Senior Vice President

INTERA Inc

Dr. Alaa Aly has degrees in Engineering and Statistics from Cairo University and Utah State University. He has over three decades of experience in strategic planning, federal and state regulatory compliance, environmental remediation, hazardous and low-level radioactive waste disposal, among other areas. He has completed and supervised projects for local, state and federal governmental agencies, as well as private industry, involving remedial investigations, feasibility studies, remedial design, performance monitoring, water quality evaluations, trend analyses and detection, and other areas of environmental remediation and water resources planning. His current work assignment involves the integration of risk assessment activities across the 600-square-mile Hanford Site among multiple contractors and projects involved with environmental restoration, waste management, and waste disposal activities.

Chief, Bureau of Federal Facilities

Nevada Department of Environmental Protection

Christine Andres has served as Chief for the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Federal Facilities’ since May 2014. Prior to assuming the chief position, she had been a supervisor in the Bureau since 2005, overseeing the UGTA, Off-Sites, Water Pollution Control and Safe Drinking Water Programs at the NNSS. She began her career with the NDEP in 2003 in their Bureau of Corrective Actions, moving into the Bureau of Federal Facilities a year later. She holds a B.S. Degree in Biology from DeSales University in Center Valley, PA and a M.S. in Natural Resources from Ball State University in Muncie, IN. She began her environmental career with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's where she worked in their Bureau of Waste Management and Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program for 16.5 years.

Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy

U.S. Department of Energy

Dr. Rita Baranwal serves as the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Dr. Baranwal leads the office’s efforts to promote research and development (R&D) on existing and advanced nuclear technologies that sustain the existing U.S. fleet of nuclear reactors, enable the deployment of advanced nuclear energy systems, and enhance the U.S.A.'s global commercial nuclear energy competitiveness.

Prior to her current role, Dr. Baranwal directed the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) initiative at Idaho National Laboratory. She was responsible for providing the nuclear industry and other stakeholders access to DOE's state-of-the-art R&D expertise, capabilities, and infrastructure to achieve faster and cost-effective development, demonstration, and ultimate deployment of innovative nuclear energy technologies. Under her leadership, GAIN positively impacted over 120 companies.

Before joining the U.S. Department of Energy, Dr. Baranwal served as Director of Technology Development & Application at Westinghouse. There, she led the creation and development of game-changing technologies and managed characterization and hot cell laboratories. Her previous positions at Westinghouse included director of Core Engineering and manager of Materials and Fuel Rod Design. Prior to joining Westinghouse, she was a manager in Materials Technology at Bechtel Bettis, Inc. where she led and conducted R&D in advanced nuclear fuel materials for US Naval Reactors.

Dr. Baranwal has served on Advisory Boards for MIT’s Materials Research Laboratory and UC Berkeley’s Nuclear Engineering Department, and also was adjunct faculty at University of South Carolina's nuclear engineering graduate program. Dr. Baranwal is a past Chairman of the Executive Committee of the American Nuclear Society's (ANS) Materials Science and Technology Division.

Dr. Baranwal has a bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in materials science and engineering and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in the same discipline from the University of Michigan.

Reporter

Exchange Monitor Publications & Forums

Wayne Barber is a reporter for ExchangeMonitor Publications. Before the radioactive waste beat at ExchangeMonitor, he spent five years as co-editor of GenerationHub, a publication on construction and regulation of electric power plants. Since 1991, he’s written for various daily and weekly newsletters covering energy, the environment, and natural resources. His reporting includes work for Coal Outlook, Mine Regulation Reporter, Nucleonics Week, and Power Daily. A graduate of Radford University in Virginia, he also spent five years as a newspaper reporter.

Chief Technical Officer and a founding member

AVANTech

Tracy Barker is Chief Technical Officer and a founding member of AVANTech. Tracy has been in the nuclear industry for over 30 years and has worked on numerous commercial power and governmental projects, both nationally and internationally, involving liquid and wet waste treatment. He has been the technical lead on projects for: recovery and reuse of wastewater, selective removal of radionuclides, packaging of decommissioning waste, waste stabilization and grouting, and salt waste treatment. Tracy played a key role in developing and implementing processes for treating highly contaminated reactor cooling water, reverse osmosis brine, and sub-drain water at Fukushima. Tracy is currently the lead process engineer on the Hanford Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) System.

Director, Natural Resources & Environment (NRE) team

Government Accountability Office

Allison Bawden serves as a Director in the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Natural Resources & Environment (NRE) team in Washington, D.C. Ms. Bawden leads GAO’s congressional oversight portfolio related to domestic and international nuclear security and cleanup.

