Washington, DC -- U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Linda M. Springer today convened 12 private citizens from the nation's capital region to consider nominations for the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive and Senior Professional. Appointees to the board are private citizens from corporate America, academia, and local government.

"Through their hard work, these board members are going to be doing something very important," said Springer. "They will be making recommendations for who should be honored for being the very best federal civil servants, people who carry out the important work the federal government does on behalf of the American people"

The criteria used to evaluate nominees for the award include the ability to lead change and people, being results driven, having business acumen, with the ability to build coalitions/communications, and having stature in a professional field.

At the conclusion of the panel's decision-making process, they will submit their recommendations to Director Springer, who will then send her recommendations to President George W. Bush.

The President will make the final selections and announce the award recipients later this year.

Members of the 2007 Presidential Rank Award Distinguished Review Board are:

• Michele Blair, Government Affairs Manager, Hewlett-Packard
• The Honorable Hal Stratton, Attorney, Dykema Gossett, PLLC
• The Honorable Roy Ramthun, President, HSA Consulting Services
• Melissa Wojciak, Director of Government Relations, Monster
• Andrew Siff, Esq, Managing Partner, Siff & Cerda, LLP
• George Nichols III, Senior Vice President, New York Life Insurance Company
• Michael B. Smith, President, The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars
• Amy L. Ryder, Senior Intelligence Consultant, PatchPlus Consulting
• The Honorable John Weicher, Director of the Center for Housing and Financial Markets, Hudson Institute
• Robert J. Batson, Director of Federal Relations, Unisys Corporation
• Jim Neill, Assistant Vice President, Corporate and External Affairs, The National Association of Manufacturers
• The Honorable Jayne H. Plank, former Mayor of Kensington, MD