Past Jeanne E. Griffith Mentoring Award Winners

2009 – Kevin Cecco, Internal Revenue Service, and Lillian S. Lin, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

2008 – Rosemary D. Marcuss, Bureau of Economic Analysis

2007 – Stephanie Shipp, National Institute of Standards and Technology

2006 – Martin O’Connell, U.S. Census Bureau

2005 – Renee Miller, Energy Information Agency

2004 – Beth A. Kilss, Internal Revenue Service

2003 – Rich Allen, National Agricultural Statistics Service

The History

Jeanne E. Griffith worked for more than 25 years in the federal statistical system. Throughout her career, and especially in her senior management positions at the National Center for Education Statistics and National Science Foundation, one of Griffith’s highest priorities was to mentor and encourage junior staff to learn, grow, and recognize and seize career opportunities. After her death from breast cancer in 2001, the Jeanne E. Griffith Mentoring Award was set up to honor her memory by encouraging mentoring of junior staff in the federal statistical system.

Transition to the GSS

In 2007, Orlin and Emerson Elliott—two of the award’s founders—approached GSS about managing the award. When they met with the section’s board, there was no hesitation in taking on the leadership role; in fact, there was much enthusiasm and delight in being asked. House was chair of the section at the time, and ASA Director of Operations Steven Porzio and ASA Chapter and Sections Coordinator Monica Clark were instrumental in ensuring a smooth transition.

The GSS not only administers the award process, but—as a priority—works to raise the visibility of the award by emphasizing the importance of mentoring across the federal government, and particularly the federal statistical community.

Sponsoring the Award

The National Opinion Research Center, American Institutes for Research, Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, and American Educational Research Association joined the GSS in providing financial support for the award. Also, the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy continued its support of the program.

GSS is seeking long-term corporate sponsors to help increase the amount of the honorarium and to allow for more awards to be given. The section will continue to raise funds each year until a sufficient amount is raised to make the award self-sustaining. Contact Stephanie Shipp at sshipp@ida.org if you would like to be a supporter.

Nominations for 2011

Nominations for the 2011 Jeanne E. Griffith Mentoring Award will be accepted beginning in January. Look for an article in Amstat News toward the end of 2010 that will describe the nomination process. Also, check out the newsletters and listservs of the Government Statistics Section and Washington Statistical Society for information.