Before becoming a GAO executive, Ms. Bawden spent more than a decade in NRE managing audits and evaluations of the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, nuclear weapons modernization programs, and nuclear security enterprise infrastructure. During her executive training at GAO, Ms. Bawden served as an Acting Director in GAO’s Education, Workforce & Income Security and Strategic Issues teams, where she led a portfolio that included issues on student debt, retirement security, federal grants management, and worker protection.

Ms. Bawden has testified before Congress, and her teams’ work has resulted in numerous improvements to federal operations as well as $1.2 billion in financial benefits to American taxpayers.

Ms. Bawden graduated Cum Laude from Dartmouth College with a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology. She also holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from American University and has completed additional graduate course work in national security studies at the United States Naval War College. Allison also completed American University’s Key Executive Leadership Certificate Program and holds a graduate specialization in Design Thinking and Innovation from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business executive education program.

In addition to her role at GAO, Allison is a member of the adjunct faculty at American University’s School of Public Affairs, where she serves as an instructor in the university’s Master of Public Policy and Administration program.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Central Plateau Cleanup Company

Ty Blackford is the president and chief executive officer for CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company, at the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington state. Previously, Ty was the
Executive Director of Tank Closure and Regulatory Strategies on the $4 billion Liquid Waste Program Management Contract at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River Site,
where he significantly accelerated high-level waste tanks closure and retrieval. Ty has more than 34 years of experience developing, managing and implementing complex radioactive, hazardous, and mixed waste management, decommissioning and remediation processes, projects and programs to support DOE, the U.S. Department of Defense, and international interests. Ty has dedicated more than 27 years to accomplishing DOE’s
vision at the Hanford Site, including leading the Transuranic Waste Program, Mixed Waste Treatment Program, K-Basins Found Fuel Project and 324 B-Cell Cleanout Project. Ty has proven leadership skills backed by intimate knowledge of the Hanford regulatory environment, customer expectations and workforce capabilities. Ty holds a Bachelor of Science degree in marine engineering technologies from the California Maritime Academy.

Director, Waste Management and Radioactive Waste Management Complex

Fluor Idaho, LLC

Bryan is the Director of the Waste Management and Radioactive Waste Management Complex. He provides direct and focused management of Waste Management operations, the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project operations, and Accelerated Retrieval Project buried waste exhumation. With over 30 years of experience in nuclear operations, Bryan brings RCRA closure and CERCLA waste operations and D&D experience from the Idaho Cleanup Project and Rocky Flats. Prior to assuming his current role, Bryan was the Deputy Director for RWMC operations.
Before coming to Fluor Idaho, Bryan was an electrician on trident ballistic missile submarine and worked as a subcontractor at the Idaho Cleanup Contractor, Y-12, Pantex and Rocky Flats. Bryan has a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering.

President and Chief Operating Officer

Waste Control Specialists, LLC

David Carlson is President and Chief Operating Officer of Waste Control Specialists, operator of a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Texas.

Carlson has more than 25 years of experience leading the growth and operations of nuclear energy and environmental management companies. He previously served as senior vice president of Veolia Nuclear Solutions (Kurion) where he provided technology solutions for nuclear decommissioning, including support of recovery from the accident in Fukushima Japan. Prior roles include chief operating officer and chief nuclear officer at Gen4 Energy – an advanced reactor startup company, chief operating officer of Aqua-Chem – a manufacturer of water purification equipment, and chief operating officer of Duratek – a radioactive waste management company.

Carlson graduated from the US Naval Academy and began his career as a nuclear submarine officer.

Legacy Facilities Program Manager

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Mark Costella is the Legacy Facilities Program Manager at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Mark has worked with his entire 39-year career at LLNL, first starting as an atmospheric science researcher, advancing through the fields of ES&H management, into Facilities Management. In 2006, Mark established the Institutionally Managed Facilities organization, taking on his present role of LLNL’s Legacy Facility Long-term Stewardship and Risk Manager. Mark is an active participant on NA-50’s Facilities Disposition Working Group and Excess Contaminated Facilities Working Group. Mark has the dubious distinction of managing 4 of NNSA’s top 10 worst legacy facilities.

President

ISO Pacific

Lori J. Dillon is the President of ISO-Pacific and one of it’s original founders. Lori possesses a unique educational background and work history that lends itself to an innovative approach to remediation. With degrees in Psychology and Business Management, and a work history in market analytics and financial advising, she provides the day to day management and steers the growth and vision of the enterprise.

Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Civilian Nuclear Programs

U.S. Department of Energy

Nick DiNunzio is a Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Civilian Nuclear Programs in the Department of Energy’s Office of the General Counsel. He has over 20 years of experience providing clients with legal and regulatory advice on matters involving the storage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Mr. DiNunzio is a recipient of both the General Counsel’s Award for Leadership for his contributions to the Yucca Mountain Project, and also the Presidential 2020 Gears of Government award for his contributions in accelerating the closure and disposal of high-level radioactive waste sites. Prior to practicing law, Mr. DiNunzio held various positions as a Budget Analyst with both the Department of Energy and the Department of the Navy. His tenure as a Budget Analyst included extended details to both the U.S. House of Representatives as well as the Executive Office of the President’s Office of Management and Budget. Mr. DiNunzio earned a Juris Doctorate from the Antonin Scalia Law School, a Masters of Public Administration with an emphasis in Financial Management from Troy State University, and a Bachelor of Arts and Science from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Chief Strategy Officer

Nuclear Waste Partnership, LLC (Amentum partnership / BWXT and Orano)

Kevin Donovan is the Chief Strategy Officer for Nuclear Waste Partnership, LLC (NWP) at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, New Mexico. In that capacity, he serves as the project’s chief strategy officer as well as a key advisor to the President on matters of company policy and project performance. Previously, Kevin served as NWP’s Business Manager and was responsible for responsible for quality and contractor assurance, strategic planning, human resource management, procurement, accounting and finance, information technology resources management, and internal and external communications. Kevin served in a variety of other capacities at the WIPP from 1988 to 2003, including Manager of Environment, Safety, and Health; Permitting; and Program Integration. Kevin also had a leadership role in supporting waste generator site readiness, a function that has since evolved into the National TRU Program.

From 2003 to 2015, Kevin served in a variety of capacities with Amentum, including Program Manager for the Company’s contracts at the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), and Director of Marketing and Planning for the Energy and Construction Division.

Mr. Donovan holds a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from New Mexico State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.

Site Lead, Enterprise Assessment

U.S. Department of Energy

Jim Dyke has over 30 years of experience in the area of nuclear safety. He is presently a member of the Enterprise Assessment (EA) as a Site Lead monitoring the nuclear safety performance at the National Nuclear Security Administrations (NNSA) production plants, the Y-12 National Security Complex and the Pantex Plant. Jim’s previous experience includes NNSA Albuquerque, performing duties as a Criticality Safety Engineer and Nuclear Operations Specialist, and the NNSA Nevada Field Office (NFO) performing duties as a criticality safety SME and facility representative at the Device Assembly Facility. Prior to NFO, he was employed by Bechtel Jacobs as a facility manager mentor providing daily oversight of the facility management program which included mentoring and qualifying facility managers for Category 2 and 3 nuclear facilities and radiological facilities. Prior to Bechtel Jacobs, Mr. Dyke was employed by DOE-ORO Nuclear Safety Division, performing reviews of safety basis documentation. Assignments included leading a review of the Spallation Neutron Source Preliminary Safety Analysis Report Update Report as well as multiple other nuclear safety related duties.

Mr. Dyke also worked for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as a Resident Inspector at the Wolf Creek Nuclear Plant where he performed daily oversight of the plants licensee compliance with Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations. In addition, he has worked for DOE at the Amarillo Area Office (Pantex) where he led multiple reviews for the approval of safety basis documentation and led readiness validations to determine if Pantex’s management and operating contractor had achieved sufficient readiness to perform nuclear explosive dismantlement.

Mr. Dyke has a BS Nuclear Engineering from the University of Tennessee and has conducted graduate work at Idaho State University toward a MS in Nuclear Engineering.

President

Firewater LLC

Ms. Echols serves as the president of FireWater, LLC which is a woman owned small nuclear waste management company established in 2009. Ms. Echols is responsible for directly growth and expansion of the company’s business with government and commercial clients. She has more than 30 years’ experience in the environmental and waste management areas beginning her career as a health physicist and regulator with the state of Mississippi Division of Radiological Health. Ms. Echols has a Bachelor of Science degree from Mississippi State University. Ms. Echols is active in industry organizations that support DOE clean-up missions including serving as Vice Chair of the EFCOG Waste Management Working Group.

Director, Transportation Projects

NAC International, Inc.

