President Joe Biden has named U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) Director Carmelo Melendez a Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Service winner, which is considered the highest honor career civil servants can receive.

The award recognizes Melendez’s sustained accomplishments within LM, leading to future public health and environmental benefits, vital connection to underserved communities, and cost savings in the tens of millions of dollars.

Melendez was one of 233 winners of the 2022 Senior Executive Service awards, representing 33 federal agencies. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced the awards in November 2022.

“This is both a tremendous honor and an incredibly humbling tribute, because it belongs to many influential people in my life — family, friends, colleagues, and mentors — who believed in me and taught me that anything is possible with determination and teamwork,” Melendez said.

Prior to leading LM for the past six years, Melendez was an officer in the U.S. Navy before assuming his role as a senior executive in federal government. His achievements with LM include:

• Validating public health challenges at more than 4,000 abandoned defense-related uranium mines, including hundreds in tribal nations.
• Expanding nationally recognized interpretive centers to engage the public.
• Beneficial reuse of environmentally remediated lands.
• Advocacy for $300 million in funding to address contaminants in residential areas.
• And protecting the pensions of more than 7,000 former government workers, resulting in reduced future liabilities by $200 million and $47 million in funds returned to the U.S. Treasury. 

Melendez champions environmental justice ideals by opening communication and building trust with underserved communities. Under his leadership, the U.S. Department of Energy has managed long-term surveillance and maintenance at 101 sites spanning Alaska to Puerto Rico (up from 33 sites). That number will reach 128 by 2030.

Melendez’s collaborations include formal partnerships with the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 35 states, and 25 sovereign tribal nations, all to ensure the success of LM’s mission to protect public health and the environment now and in the future.

In the past 10 years, Melendez has served as LM’s Senior Real Property Officer and Program Office Director. He led several initiatives to transform LM’s assessment, planning, and strategic approach to DOE infrastructure from 2013 to 2016. One initiative established an integrated plan to conduct a first-ever, enterprise-wide infrastructure assessment across all agency locations. The project was awarded the Secretary of Energy’s Honor Award and included reallocating more than $250 million to agency locations nationwide to address mission needs.

He was a critical contributor to a working group that addressed 1,600 contaminated facilities and recommended spending $500 million for deactivating and demolishing nuclear reactor sites. He also led the initiative to eliminate more than 2.2 million square feet of excess facilities through demolition or repurposing, thereby saving millions of dollars in occupancy, leasing, and construction costs.

The Presidential Rank Awards Program was established in 1978 to recognize select Senior Executive Service career members for exceptional performance over an extended period. Later, the Rank Award statute was amended to extend eligibility to senior career employees with a sustained record of exceptional professional, technical, and/or scientific achievement recognized on a national or international level.

There are two award categories in the program. Just 1 percent of Senior Executive Service members earn a Distinguished Rank Award in any given year, while 5 percent of senior federal leaders are eligible for a Meritorious Rank Award. As in previous years, the winners for 2022 come from a wide range of agencies and mission areas.

“Each and every day, our federal employees are working to address the nation’s most pressing issues, developing technologies to improve millions of lives, and ultimately, achieving the seemingly unachievable on behalf of the American public,” said OPM Director Kiran Ahuja. “This year’s Presidential Rank Awards reflect the Biden-Harris Administration’s support for hardworking civil servants who exemplify strength, integrity, industry, and a relentless commitment to public service through their exceptional leadership, contributions, and accomplishments.”  

The full 2022 Presidential Rank Awards winners list is available on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management website.

Additional DOE honorees include:

Distinguished Executive Winners

• Ingrid Ann Christner
• Karen O. Henneberger
• Harriet Kung
• Catherine R. Mendelsohn
• Sunita Satyapal
• William I. White

Meritorious Executive Winners

• Michael Berube
• Stephen E. Fisher
• Juston Fontaine
• Douglas E. Fremont
• Robin R. Furrer
• Christopher S. Johns
• Rebecca E. Jones-Albertus
• Katherine L. Konieczny
• John A. Mullis
• Teresa M. Robbins
• Edward F. Watkins