The Governor's Outstanding Leadership Award is an annual award that recognizes state employees who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through performance results in the previous year.
2026 awards
The window for 2026 nominations is now open, as of April 27. Deadline for submitting nominations is Friday May 29, 2026, 11:59 PM.
- Gov. Ferguson's April 27 memo opening nominations [PDF]
- Awards program info sheet [PDF]
- Online nomination form (preferred method) - use for both one-time accomplishment award and sustained leadership award
- One-time accomplishment award nomination form [PDF]
- Sustained leadership award nomination form [PDF]
Additional Resources
- Example of completed 2023 nomination form [PDF] - de-identified with gender neutral language
- Award-winning nomination sample - text only [PDF]
- "Crafting an award-winning nomination" Q&A [PDF]
- "Crafting an award-winning nomination" recorded panel discussion
A special thanks to Audrey Dorsey, David Flynn & Nikki McCoy for joining in the "Crafting an award-winning nomination" panel discussion.
Audrey has been with the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) in the capacity of Chief Administrative Officer since April of 2022. Audrey earned her bachelors of science degree in HR management, and also holds a Comp TIA Project Management Certification.
Audrey is enthusiastic about her work and is always looking for new and innovative ways to respond to an ever-changing workforce demographic. She does not shy away from hard or sensitive efforts and is the person in a meeting asking thoughtful questions to help respectfully disrupt the norms we have followed in the past.
David has dedicated over three decades of his career to public service within Washington state government including 29 years with the Department of Corrections and 3 1/2 years as the Chief Executive Officer overseeing the civil commitment of sexually violent predators with the Department of Social and Health Services.
David holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from the Evans School at the University of Washington and is currently pursuing an Executive Leadership Certificate in Public Health. He is also a recipient of the Governor’s Award of Leadership in 2021.
Nikki has been with the state for 7+ years, serving in communications roles at The Evergreen State College, Dept. of Revenue, and currently at the Dept. of Natural Resources as Deputy Director for Internal Communications. She has a journalism background and is a lifelong learner, working toward earning an MPA. She loves spending time with family, beach-combing, and going on road trips.
Awards Program Administrator
Mark Metzger, State Human Resources Division, Office of Financial Management
(360) 890-5380
mark.metzger@ofm.wa.gov
2025 award recipients
Please click for the full press release.