Green, Novotny Recognized for Exemplary Service on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON — Former House staffers Kathie Green and Joe Novotny are this year’s winners of the Staff Lifetime Achievement Democracy Award presented by the Congressional Management Foundation.

Both will be recognized at the foundation’s first in-person Democracy Awards ceremony since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The event is being held on March 18 at the Top of the Hill, Reserve Officers Association, 1 Constitution Ave., NE, Washington, D.C.

At the ceremony, the nonpartisan nonprofit foundation will also recognize Democracy Awards winners across four categories: Constituent Service, Innovation and Modernization, “Life in Congress” Workplace Environment, and Transparency and Accountability.

“While there are thousands of congressional staff demonstrating outstanding public service annually for the Congress, these two stand out,” said foundation President and CEO Bradford Fitch. 

“Kathie and Joe were selected because of their unique contribution to the Congress, way above and beyond the call of duty. The offices they served, the Congress, and the American people richly benefited from their work,” he said.

Kathie Green served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 13 years, working as a constituent liaison under three different House offices, most recently for Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind.

In her work, she built relationships with federal agency partners to aid constituents more effectively. 

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, Green’s passion was on display as she spent 10 or more hours a day on the phone with constituents to assist them, sometimes making over 100 calls per day,” the foundation said in a press release. “Additionally, Green worked with House Information Resources to develop a novel email listserv to help constituent services staff in both parties that is still used and cited today for its tremendous value.”

Green retired in March 2021.

Joe Novotny served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 30 years, first as a House page at the age of 16, eventually rising to the position of chief clerk for the House Education and the Labor Committee. 

In 2010, he was appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to serve as the reading clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Novotny was responsible for creating the permanent public record and the tracking and insertion of all amendments to bills on the House floor. He was the first openly gay House reading clerk and served as a role model and resource for the LGBTQ community both on and off Capitol Hill. “Never wavering from his professional duty, Novotny was present on the House floor throughout the pandemic and up to the moment of evacuation on Jan. 6, 2021,” the foundation said.

Novotny retired in April 2021.

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