Nominations Open for 2027 Achievement Awards

Recognition is Retention

The people doing your most demanding work rarely ask for the spotlight, but how you treat them is a big part of why they stay. 

Think about the analyst who caught what others missed. The officer who mentored three junior hires without being asked. The engineer who solved the unsolvable problem on a tight deadline. Public recognition tells them, in a way day-to-day work rarely does, that their effort was seen and that it mattered.

Nominations are now open for the 2027 Charlie Allen Achievement Awards. Five awards honor early- to mid-career professionals across the intelligence, defense, homeland, and national security communities; a sixth recognizes a senior leader for investing in the next generation.

“Charlie Allen is a national treasure, and it's a privilege to open nominations for the awards that carry his name," said INSA President Suzanne Wilson Heckenberg. "His passion and dedication are legendary. Every year, these awards let us recognize the early- to mid -career professionals who bring that same sense of duty and purpose to our national security mission.”

Each of the six awards carries the name of a past William Oliver Baker Award recipient, linking today's rising talent to the leaders who defined the field before them. Nominations are due on Friday, October 30.

About the Awards

• Joan A. Dempsey Mentorship Award: Open to public, private, and academic professionals up to and including GS-15/O-6 or equivalent rank.
• Sidney D. Drell Science & Technology Award: Open to researchers and technologists conducting innovative scientific or technological R&D with potential to significantly impact intelligence, defense, and/or homeland security.
• Richard J. Kerr Government Award: Open to civilian government employees up to and including GS-13 or equivalent rank. 
• Edwin H. Land Industry Award: Open to contractors and non-government employees with 8 to10 years of non-executive experience. This award is exclusively for individual and corporate INSA members.
• William O. Studeman Military Award: Open to uniformed military personnel up to and including 0-4/E-7.
• John W. Warner Homeland Security Award: Open to law enforcement, intelligence analysts, and first responders from federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial agencies at levels up to federal GS-13 or equivalent.

Questions? Contact Achievement@INSAonline.org

With so many hard-working early- to mid-career professionals powering the intelligence, defense,  homeland, and national security communities, we know there is someone in your organization deserving of recognition!