Last month, the Congressional Management Foundation hosted a Democracy Awards Breakfast Panel where over 30 congressional staffers learned how their offices can nominate themselves for the 2020 awards. The panel consisted of staff of 2018 and 2019 winners who discussed what winning the award meant to their offices, and outlined the nominations process in detail. 

Nancy Juarez, Deputy Chief of Staff/ Legislative Director, Rep. Salud Carbajal; Aimee Wall, Press Secretary, Rep. Mark DeSaulnier; Melanie Baucom, Press Secretary, Sen. Mike Crapo; and Jordan Wilson, Director of Operations, Rep. Rob Wittman participated in the November panel discussion.

With just a few days left to apply, take a look at what some of our panelists said:

• Aimee Wall stated that being a finalist and eventual winner was valuable in that it, “... is letting people know what it is that we are doing on a day-in and day-out basis.” She mentioned how dedicated her and other staffers are to their work and it meant a lot to be recognized for it, “Many of us serve over 700,000 constituents which takes a lot of work. For us, with a staff of less than 18, as most offices are on the House side, just to have it quantified for our Member and constituents to show that we really are working on your behalf.” When there are questions regarding transparency, accountability or innovation, this award is a great talking point to physically show the great things you do in your office, “This award is very tangible for people to grasp onto and my boss loves to talk about his award at town halls.” 
• Melanie Baucom was passionate about what winning meant for her office as a whole, “This is not just an award for your Member, this is a way to congratulate our staff on all the hard work we do as a team.” If you are already providing unique and effective ways to enhance your workplace environment, then why not be rewarded for what you are doing so well, “It was not difficult to provide ways in which we foster inclusivity in our office and support staff when you are actively practicing it already.” 

Recognize the work of your office and apply for a Democracy Award today! If you have additional questions, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call 202-546-0100 and we’ll be happy to assist you.

This blog post was written by Harrison Kane, a Research Assistant at CMF. He is currently a junior Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellow majoring in Legal Studies at Nazareth College.