ALBANY – New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Astrid Glynn has announced that a department employee located in the regional office in Watertown, Jefferson County, has been recognized by the Federal Highway Administration for her exemplary work.

Susie O'Neill, a regional compliance specialist who has worked for NYSDOT for eight years, received the Sharlene Nail Meritorious Service Award from the FHWA's Civil Rights Office during a ceremony today at the FHWA division offices in Albany.

O'Neill, who lives in Clayton, Jefferson County, was recognized for her "demonstrated dedication and significant contribution" to the implementation, training and monitoring of the Equitable Business Opportunity Program, a new civil rights reporting computer software program that captures civil rights data regarding state and federal transportation construction projects. She was cited for checking and testing the software's implementation, often on her own time, as well as utilizing her expertise to assist FHWA in field testing the software and having "an overall team player attitude" that "kept the process moving forward."

The Sharlene Nail Meritorious Service award was established in 1998 to honor the memory of Sharlene Nail, a Colorado Department of Transportation civil rights employee who lost her life in the line of duty attempting to settle a discrimination complaint. FHWA presents the award annually to a state department of transportation civil rights employee who has demonstrated dedication beyond the call of duty and has made a significant contribution ensuring nondiscrimination, equal opportunity or equal employment opportunity in state transportation departments' civil rights programs or in the programs of agency contractors.