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2023 Call for Nominations

Do you know a colleague who deserves recognition for outstanding work with the NCSL Standing Committees? Please let us know! NCSL is accepting nominations for the 2023 Legislative Staff Achievement Award, created by the NCSL Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee in 1997. The award is designed to recognize those who demonstrate excellence in supporting the work of a state legislature and strengthening the legislative institution.

NCSL will announce the recipients of the 2023 Legislative Staff Achievement Awards this summer. Honorees will be recognized at NCSL’s “Salute to Legislative Staff” at NCSL’s 2023 Legislative Summit in Indianapolis (Aug. 14-16).

All staff members of standing committees are eligible, and nominations may be submitted by the nominee or by other standing committee members. The overall co-chairs of the standing committees, will review the nominations and select the winner(s), who will be notified in late May.

Please submit an email describing how the nominee meets one or more of the criteria to Molly Ramsdell by May 12, 2023.

Nominations can also be mailed to Molly Ramsdell at NCSL, 444 N. Capitol St., NW, Suite 515, Washington, D.C., 20001. Please feel free to call 202-413-1379 with any questions.

About the Award

Legislative Staff Achievement Awards are the highest national honor given to legislative staff. Especially in this highly unusual time, when we are all witness to legislative staff rising to the challenges of a new world by applying their professional expertise and/or leadership. The formal acknowledgment of their impact on public service should be shared and celebrated! Take a moment to nominate that very special peer from your office or professional staff association for recognition.

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Award Criteria
  • Exemplary service to the NCSL Standing Committees.
  • Demonstrates expertise in a particular field and contributes to existing knowledge.
  • Exhibits a high degree of professionalism, competence and integrity in serving the legislature and the public.
  • Supports the legislative process and the mission of the legislature.

Previous Recipients

2022

  • Drew Murray, senior legislative analyst, Louisiana House of Representatives
  • Eric Nauman, principal fiscal analyst, Minnesota Senate Counsel, Research, and Fiscal Analysis

2021

  • Monique Appeaning, legislative fiscal analyst and special projects coordinator, Legislative Fiscal Office, Louisiana
  • Tara Bookholdt, senior budget and policy analyst, House Budget and Research Office, Georgia

2020

  • James F. “Ted” Booth, general counsel, Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER)
  • Michelle Davis, senior policy analyst, Maryland Department
  • Frank Strigari, chief legal counsel, Ohio Senate
  • Jeffrey M. Wice, special counsel, New York Assembly of Legislative Services

2019

  • Lonnie A. Edgar, Jr., principal analyst, Mississippi Joint Legislative PEER Committee
  • Jonathan Ball, director, Legislative Fiscal Analyst Office, Utah

2018

  • Rachel Gudgel, director, Legislative Education Study Committee, New Mexico
  • Julie Pelegrin, deputy director, Office of Legislative Legal Services, Colorado

2017

  • Stephanie Barrett, associate fiscal office, Legislative Joint Fiscal Office, Vermont
  • Ken Levine, director, Texas Sunset Commission

2016

  • Martha Carter, legislative auditor, Nebraska Legislature
  • Kathy Schill, fiscal analyst, Department of Fiscal Analysis, Minnesota House of Representatives

2015

  • Mary Quaid, executive director, House Legislative Services, Louisiana Legislature
  • Roderick N. Welsh, sergeant at arms, Texas House of Representatives

2014

  • Jennifer Jones, Deputy Director, Sunset Advisory Commission, Texas Legislature
  • John Snyder, Committee Administrator, Legislative Research Commission, Kentucky General Assembly

2013

  • Marion Higa, state auditor, Hawaii Office of the Auditor (Retired)
  • Holly Lyons, fiscal services division director, Legislative Services Agency, Iowa General Assembly

2012

  • Melissa Calderwood, principal analyst, Legislative Research Department, Kansas Legislature
  • Karl Aro, executive director, Department of Legislative Services, Maryland General Assembly

2011

  • Cheryl Reinhart, staff attorney, Arkansas General Assembly
  • Miriam A. Fordham, legislative committee analyst, Health and Welfare Committee, Legislative Research Commission, Kentucky
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Related Resources

LRL Newsline | Spring 2023

Greetings from Maine! While much of the country is officially enjoying spring, we’re wrapping up our mud season. It’s a time of Bean boots, extra mopping and the promise of warm weather, maybe by June. I appreciate mud season because it lets us ease into what can become the frantic pace of summer as we try to enjoy as much as possible in a short amount of time. They say that people in Caribou, Maine, at the northernmost tip of the state, just hope that summer falls on a weekend. 

Legislative Staff