The recipients of the 2025 W. Y. Smith Award is Micky Celich. Named in honor of General William Y. Smith, who led IDA from late 1985 through late 1990, the award recognizes extraordinary individual or group contributions to IDA. The award is given to non-research exempt staff members who contribute mightily to our success.
IDA underwent a Department of War inspection known as the Cyber Operational Readiness Assessment (CORA) – the newest and most rigorous cybersecurity evaluation framework. IDA was part of the first generation of organizations assessed under the CORA program, which meant relevant industry experience and support were limited. Micky embraced the challenge, showing exceptional leadership, technical acumen, strategic approach, excellent judgment, and an unwavering commitment to succeed as she guided a team of IT and security professionals to a successful outcome. This effort preserved IDA's authority to operate a mission-critical system.
It is with great pride that we recognize Micky’s tremendous accomplishments with the 2025 W. Y. Smith Award.