Lt. Lyndsay Cirino, personnel officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), was selected as a recipient of the Capt. Joy Bright Hancock and Master Chief Anna Der-Vartanian Leadership Award.

The award honors Navy men and women who have personified innovative leadership ideals and a commitment to reinforcing an inclusive environment for all members of the Navy.

The categories are enlisted and officer, the officer category is further broken up into junior, senior and LDO/CWO categories.

"It's always hard to feel like it's justified," said Lt. Lyndsay Cirino, personnel officer aboard the air craft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73). "You never want to think of yourself as deserving of this award. It is awesome to be recognized on a big Navy level, but I don't like to take credit because it is not about me, it's about everyone that I work with, from when I was an E-2 all the way up until now. We all work together as a team, so it's not my award it's everyone else's. That's the way I think about it."

In an article announcing the winners, the Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs highlighted the critically gapped billets she filled, the streamlined pay and personnel procedures of 3,100 Sailors, the 1,400 advancement exams administered without discrepancy, the cohesive unit of 40 Sailors she formed after an unprecedented three-carrier crew swap and the highest departmental Maintenance and Material Management (3M) score in four years.

"I think she deserves this award," said Yeoman 2nd Class Diontre Strait. "She is an incredibly hands-on leader. She is constantly mentoring and teaching us as junior Sailors. I was lucky enough to work with her as an undesignated seaman who knew little about the yeoman rate. She always took the time to show me methods that she used to learn our rate when she was an up and coming yeoman seaman."

The Navy's Office of Inclusion and Diversity accepted the nominations for the 2017 Awards from men and women, both active and reserve, who have proven to be inspirational and innovative leaders throughout their career. The awardees display a balance of superior professional accomplishments and character, a progressive equal opportunity campaign, and are role models as Sailors and in community relations.

"She met all the criteria, obviously, but also she is what I look for in a leader," said Lt. Cmdr. William Snider, the ship's administration officer. "She understands people, and relates to them very well. The things that she had done, specifically with sexual assault, we did 'Take Back the Night'. She was a big part of that and that was a big part of her award. That was a concerted effort between her and the chaplains. She is also our casualty assistance calls officer (CACO), so she has all these different responsibilities where she impacts the crew. I thought she matched the bill perfectly, as an LDO, as an officer as a female leader in today's Navy."

Cirino, a single parent, strives to set the best example for her daughter Charlyn.

"Just knowing that I can show my daughter what a strong female leader is and that her mom is someone the Navy recognized as an awesome leader, I think that that is invaluable," said Cirino. "On a personal level, if I can impact one person in my lifetime I think that I have done a good job. If I can show my daughter that they singled me out as a female leader, I think that that is very powerful for her and for other females of the younger generation to know that we are just as good as the guys and we make a lasting impression on other Sailors as well."

Cirino's leadership has inspired those who work with her. She advanced from a yeoman seaman apprentice to her prestigious position today as the personnel and educational services officer in just 14 years.

"I can honestly say that she helped contribute to my success by always checking my progress and pushing me to go farther, whether it was qualifications or off-duty education," said Strait. "As an LDO (limited duty officer), she was at some point in the same position as all of us and I think she uses that to understand the problems that we face day-to-day. As a yeoman, a lot of the time we live by the phrase that our job is a thankless one, but one lesson I learned from her is that if you work hard, no matter what, you will be recognized, even if you think no one notices."

Sailors in personnel department have said they are inspired by her organic optimism. Her ambitious perspective creates an environment which fosters hard-charging Sailors.

"She is a strong female leader in male dominated Navy," said Personnel Specialist 2nd Class Tierra Nowell, receipts/travel supervisor. "She always gives off positive vibes, it makes it easy to communicate with her and get help from her. She shows us that she has our back no matter what. Right or wrong. She is going to correct us in private, but she is going to be there for us. She really is a good leader."

According to the article 'Effective Leadership: How to be More Than Just a Boss' by the Forbes Coaches Council, "With a leader by their side, employees begin to see tasks as opportunities to learn and fulfill their company's mission rather than boxes that need to be checked off by the end of the day. Jenny Clevidence also says teams become more productive, resulting in greater trust to carry out tasks at hand."

"I just try to be a human being," said Cirino. "I have an open door policy; I want anyone to feel comfortable talking to me, officer or enlisted. If it is someone that works with me or I am working with them. We see each other every day and we all become family at one point or another. I treat people with respect and dignity, like part of the family. We are all working toward the same goal and we all end up working better when we feel like we can trust the person sitting next to us. As long as I can go in with that attitude and we can all work towards the common goal whether it be on grueling underways or 18-hour days you feel better about it when you want to work with that person because, you know, we are all family."

Much like her innovative 'human being' leadership philosophy, Cirino balances confidence and modesty.

"This [award] is the culmination of all her efforts," said Snider. "What we can take from it is you can be recognized even if you don't realize its coming around the corner. She didn't expect it. It's what she does. She put in the time, she put in the hard work and she continues to hone her leadership skills, and now the Navy is recognizing her. I hope she enjoys her moment in the spotlight. She probably won't! I hope she enjoys it, she certainly deserves it."

The Joint Women's Leadership Symposium (JWLS), June 15-16, in Norfolk, Virginia will present the awards to the winners. JWLS is hosted annually by the Sea Service Leadership Association (SSLA), and this year's theme is "SSLA, Celebrating 30 Years; Charting Your Course, Navigating Your Future!"

More information on SSLA and JWLS can be found here: http://www.sealeader.org/event/30th-annual-joint-wmens-leadership-symposium/.

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For more news from USS George Washington (CVN 73), visit www.navy.mil/.