Kevin Cecco, Jeanne E. Griffith Selection Committee

Brian Harris-Kojetin was recently announced winner of the 2013 Jeanne E. Griffith Mentoring Award for his mentoring of junior staff across government.

Harris-Kojetin is a senior statistician in the Statistical and Science Policy Office at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Executive Office of the President. He has earned degrees from the University of Denver and University of Minnesota, where he studied psychology and statistics.

At the OMB, Harris-Kojetin has the unique ability to see across the federal statistical community and identify mid-career staff to teach, coach, and mentor about their role in that community. Whether it’s a new position, a detail, or a new interagency committee, he often identifies connections between interests and individuals and helps them to successfully connect.

Prior to working at the OMB, Harris-Kojetin spent several years teaching psychology and then as a research psychologist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and a senior project leader at the Arbitron Company. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and chair of the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology. He also has held leadership roles in several other professional associations.

Award Ceremony

Kevin Cecco presided as master of ceremonies. He presented several opening remarks and then introduced Katherine Wallman, chief statistician at the OMB and chair of the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy.

Wallman first introduced the past awardees and important members of the audience. She then talked about the Griffith Award during its early life and how it has grown over the years. Given her close relationship with Harris-Kojetin, she also articulated her excitement about his selection and expressed a few thoughts about his outstanding character and ability to be a great mentor.

Andy Orlin, Jeanne E. Griffith’s spouse, talked about how pleased he was with the direction of the award over the past 11 years and how pleased he was with this year’s selection of Harris-Kojetin. Orlin closed by expressing his gratitude to the members of the award selection committee.

Debbie Griffin followed Orlin’s remarks in the program and presented Harris-Kojetin with the Jeanne E. Griffith plaque after reading his citation.

Shelly Martinez, senior statistician at the OMB and Harris-Kojetin’s nominator, spoke on behalf of his award and offered a number of outstanding remarks. Among them: “Brian’s dedication and outreach to the federal statistical system embodies many of the tenets of this award. Although Brian doesn’t formally supervise staff, he has no trouble finding folks to mentor. Brian has the innate ability to establish relationships with many individuals in a variety of roles and is able to see how they can benefit from and help to address needs of the federal statistical community at the same time. Despite the fact that Brian is a statistician, his tools of the trade are not spreadsheets matching names to assignments or algorithms to decide who would be good at what. No, Brian’s chief tools are his time and active listening skills—this means both formal and informal interactions at meetings, lunches, and professional conferences.”

In conveying his thanks, Harris-Kojetin talked about how the ceremony was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the legacy of Jeanne Griffith and that he was deeply honored to have been selected for this year’s award. He mentioned that Wallman often refers to the federal statistical system as a family.

Harris-Kojetin also said he had the great opportunity to work with wonderful colleagues at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, OMB, and Arbitron, as well as during his details at the U.S. Census Bureau and work with the Committee on National Statistics. He stated he has grown a great deal from those experiences and the colleagues he worked with throughout his career. He stressed to the audience that they take advantage of these same kinds of opportunities, and this award will inspire him to do more to encourage colleagues to grow and pursue opportunities and learn more about our federal statistical system.

The Tree on the Jeanne E. Griffith Plaque

The initial concept of the Jeanne E. Griffith Mentoring Award was to encourage and publicize mentoring of younger and more junior staff by senior staff, supervisors, and managers. Orlin said that:

Sponsoring the Award

The Government Statistics Section continues looking ahead to the long term and expanding its sponsorship. The National Opinion Research Center (NORC), Westat, COPAFS, the American Educational Research Association, and the American Institutes for Research joined the GSS in providing financial support for the award. Other sponsors for 2013 include the ASA Social Statistics Section, the Washington Statistical Society, and the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy. We are seeking corporate sponsors in order to promote this outstanding award for years to come. Please contact Kevin Cecco at kevin.cecco@irs.gov if you would like to be a supporter.

Nominations for the 2014 Award

Nominations for the 2014 Jeanne E. Griffith Mentoring Award will be accepted beginning in January 2014. Look for an article in Amstat News early next year that will describe the nomination process for 2014. We will also advertise for the award in the Government Statistical Society, Washington Statistical Society, and other newsletters and list serves.