On September 22, FBI Director Christopher Wray announced the recipients of the 31st Annual Director’s Awards for Excellence, recognizing FBI employees and partners for extraordinary performance in furtherance of the FBI’s mission to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. The annual awards recognize distinguished service, operational excellence, and innovation with the FBI. 

“Today, our nation faces threats of unprecedented scope and diversity—and the expectations placed on the FBI have never been greater,” Director Wray said. “Yet the people of the FBI continue to meet—and exceed—those expectations, every day. This year’s award recipients have raised the bar once again; what we honor today is work that stands out among the many examples of public service we see throughout the Bureau.” 

This year, 222 FBI employees received awards, while 43 non-FBI individuals—including task force officers, assistant U.S. attorneys, and other federal and international partner agency employees—were also honored for their work.  

Among the awardees are FBI employees and law enforcement partners who identified and stopped terrorists and foreign spies; helped identify victims of child sexual exploitation and find and arrest the perpetrators; thwarted malign foreign influence campaigns; confronted violent gangs and transnational criminal organizations; undertook a complex project to ensure the FBI’s information is more centralized and accessible; and brought data insights into the FBI’s diversity recruitment and hiring efforts. 

The awards are given in 27 categories, including:

• Distinguished Service for Assisting Victims of Crime
• Distinguished Service to the Law Enforcement Community
• Excellence in Innovation
• Excellence in Intelligence Analysis
• Excellence in International Operations
• Excellence in Investigation
• Excellence in Investigative Support
• Excellence in Leadership
• Exceptional Public Service
• Excellence in Program Management
• Excellence in Support of the Integrity and Compliance Program
• Excellence in the HUMINT Program
• Excellence in Training and Professional Development
• Outstanding Counterintelligence Investigation
• Outstanding Counterterrorism Investigation
• Outstanding Criminal Investigation
• Outstanding Information Management
• Outstanding Scientific Advancement
• Distinguished Service by a New Employee; Outstanding Service by a Federal Wage Grade System Employee
• Outstanding Service in Diversity and Inclusion
• Outstanding Technical Advancement
• Distinguished Service by a Professional Staff Employee
• Sustained Distinguished Service
• The Manuel J. Gonzalez Ethics Award
• Thomas E. DuHadway Humanitarian Award