Dual-degree veterinary college alum Lydia Carpenter awarded Service to America medal
Lydia Carpenter MPH’18, DVM ’19 has been awarded the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America medal.
Often called a “Sammy,” the Service to America medal honors the exceptional service and accomplishments of federal employees. Carpenter has been a veterinary medical officer with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) since 2020.
“The Sammies honorees represent the many exceptional career public servants who are breaking down barriers, overcoming huge challenges and getting results,” states the website of the Partnership for Public Service. ”Whether they’re defending our national interests, protecting the environment, ensuring public health and safety, making scientific and medical discoveries or responding to natural disasters, famine or war, these federal employees put service before self and make a lasting difference.”
Carpenter established a breakthrough federal program to help prevent, detect, and respond to African swine fever, a disease that could do extreme damage to the American pork industry were it ever to spread uncontrolled in this nation. Billions of dollars of revenue and tens of thousands of jobs would be at stake if African Swine Fever broke out in the U.S.
“Lydia Carpenter led efforts to establish program priorities, supported the program design, led stakeholder communications … and administered $3 million in cooperative agreements to allow 36 states who were enrolling participants to have the support they needed,” said Lisa Rochette, a director at the Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Carpenter earned two degrees at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine – a Master’s of Public Health and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine on the public/corporate track -- along with her twin sister Ann Carpenter, who also is a veterinary medical officer for USDA APHIS after five years with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“I was floored but thrilled to receive notice of my honoree status for the Service to Americas Medals,” said Lydia Carpenter. “While the work that public servants, like myself, do is often unrecognized and subsequently unappreciated, the Partnership for Public Service does a beautiful job in highlighting the accomplishments of various public servants. I was humbled to have my efforts recognized alongside the work from so many impressive individuals from a variety of departments, like Health and Human Services, NASA, and more.”
Kathleen O’Hara, an assistant director of swine health at USDA. describes Carpenter as “already a superstar” despite her relatively young age.
Carpenter’s contribution to the success of the African swine fever control program “means food on people’s tables and jobs and livelihoods for many people,” O’ Hara said. The pork industry’s stability amid potential disease outbreaks is critical in showing U.S. trade partners that the product is safe, O’Hara said.
