Mrs. Joyce Fields has over twenty-six years of service with the Maryland State Police. She began her career in 1997 as a data entry supervisor at the Central Records Division. She has also served in positions with the Internal Affairs Division. Most recently, she has been performing the duties of Admin Officer II and supervisor for the Personnel Administration Section—Medical Services.

Mrs. Fields supervises, manages, directs, and administers the Department’s medical operations to more than 2,250 employees throughout the Maryland Department of State Police. In 2023, Mrs. Fields helped the Medical Services Unit update its policies to manage the health and welfare of all Department employees due to protocol changes required following the COVID-19 pandemic. Mrs. Fields’s responsibility is second to none when dealing with many topics, including administering the lost time and restricted duty programs and ensuring employees submit the proper medical documentation required by Departmental Policy and Maryland law. She oversees the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Americans with Disability Act (ADA), reporting to the entire Department. Additionally, she provides input for policy development & training to the MSP Medical Director, Commander of the Personnel Admin Section, and Director of the Human Resource Division.

Amid her day-to-day responsibilities, Mrs. Fields faced many challenges from 2021 through 2024. This included the COVID-19 pandemic, during which she and her team were required to update policy to help manage the health and welfare of all department employees. Over the past two years, the MSU has experienced additional burdens due to the vacancies in two key positions. The departure of the Department’s Medical Director necessitated the creation of new and immediate processes, policies, and procedures. Also thrown into the mix was the vacancy of an Administration Officer, which was vacated twice. After the first hire departed a few months after being hired, Mrs. Fields was presented with another hire, for which Mrs. Fields personally trained the new employee. This employee is flourishing due to the excellent tutelage, communication, and knowledge that Mrs. Fields provided.

In the nomination for this award, it was noted that it takes a gifted and special person to operate and adapt in such a high-performing and demanding capacity while keeping up with the degree of proficiency in the Maryland State Police’s operations. Mrs. Fields maintained her professionalism and poise while ensuring the continuity of operations, procedures, reporting, staff vacancies, and new and additional tasks. Because of this dedication to service and keeping with the mantra of the Maryland State Police – “INTEGRITY, FAIRNESS and SERVICE” that she be awarded this recognition as the MSPAA’s “2023 Maryland State Police “Civilian Employee of the Year.”