This year's Nancy A. Maloley Outstanding Public Servant Award was presented to Judge Sarah Evans Barker, District Court Judge for the Southern District of Indiana since 1984. A native of Mishawaka, Indiana, Judge Barker graduated from Indiana University in 1965 and the American University School of Law in 1969. She was an associate and partner with the Indianapolis law firm of Bose, McKinney & Evans from 1977 until 1981. Judge Barker served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana from 1981 until her judicial appointment in 1984. Prior to moving to Indianapolis, she worked in Washington, D.C., as Director of Research for Senator Charles H. Percy's 1972 re-election campaign, Special Counsel to Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Senate Government Operations Committee, and as Legislative Assistant to Senator Percy (R-IL) and to Congressman Gilbert Gude (R-MD). She served as Chief Judge for the Court from 1994-2001.

Judge Barker currently serves as a member of the Budget Committee of the United States Judicial Conference. She is a member of the Executive Committee for the Federal Judges Association and of the Board of Directors for the Einstein Institute for Science, Health and the Courts. She previously served on the Executive Committee, the Long Range Planning Committee and the Standing Committee on Rules of the Judicial Conference.

Her current civic involvements include the President's Cabinet at Indiana University and the Chancellor's Board of Advisors for IUPUI. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Clarian Health Partners, Inc. Judge Barker has been awarded seven honorary degrees and named a Distinguished Alumni of Indiana University. In 2002, Judge Barker was inducted into The Indiana Academy. She is married to Kenneth R. Barker, a lawyer, and they have three children and one granddaughter.

A distinguished career and a long-standing commitment to public service make Judge Sarah Evans Barker an ideal choice as the fourth recipient of the Nancy A. Maloley Award.