LM Contract Manager Obi Diei-Anene Receives Employee of the Year Award

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management has honored Contract Manager and Procurement Analyst Obi Diei-Anene with the Philip C. Leahy Employee of the Year Award. LM announced that Diei-Anene was the recipient of this year’s award at a meeting in June.

After earning her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Maryland, Diei-Anene joined DOE in 2009 through the Career Intern Program, which helps people with postgraduate degrees begin careers in the federal government.

“At the time, there were three positions that were in need of people, and Contracting happened to be one of them,” Diei-Anene said. “I had prior experience working in contracting through Amtrak, and so I felt it would be a great fit.”

Diei-Anene went on to earn a certificate in contracting and started working with LM a decade ago as a contract specialist.

“I started about 10 years ago, when LM was still working with its previous contractor, Stoller,” Diei-Anene said. “I worked with LM for three years before I moved to help with the Office of Environmental, Health, Safety and Security.”

In 2022, after five years with the Office of Counterintelligence, Diei-Anene took the opportunity to work with LM again as a contract manager and procurement analyst.

“I’ve always enjoyed working with LM. I was excited about the opportunity to be able to work with them again. Everyone here works as a team and genuinely loves what they do every day, and it shows in their performance,” Diei-Anene said. “I love the leadership of Director Carmelo Melendez, who focuses on relationship-building and spends time getting to know each employee. LM is a great organization to be a part of.”

"LM is incredibly fortunate to have Obi’s talent once again,” said Edwin Parks, Director of Business Operations. “The experience, tenacity and passion she brings every day makes her an outstanding leader and team player who clearly knows how to lead from any chair.”

In her current role, Diei-Anene oversees all contracts, provides support and policy advice to the client, and visits sites regularly. Though she has only been back at LM for a year, leadership immediately recognized her hard work and dedication.

“I was shocked and surprised when LM selected me,” Diei-Anene said. “I was definitely very humbled and appreciated the recognition. I could not have done it alone. I’m happy to have such amazing support from colleagues and leadership.”

Upon receiving the award, Diei-Anene looked back proudly on her career and how far she has come.

“One of the things I’m most proud of is how much I’ve achieved in such a short time. While I still have dreams I would like to pursue and things I would love to do in the future of my career, I’m proud to have come this far.”

LM established the Philip C. Leahy Employee of the Year Award in 2017 to recognize LM employees who demonstrate the qualities of an excellent team player. The LM employee who receives this award must be dependable, enthusiastic, prepared, tenacious, and dedicated to self-improvement.

The award was named after Philip C. Leahy, who set up LM’s Grand Junction office and served as its site manager under the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Nominations for the award come from peers and supervisors and are judged by the deputy director and two office deputies.