Mike Walker directly affects how NOAA's internal and external customers perceive our efforts. "Professional, creative and inspiring under the tightest deadlines," Mike is a contractor in the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary. For nearly a year he designed and developed presentations for Scott Gudes, while he was acting administrator, and now performs the same service for Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher.

In being recommended as NOAA's Team Member of the Month, Mike was described as skillfully coupling standard and cutting-edge software to communicate an outstanding picture of NOAA. "Working seamlessly with at least a half-dozen personalities and as many staff offices, Mike's work demonstrates what is innovative and unifying within NOAA. His work style also embodies one of NOAA's key public messages: we are more than the sum of our parts."

Mike has demonstrated great strength not only as a technically saavy and creative graphic designer, but as a project organizer with outstanding team and interpersonal skills. His work has been critical to creating the current orientation presentation for all new employees, an orientation underscoring NOAA's overarching values of science, service and stewardship.

Mike has independently introduced new software technologies and made them a daily part of the way NOAA does business. He is always stretching the limit of his own abilities, yet also taking time to streamline the production process. Since his arrival, the audiences for Mike's presentations have included Members of Congress; senior staff at government offices such as NASA, National Science Foundation, State Department, and Office of Management and Budget, among numerous others; leadership of many associations, including the American Meteorological Association and American Geophysical Union; representatives of private firms, such as the Weather Channel, Boeing and Lockheed Martin; and representatives of many colleges and universities.

Mike's work also reflects NOAA for some of his most appreciative audiences - the people at NOAA responsible for the work he showcases. As the recommendation letter put it, "Mike offers a terrific example of looking beyond, breaking the mold of what we have done for many years. He has quickly grasped the overall NOAA picture and translated it into incredible presentations - all the while keeping his cool. Thousands of people now see NOAA through Mike's clear and creative lens."