GSA Executives Honored with Presidential Rank Awards

GSA # 10199                  

October 26, 2005
Contact: Ed Rossillo, (202) 501-1231
edward.rossillo@gsa.gov              

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three executives from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) have been honored by President George W. Bush as 2005 Presidential Rank Award winners.

“These award recipients are very deserving of this special recognition by President Bush for their outstanding achievements at GSA and for their dedicated service to our country,” said GSA Administrator Stephen A. Perry.

The following GSA executives were honored with Presidential Rank Awards.

• Distinguished Senior Professional, former Public Buildings Service Chief Architect Edward A. Feiner. Mr. Feiner first joined GSA in 1981 and became its top architect in 1996. He was instrumental in creating GSA’s award-winning Design Excellence program, which elevated the profile of design in public buildings and led to the selection of many of the country’s most talented architects, engineers and artists for federal building construction and renovation projects over the past decade. Mr. Feiner retired from GSA in January 2005.
• Meritorious Executive, Public Building Service Assistant Commissioner for Real Property Asset Management William H. Matthews. Mr. Matthews has 30 years of experience in real property management, space acquisition, capital construction planning, asset and portfolio management and has worked in four GSA regions and the national office. Mr. Matthews is responsible for managing the life cycle of GSA’s real property assets – Real Estate Portfolio Management; Buildings Operations and Maintenance; Occupancy Administration and Property Disposal.

Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Assistant Commissioner for Integrated Technology Service Deidre A. Lee received the Distinguished Executive Award for her work at the U.S. Department of Defense. Ms. Lee served as the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, where she served as principal advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics (AT&L) and on the Defense Acquisition Board for all major weapon systems programs, major automated information systems programs, and services acquisitions. Ms. Lee joined the U.S. General Services Administration in August 2005.

The Presidential Rank Awards recognized 278 executives from 35 federal agencies.   Recipients of this prestigious award are strong leaders, professionals, and scientists who achieve results and consistently demonstrate strength, integrity, industry, and a relentless commitment to excellence in public service. Candidates are nominated by their agency heads, evaluated by boards of private citizens and approved by the President. The list of the 2005 Presidential Rank Award recipients is located on OPM’s Web Site http://www.opm.gov/ses/presrankaward.asp.