The Frederick O'Reilly Hayes Prize

What is it....

Fred Hayes (1923-2002) was one of the most gifted American public servants of the twentieth century, and possibly the most gifted in state and local government.

He had complete integrity. He understood the delicate connection between professional standards and the political system. He attracted and inspired talent. He was a polymath with a wry sense of humor. His imagination was limitless and his analytical powers incisive.

He was also modest, disheveled, and suffered from narcolepsy that occasionally caused him to fall asleep at important meetings.

Fred was, in fact, an American hero, but of the kind we don't often have the wit or commitment to recognize.

The Fred Hayes Prize was established in 2005 to recognize this wonderful man.  Those of us whose lives he touched, who marveled at his courage and skill at finding talent and "putting them on the horse," and who recognize that state and local governments badly need new generations of public servants as insightful and tenacious as he, seek to recognize talent, integrity, and the highest professional standards in today’s public servants.

Since 2008, the Prize has been helped immeasurably by a partnership with the New York City Department of Administrative Services.  The Department has a large portfolio of operating and overhead responsibilities, including management of the City’s executive development programs.  The Department has done a wonderful job of circulating materials about and soliciting nominations for the Prize to all the City agencies, which makes it possible to generate nominations from the widest possible range of candidates.

The Nomination Package  is sent to all City agencies, and we’re looking forward to continuing this productive collaboration. 
A celebratory lunch is held each year to honor the winners of the Prize.  Click here  for the announcement of the most recent lunch.  Announcements are sent to everyone on the list of contacts on this site.  Please add your name or update your contact information here.

Supporting the Prize   

WE ASK YOU TO CONSIDER A CONTRIBUTION TO THIS EFFORT. 
Checks should be made to: 

Fund for the City of New York/Fred Hayes Prize and sent to: 

Ms. Jill Borrero  
Fund For The City of New York 
121 Avenue of the Americas 
6th Floor 
New York, NY 10013

Contributions are tax-deductible. 

We are grateful to the Fund for the City of New York for acting as a tax-deductible repository for the Fred Hayes Prize. 

Organizing Committee for the Frederick O’Reilly Hayes Prize:  Carter Bales, Peter Goldmark, David Grossman, Steven Isenberg, Anthony Japha, William Josephson, Joan Leiman, Jerry Mechling, Alan Silberstein 

Questions about the Prize should be addressed to Tony Japha at AJAPHA@earthlink.net 

Profiles of Fred Hayes Prize Winners 

2012 Winners:

The team of Theresa A. Caragine and Adele A. Mitchell has developed a statistical tool to describe the results of complex DNA analysis undertaken at crime scenes. The tool is used to evaluate evidence presented in court. The team works in the Chief Medical Examiner’s Department of Forensic Biology, where Ms. Caragine is a Deputy Director and Ms. Mitchell is a Research Scientist. Ms. Caragine holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Oncology and Immunology, and Ms. Mitchell holds a Ph.D. in Human Genetics and Molecular Biology.

Morgan Monaco serves as the Director of MillionTreesNY in the Department of Parks and Recreation. She leads all elements of the program that will plant a million new trees across the City, including the management of internal staff and coordination with dozens of outside organizations. She has been in City service for five years after several summers with the Department, and holds a bachelors degree in international studies.

2011 Winner:

Constadino Sirakis is a Director of Engineering in the Department of Buildings who developed the Department’s program for ensuring the high quality of concrete placed in public and private buildings constructed in the City. He leads that program, which is important in enforcing the safety of construction throughout the City.  He holds a bachelor of science in civil engineering and had been in the Department for nearly four years.   

2010 Winners: 

Kerim Odekon was a Policy Analyst in the Office of Development of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.  Kerim conducted analyses to support the City’s new construction program as well as its programs for preserving affordable housing during a period of widespread distress in the housing markets. Kerim entered City service in 2006 with degrees in mathematics, regional planning, and economics.

Sara Zuiderveen is the Assistant Commissioner of Prevention in the Department of Homeless Services.  She is an originator of the City’s program of community-based services aimed at preventing homelessness.  A hallmark of Sara’s work is an emphasis on collaboration with service providers.  She began her City service in 2004 after several years as a program analyst and writer on issues of child abuse.

2009 Winners: 

Benjamin Jones was the Assistant Commissioner for Strategic Planning and Implementation in the New York City Buildings Department when he was awarded the Prize. BJ led the first comprehensive revision of the City’s building code in decades, and he has been instrumental in bringing an emphasis on safety across the Department’s programs.  He entered City service in 2003 after working as a management consultant. 

Mitchell D. Silber was the Director of Intelligence Analysis in the Police Department.  In his four years in the NYPD, Mitch has pioneered new approaches to counterintelligence analysis which have helped in the formulation of strategies to confront terrorist threats facing our City.  Mitch came to the NYPD after work in the financial sector and earning an MA in Middle Eastern Studies and International Security Policy. 

2008 Winners: 

The team of Nina Aledort and Sarah Bass in the Department of Juvenile Justice devised and then implemented a new program of community based mental health care for detainees released from the Department’s facilities.  Assistant Commissioner for Program Services Aledort and Director of Medical and Mental Health Services Bass had been in City service for only two years when they became Prize winners.  Both had considerable experience in the delivery of health and mental health services prior to their City service. 

The team of Margaret Sheffer and Carlecia Taylor (more recently Carlecia Wright) in the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Division of Alternative Management Programs was awarded the Prize for having made important contributions to the City’s programs of transferring City-owned residential properties to stable private ownership.  Huge numbers of residential properties came into City ownership as a result of tax delinquencies during the 1970s, and nearly all have now been returned to non-governmental management. Sheffer had been with the Department for seven years, Taylor for four years.  

2007 Winners: 

R. Jason Henry was the Chief Administrator in the Division of Contracts and Purchasing of the Department of Education.  Jason had worked in progressively responsible positions in the Department's for nearly ten years, and was selected because of his innovative approaches to the Department’s multi-billion dollar procurement processes. 

Jennifer McArdle Hoppa was Deputy Director of Planning in the Parks and Recreation Department when she was awarded the Fred Hayes Prize, having served in the Department for four years.  Currently, Jennifer serves as the Administrator of Northern Manhattan Parks.  She was recognized for her extensive contributions to a wide range of Departmental projects and programs.  

2005 Winner: 

Patrick Sullivan had served as counsel in the Economic Development Corporation for two years when he won the Prize.  He worked on many EDA projects, and was selected because of his broad analytic and creative approach to problem solving, legal and otherwise.  Patrick was also called upon to lead management efforts on development projects around the City. He had previously served in other governmental positions, and is currently in private law practice here.  He remains very active in the activities of the Prize.