2023 NHDES Annual Awards

NHDES presented its internal annual awards in December. The 2022 Employee of the Year Award went to Assistant Public Information Officer Jana Ford and the David S. Chase Award for Extraordinary Achievements in Science Award went to recently retired Wetlands Mitigation Coordinator Lori Sommer.

The Employee of the Year Award highlights the outstanding work performed by NHDES staff throughout the year. This year we have seen numerous examples of staff members going the extra mile in performing their jobs. The criteria for the Employee of the Year Award are: significant impact or innovation within NHDES or the State; initiative and leadership; improved efficiency; and improved interagency cooperation. 

Jana Ford was nominated not once, but by three separate people from outside of her program. It is easy to understand the impact that Jana has on both NHDES’ internal and external communications efforts. One of Jana’s significant efforts has been to help programs migrate their websites from WordPress to Drupal. Often juggling the conversion of numerous sites at once. What is appreciated is Jana’s willingness to listen to what staff want to accomplish, her positive attitude and her ability to be calm during sometimes tense conversations. A quote from one of the nominations said, “She has made the process of reviewing 800+ documents, ensuring they are ADA compliant, designing the website, and uploading the documents individually a relatively painless process.”

What is clear is Jana’s impact on multiple programs across all divisions. Her willingness to brainstorm ideas from promotional campaigns, webpage designs, video content, and press releases, creates an atmosphere of can-do spirit.

Additionally, Jana is responsive to answering questions on new technology, such as the new Meeting Owl and Mevo cameras. She was instrumental in drafting guidance and instructions on how to manage remote meeting technology and how to host successful remote and hybrid meetings, and regularly volunteers to work after hours assisting programs run hybrid meetings. 

For those achievements and many more Jana was recognized as the 2022 NHDES Employee of the Year Award.

David S. Chase Award

This prestigious award is presented to a deserving NHDES scientist who possesses the special skills and dedication necessary to continue the pursuit of scientific discovery at the agency. This award is named in honor of the late Dr. David S. Chase, who served as the Radon Program Manager at NHDES and the Department of Health and Human Services for 16 years.  His devotion to his work made a significant impact on our understanding of radon, and how the public can mitigate the risks associated with this compound. After Dr. Chase’s passing, this award was established to recognize other NHDES employees who have made important accomplishments in the field of science.

Lori Sommer has been a leader in Wetlands Compensatory Mitigation science since the late 1990s and created the first New England In-Lieu Fee Mitigation Program, the Aquatic Resource Mitigation Fund in 2007. As the Mitigation Coordinator at NHDES, Lori has successfully used the current science on ecological integrity, wildlife habitat, wetlands science, and landscape ecology to strategically guide permitting decisions on wetlands loss and steer compensation in areas of high-ecological significance.  Lori successfully partnered with leading conservation scientists in New Hampshire to include data on wildlife habitat, rare, threatened, and endangered plants, exemplary communities, and vernal pools in wetlands decision-making.

Her work with NH Fish and Game, the University of New Hampshire, and The Nature Conservancy on wildlife corridors and landscape connectivity issues has brought new GIS-science tools to the regulatory community. Most recently, she has worked with UNH to develop a science model to predict Blanding’s turtle mortality-risk at wetland road crossings to target restoration projects that will support turtle passage.

As the Stream Crossing Initiative Steering Team Co-chair, Lori has integrated the current scientific methods and analyses on stream connectivity to advance New Hampshire’s stream crossing program and enable scientists and water resource managers to make data-driven decisions on culvert upgrades to support aquatic organism passage and flood resiliency. Over the years she has sat on numerous grant review boards, advisory committees, and steering teams as a leading expert in land conservation and wetlands mitigation in New Hampshire.

Since 2007, the Aquatic Resource Mitigation Program has funded 141 land protection, and wetland and stream restoration projects across the state under Lori’s leadership. Under Lori’s direction and collaboration with a team of science and regulatory experts, the ARM Fund has achieved significant results in wetlands and stream mitigation, including protection of 28,000 acres of land, 4,000 acres of high-value wetlands, 120 miles of stream, and over 400 vernal pools. Lori is leaving a legacy of landscape resiliency and sustainability in New Hampshire and a model for effective compensatory mitigation to guide other New England States.

For those achievements and many more, Lori has been recognized as the recipient of the 2022 David S. Chase Award!