Jeff England, Director of Transportation Projects for NAC International, is responsible for NAC’s projects for worldwide transportation of spent fuel and other nuclear materials, using the company’s NRC-licensed fleet of casks. He manages activities associated with NAC’s transport services projects for the U.S. Department of Energy, other government agencies, and commercial clients.

Jeff’s career also includes more than 27 years of experience at the Savannah River Site (SRS), where he served in several technical, management, and program manager roles. His work at SRS included leadership of the DOE Packaging Certification Program at Savannah River National Laboratory. He also supported National Nuclear Security Administration Systems Engineering programs in Washington, D.C. He served in the U.S. Air Force for more than 25 years, with multiple command tours in operations and logistics. Jeff is a graduate of Central Washington University, Air Command and Staff College, and Air War College.

Manager, Technical and Nuclear Services

UCOR

Kent Fortenberry is UCOR's Technical and Nuclear Services Manager. He has 38 years of experience in the design, licensing, operation, and safety oversight of both government and commercial nuclear facilities. He was previously Savannah River Remediation’s (SRR) Chief Engineer, where he managed, planned, and integrated all engineering services required to support the liquid waste work scope. He implemented and managed programs for systems engineering, configuration management, commercial grade detection, nuclear safety, and fire protection. He provided engineering for operations support, including surveillance, maintenance, and system modifications and upgrades. He provided engineering leadership for SRR projects and also supported projects with engineering staff and functional support. He also served as SRR’s Waste Disposal Authority.

Kent started his career as a Nuclear Propulsion Design Engineer at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory. He moved into commercial nuclear power with the Entergy Corporation, where he built a solid base of expertise, including plant operations as a licensed Senior Reactor Operator, nuclear fuels engineering, reactor physics, safety analysis, and licensing.

He previously worked for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), where he played a significant role as that agency's Technical Director, providing nuclear safety oversight of design, construction, operation, deactivation, and research and development activities throughout both DOE-Environmental Management and the National Nuclear Security Administration.

After 16 years with the DNFSB, he joined the Parsons Corporation to provide technical services related to the design and construction of uranium processing, uranium enrichment, and high-level radioactive liquid waste treatment facilities. During this time, Mr. Fortenberry also directed Parsons’ engineering activities at the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.

He joined the AECOM Corporation (previously URS) in 2009, working on radioactive waste missions at both Hanford and Savannah River Site. In addition, he worked on corporate performance assurance and oversight to support safe and effective execution of nuclear activities across the DOE complex and abroad.

Vice President, Business Development

GLSEQ, LLC

Eugene Gleason possesses a valued blend of professional governmental and business experience in the nuclear and radioactive waste industry.
During the last four decades Mr. Gleason has held several Key senior positions in government and the private sector.
Gene served as Deputy and Acting Commissioner of the New York State Energy Office for twenty years. Among other things, he: managed the five New York State/NRC radioactive program agreements; helped develop and administer the NYS Low Level Radioactive Waste program; played an active professional role in the creation of the West Valley Nuclear Management program; helped create the NRC LLRW disposal program (10CFRPart 61); and served as the New York State Senior Nuclear Liaison Officer with agencies of the federal and state governments and LLRW commissions.
In the private sector Eugene: created and grew a successful nuclear consulting business that serves several major clients: helped develop and expand the low level radioactive waste management business for Envirocare of Utah, the forerunner of Energy Solutions; and was a senior member of the original MHF Logistical Solutions team that introduced the use of rail and soft side packaging technology to the US and UK nuclear industry. Mr. Gleason is currently the Vice President for Business Development at GLSEQ.LLC.
Gene holds advanced degrees and certifications from Villanova University, SUNY at Albany and Harvard University. Mr. Gleason is a veteran of the US Air Force and lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Vice President of Strategic Development, Nuclear & Environment

Amentum

Eric Knox currently serves as Vice President, Strategic Development, Nuclear & Environment for AECOM. He also serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Executive Committee for the United States Nuclear Infrastructure Council (NIC), a leading not-for-profit think tank advocate group for nuclear energy new-build in the U.S. with more than sixty members representing an "International Who's Who" of global nuclear energy utilities, manufacturers and suppliers. As Chairman of NIC from 2011- 2014, he was the longest serving Chairman in the history of the organization.


