In May, The Partnership for Public Service announced 33 finalists for the Service to America Medals. The "Sammies" honor federal workers who show a commitment to public service and make the agencies they work for stronger.

Lynne Mofenson -- branch chief of the pediatric, adolescent and maternal AIDS branch at the National Institutes of Health -- is a finalist for the 2012 Career Achievement Medal.

She discussed her work with Capital Insider.