“She appreciates that she is making a real contribution to peacebuilding in the Middle East and Africa,” according to the anonymous nomination read by USIP Executive Vice President Bill Taylor. In executing contracts and working with USIP partners, “she is often the face and voice of USIP.”

The institute established the Samuel W. Lewis Award for the Advancement of Peacebuilding after his death in 2014 to commend extraordinary contributions to the work of USIP, institute President Nancy Lindborg said. “He helped shape the very foundation that USIP is built upon,” she said.  

The awardee is selected from anonymous nominations by a committee of representatives from across the institute. The prize recognizes a staffer whose “commitment, competence and character reflects those of Ambassador Lewis.”

“I’ve considered this my home for the last three years,” McKay said. “This is an important job we do here, and I’m just a small part. But together, I think we do it very well.”

Lewis, who was USIP’s president from 1987 to 1992, previously had served as ambassador to Israel for eight years under Presidents Carter and Reagan. He was a direct participant in the Israel-Egypt peace negotiations at Camp David and the subsequent 1979 Peace Treaty. During his USIP tenure, which began just three years after President Ronald Reagan signed into law the creation of the institute, he helped develop the foundational operating procedures, as well as the first substantive programs, such as the National Peace Essay Contest for students and a well-received TV series on the history of the Cold War, "Breaking the Mold."