Two Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD) professionals have been awarded the prestigious Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Philip Heiler Award for Human Resources (HR) Excellence for developing an innovative tool that has transformed how the Navy recognizes its top-performing employees.
NSWCPD Labor and Employee Relations Branch Manager Jared Doherty and Human Resources Specialist, Celynda Cortez created the Incentive Awards Tool - a Power Apps solution that revolutionized a cumbersome process that previously consumed 1,500 hours of manual data entry annually. The tool will facilitate the distribution of $1.7 million in monetary incentive awards this year alone, dramatically reducing processing time and the risk of human error.
The problem they solved was born of necessity. In Fiscal Year (FY) 25, with significant budget cuts and staffing shortages across the HR department, the traditional awards process, built on PDF forms, email chains, multiple approval signatures, and manual Excel spreadsheet tracking, was straining an already stretched team. Managers would submit hundreds of award nominations through their supervisory chains. Cortez and two HR contractors would then manually enter each award into a spreadsheet for processing through the Office of Civilian Human Resources (OCHR). The system worked, but at a tremendous cost of time and labor.
Working with the Information Technology Division and the Digital Transformation Lead, Doherty and Cortez engineered a solution that allows managers to nominate employees directly from their computers or iPads. The tool automatically streamlines approvals, tracks budgets in real time, and sends employees instant email notifications of their awards. The system transformed a labor-intensive manual process into one that requires only a few hours of data entry.
"Jared and Celynda exemplify what it means to be problem solvers in a resource-constrained environment," said NSWCPD Corporate Operations Department Head Jeremy Scott, who oversees the awards program at NSWCPD. "They didn't just identify a broken process; they partnered across divisions to engineer a solution in three months that freed up our team to focus on more strategic HR work. In today's operational environment, that kind of innovation is exactly what keeps us competitive and mission-ready."
The innovation went beyond the technical achievement. Doherty and Cortez invested considerable effort in testing the tool before launch, swiftly addressing issues to ensure optimal performance. They also held "Lunch and Learn" sessions across the workforce to ensure employees and managers could use the new system effectively, underscoring their commitment to change management and user adoption.
"What impresses me most about Jared and Celynda's work is their understanding that a tool is only as good as the people who use it," NSWCPD Human Resources Division Head Janine Albi said. "They didn't just hand off a finished product and then disappear. They ensured every manager knew how to navigate it, every employee knew what to expect, and that the entire process was transparent. That's leadership. That's how you drive real organizational change."
The impact of their work extends far beyond NSWCPD's operations. The tool has drawn the attention of other Warfare Centers and NAVSEA leadership, who are now evaluating it as a potential best practice for adoption across the NAVSEA Enterprise. What began as an internal solution to a local problem is becoming a model for how the Navy can operate more efficiently.
"Their work demonstrates the power of empowering talented people to challenge the status quo," Scott added. "At NSWCPD, our mission is to deliver advanced warfare solutions to the Navy. But we can't fulfill that mission effectively if our people feel undervalued or if we're wasting resources on administrative burdens. Jared and Celynda removed that burden, enabling our teams to focus on what matters - advancing naval capabilities and supporting our warfighters."
The Heiler Award recognizes professionals who exemplify HR excellence and a commitment to organizational improvement. For Doherty and Cortez, the recognition validates not only their technical achievement but also their commitment to making their colleagues' work lives more efficient and their organization's mission more effective. In an era when the Navy faces increasing operational demands amid constrained resources, that commitment to doing more with less has never been more valuable.
NSWCPD employs approximately 2,700 civilian engineers, scientists, technicians, and support personnel. The command conducts research and development, test and evaluation, acquisition support, and in-service and logistics engineering for non-nuclear machinery, ship machinery systems, and related equipment and material for Navy surface ships and submarines and serves as the lead organization providing cybersecurity for all ship systems.