Congratulations to Carmelo Melendez for receiving the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Service, the highest honor for career civil servants. He is one of 233 winners of the 2022 Senior Executive Service awards, representing 33 federal agencies. Melendez is a two-time alumnus of the George Washington University’s Engineering/Industrial Management Program and the Senior Leader Program at the Center for Excellence in Public Leadership (GW CEPL), part of GW’s College of Professional Studies.
Mr. Melendez, who serves as the program office director of the Office of Legacy Management (LM) in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), was honored for his sustained accomplishments in leading to future public health and environmental benefits, vital connection to underserved communities and cost savings in the tens of millions of dollars.
According to the agency press release, under Melendes’ leadership, DOE transformed LM’s assessment, planning and strategic approach to DOE infrastructure from 2013 to 2016, and also led the initiative to eliminate and repurpose more than 2.2 million square feet of excess facilities, thereby realizing cost savings in occupancy, leasing and construction costs. These are just a few of his many accomplishments.
"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," he said.
Speaking specifically to his experience in the Senior Leader Program, Melendez said, "The Senior Leader Program prepared me for navigating the dynamics of changing leadership and being able to assist that leadership to be successful with management agendas. It also opened up my aperture to look at things differently in regard to leading change, strategic planning, interacting differently with other executives and staff – producing results that add value to the agency."
We are distinctly proud of Mr. Melendes’ accomplishments as a champion for environmental justice, and his legacy of outstanding leadership within the federal government and our community.