ms. Kock supported one of the agency’s five Commissioners, Commissioner William Ostendorff, as a Policy Advisor for Materials issues. She has prior experience in both a region (RIII) and Headquarters, having been an inspector in the RIII office from 1996 through 2004.

Ms. Kock received an M.S. in Environmental Health Science with a concentration in radiological health from the University of Michigan in 1996 and was a DOE Health Physics Fellow.