Awardees Represent Large and Small Business, Health Care, Education, Nonprofit, Cybersecurity, and Government

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Al Faber, President and CEO of the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Inc., today announced the 2023 recipients of the Baldrige Foundation’s Leadership Awards.

“We have four categories of leadership awards,” said Faber, “that recognize outstanding individuals, leaders, and supporters who embody Baldrige leadership and management values and principles, and who have provided outstanding service to the Baldrige community and beyond.”

E. David Spong Lifetime Achievement Award

The E. David Spong Lifetime Achievement award recognizes individuals who have performed truly extraordinary service that has changed the world, and inspired others to do the same. “For 2023, we have dual recipients of the E. David Spong Lifetime Achievement Award: Lowell C. Kruse, Baldrige Award Recipient and Cofounder of Communities of Excellence 2026, and Richard A. Norling, Baldrige Award Recipient and Cofounder of Communities of Excellence 2026,” said Faber. “Lowell and Richard did groundbreaking work to adapt the Baldrige framework to the Community setting, leading in 2022 to Congress officially authorizing Community as an eligible category for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.”

Harry S. Hertz Leadership Award

“The Hertz Leadership Award recognizes role-model leaders that challenge, encourage, and empower others to achieve performance excellence,” said Faber. The award is being presented this year to Major General John C. Harris, Jr, The Adjutant General, Ohio National Guard. “John is a role-model leader deeply committed to the Baldrige framework and embodies the Baldrige leadership principles,” said Faber. “Not only has he played a pivotal role in the Ohio National Guard’s application of Baldrige through the Department of Army’s Army Communities of Excellence program, General Harris was a Baldrige Executive Fellow and served as a Baldrige Examiner and a member of the national Baldrige Panel of Judges.”

Foundation Awards for Leadership Excellence

“Baldrige helps thousands of organizations across the country and around the world, in all sectors of the economy, pursue performance excellence which, in turn, makes a positive difference in people’s lives,” continued Faber. “The Foundation Awards for Leadership Excellence were established to recognize leaders in Business (Manufacturing, Service, Small Business), Nonprofit, Government, Health Care, Education, and Cybersecurity, who provide exceptional support to Baldrige and the Foundation’s mission, helping to sustain Baldrige into the future, and promoting the positive impact of Baldrige on organizational and community success.”

The award recipients for 2023 by sector are:

GOVERNMENT

• The Honorable Robert B. Aderholt, Member of Congress, Alabama
• Richard A. Derrick, City Manager/Chief Executive Officer, City of Henderson, Nevada

CYBERSECURITY

• Michael Daniel, President and CEO, Cyber Threat Alliance
• Erik Decker, Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer, Intermountain Healthcare
• Karen S. Evans, Managing Director, Cyber Readiness Institute
• David S. Finn, CISA, CISM, CRISC, CDPSE, Vice President, College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME)
• Theresa Z. Meadows, RN, MS, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Cook Children's Health Care System

BUSINESS

• James Barlow, Chief Executive Officer, BZI Steel
• Dr. Mark L. Blazey, President (retired), Quantum Performance Group, Inc.,
• Deanna Herwald, Vice President of Quality Management Systems, MidwayUSA
• Sangita P. Mallik, Executive Vice President, SANPEC, Inc
• Sunil Sinha, Director, Tata International West Asia
• Laura Viaches, Associate Vice President - Market Access, Lilly USA, LLC

NONPROFIT

• Stephanie Norling, Executive Director, Communities of Excellence 2026

EDUCATION

• Dr. Michael Flores, Chancellor, Alamo Colleges District
• Tim Tuter, Executive Director, The Charter School of San Diego

HEALTH CARE

• Brenda Grant, Formerly Performance Excellence Coach, UPMC Western Maryland and Chief Strategy Officer, Charleston Area Medical Center Health System
• William H. Kose, MD, Vice President of Special Projects, Blanchard Valley Health System
• Philippe Salah, CEO, Dental Monitoring
• Janet Wagner, CEO, Area CEO Sutter Health South Bay Medical Centers

Dr. Curt Reimann Baldrige Scholarship

Understanding that the sustainment of Baldrige also requires an investment in future generations of Baldrige scholars and practitioners, the Foundation Board of Directors established the Dr. Curt Reimann Baldrige Scholarship to assist graduate students or recent graduates in attending Baldrige Examiner training.  Upon completion, examiners help to promote awareness and use of the Baldrige Framework.

The 2023 Dr. Curt Reimann Baldrige Scholarship recipients are:

• Lewis W. Marshall Jr., MS, MBA, MD, JD, FACP, FACHE, FAADM, Fulbright Scholar Specialist; Affiliate Dean & Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine at Lincoln
• Dr. Kathleen Moco, Retail Team Manager, Swedish Match North America

The Foundation’s Leadership Awards will be presented during the Foundation Awards Luncheon held as part of the annual Quest for Excellence® conference near Washington, D.C. on April 4, 2023.

For more information on these awards or the Quest for Excellence® conference, contact: Mark Wayda, 614-600-0432 or mwayda@baldrigefoundation.org