USACE awards FED employee Program Manager of the Year

Photo By Antwaun Parrish | Jennifer Moore, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Far East District (FED), Air Force Program Branch Chief, stands with her husband Ross Moore, Security Operations Branch, physical security specialist, after being awarded the USACE Program Manager of the Year award, Washington, D.C., Aug. 2.  

CAMP HUMPHREYS, 41, SOUTH KOREA

08.01.2019

Story by Antwaun Parrish 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District

CAMP HUMPHEYS, South Korea – Jennifer Moore, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Far East District (FED), Air Force Program Branch Chief, was selected as the USACE 2019 Program Manager of the Year.

Recently Moore traveled to Washington D.C. where she was recognized for her accomplishment by Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, USACE Commander. Other distinguished leaders were in attendance at the ceremony to recognize her along with other awardees.

Moore has been assigned to her position for over two years, and has worked at the Far East District a total of six years in the Programs and Project Management Division (PPMD). However, Moore has been an employee with USACE for a total of 11 years.

According to Moore, learning that she was selected for this award was surprising, humbling, exciting and a little bit scary all at once.

“It took me a couple weeks to believe it as I know some incredible Program Managers in USACE and actually wanted to nominate one of my peer program managers several months ago, so I was pretty blown away when I got the call,” said Moore. “I think that us wanting to nominate each other speaks to the wonderful talent and camaraderie we have at FED PPMD as a whole.”

Although she was initially surprised, Moore went on to state that she felt honored to have been nominated among other program managers.

“The first thing I did as soon as it was announced was thank my senior leadership for taking the time to nominate me, for trusting me to lead, build my team, get involved in program and community initiatives, and do the things that may have contributed to this award. The second thing I did was thank my wonderful husband for his encouragement and support, and then I thanked my team of project managers, PMAs (project management advisors), and program analysts,” said Moore. “I’ve thought about the Air Force Team a lot during the last few weeks since the announcement and subsequent award ceremony and just how hard they work."

Being selected amongst a group of highly qualified program managers is rewarding as Moore feels that they all are strong competition and lead tremendous programs.

“To be considered among other hard-working FED program managers such as our security operations branch and everything they are doing to bring their expertise across USACE, our installation support team hustling to finish the Yongsan relocation program and navigating a growing Sustainment, Restoration, and Modernization (SRM) program while doing things quicker and more affordably across the Peninsula, or our Army/Navy/Marine Corps branch with the largest program in the district, is an honor. There are also several program managers across the divisions that have amazing missions and their programs are highly visible, whether it’s hurricane relief efforts, hydropower, waterways and remediation,” said Moore. “I think most of the nominees probably share those interesting programs in common, and it’s special to even be considered among them. What may have set me apart was my passion for talent management and thinking strategically and intuitively to look out for my teammates, my employees, our stakeholders, and our mission. Having the best mentors, co-workers, and leaders was a huge factor in this award as well. I learned so much from past senior project managers who bring their breadth of knowledge from several different districts as well as other program managers, and senior leaders. I have been fortunate to have incredibly kind mentors who have been generous with their experience and wisdom.”

Although Moore earned this prestigious award she remains humble and states that she’s proud of her team and that she’s incredibly grateful. She also offers advice to anyone working in her field on achieving this honor.

“I want us to continue working on being technically sound but to also have those intangible skills of being outstanding project delivery team leaders, communicators, with the ability to close the loop, and find solutions to difficult problems,” said Moore. “Get involved, do the little things, the stuff that seems like you won’t possibly have time for it (Civilian Education System, USACE Leadership Development Program, Executive Leadership Development Program)…do it anyway. Care about making the whole USACE enterprise better, not just making yourself better. Do your utmost every single day. It’s not always easy looking outside just your role and seeing what you could offer to help everyone around you. Doing what you say you’re going to do, and doing it for the right reasons, is incredibly important and growing those around you to not only better themselves, but to also instill in them a sense of wanting the team to be the best possible.”

Moore offered additional advice, saying it is important to be genuine, dependable, and passionate in all things, no matter how small the task, even if that means going against the grain sometimes.

Finally, Moore said don’t be afraid to ask advice of senior leaders around you. Her experience has been that they’re eager to share their knowledge and just as appreciative of you as you are of them.

“I have been incredibly blessed with an amazing team and those I’ve worked with in the past, thank you to each of you for teaching me and trusting in me,” said Moore. “I wouldn’t have been nominated without their dedication and commitment to our goals of delivering the program and always striving for better communication with our stakeholders. A lot of people put their faith in me and I want to surpass their expectations. They work hard, I need to continue working even harder to support them.”

• Date Taken: 08.01.2019
• Date Posted: 08.20.2019 20:58
• Story ID: 336723
• Location: CAMP HUMPHREYS, 41, KR