Prior to joining AECOM, he served at the U.S. Department of Energy as Associate Director for System Operations and External Outreach in the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) where he led the successful Yucca Mountain Site recommendation effort and helped conclude the successful submission of the Yucca Mountain License Application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Mr. Knox served as a Senior Advisor to three Secretaries of Energy – Watkins, Abraham and Bodman; and also served as Senior Policy Advisor and Chief of Staff in the Office of the Under Secretary of Energy from 2002-2006. From 1990 - 1992, he served in OCRWM and as Associate Director of Political Affairs at the White House during the Administration of President George H. W. Bush.


Mr. Knox has an extensive energy, business and political background. He served as President and CEO of American Target Resources, LLP, a service organization representing national not-for-profit organizations. Mr. Knox has over 25 years’ experience working with state, local and national political candidates and party organizations. In addition to his business and political endeavors, Mr. Knox spent one year supporting global medical mission efforts working with the blind and disabled. He is a graduate of Clemson University and currently serves on their Washington, DC Alumni Board and served as President of the Board from 1992-1999.

Assistant Director

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Amanda Kolling serves as an Assistant Director for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Washington, DC. Amanda joined the GAO in 2007 and leads GAO’s work on the Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup activities, including recent reviews of the Hanford Site, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, and cleanup of the gaseous diffusion plants.
Prior to becoming an Assistant Director, Amanda spent over a decade serving as the analyst-in-charge on reviews related to nuclear waste treatment, uranium management, nonproliferation, and agriculture emergency response efforts.

Amanda holds a Master’s Degree in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor's degree in International Affairs and Economics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 2018, Amanda also graduated from the National Defense University’s Program for Emerging Leaders in Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Federal Project Director, Salt Waste Processing Facility

Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy

Pam Marks is the Federal Project Director for the Salt Waste Processing Facility Project Office for the U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah River Operations Office at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC. Mrs. Marks has 35+ years of experience working in the nuclear industry managing and operating large manufacturing and technical services operations for the commercial nuclear industry and the U.S. Government.
As Federal Project Director, Mrs. Marks provides executive leadership to project execution, contract management and oversight of all contractor and Federal activities associated with the project’s planning and implementation. The SWPF is a one-of-a-kind facility that upon completion will treat the highly radioactive portion of salt waste stored in underground tanks at SRS. This critical cleanup facility directly supports DOE’s priority to safely and expeditiously empty and close waste tanks to reduce risk.
Previously, Mrs. Marks served as the Vice President of Assurance and Operational Excellence with Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Group. In this role, she was responsible for applying consistent, disciplined technical and operational standards across B&W’s $2.2B government portfolio and managing corporate initiatives for implementing cost savings and operational efficiencies.
Prior to this position, she worked as the Deputy Principal Associate Director of Operations and Business at Lawrence Livermore National Security. There she oversaw and administered a budget of $190M and a staff of 1,775. She directed activities for the development and implementation of Lab-wide policies and goals affecting nuclear and non-nuclear operations, infrastructure management, business systems, procurement, human resources, and finance.
Mrs. Marks has also held key management positions at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. There she served as Director of various divisions, including: Uranium Manufacturing Modernization, Engineering and Technology, and Enriched Uranium Operations Restart.
Her career began with Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Operations group where she spent 17 years before going on to be named Project Manager for the Rocky Flats Environmental Remediation Project. There she was responsible for the stabilization and packaging of 60 metric tons of plutonium-contaminated nuclear waste for shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
Mrs. Marks holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and a Masters of Science degree in Engineering Administration from George Washington University. She is a registered Project Management Professional.

Director, Office of Enterprise Assessments

U.S. Department of Energy

Nathan H. Martin is the Director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments. He joined the Office following 30 years of distinguished service to our Nation in the United States Navy.

Before assuming his current role, Mr. Martin served as a Senior Advisor to Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette. In this position, Mr. Martin provided subject matter expertise, advice, and recommendations to senior leadership on complex, highly technical matters related to nuclear weapons, nuclear propulsion, national defense, national security, and emergency preparedness and response. Mr. Martin was instrumental in the roll out of the transformative Nuclear Posture Review and in building, expanding, and leveraging strategic partnerships throughout DOE, with counterparts in the Navy, other federal agencies, the intelligence community, and international organizations to achieve administration and agency objectives.

Mr. Martin holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from North Dakota State University.

Aquatic Ecology Group Leader, Environmental Sciences Division

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Teresa Mathews is the Aquatic Ecology Group Leader in the Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). She leads a group of eighteen R&D staff members and a number of students and postdocs on programs related to minimizing the impacts of energy strategies on our nation’s water resources. Her research is focused on understanding how ecological interactions can affect the biogeochemical cycles of nutrients and contaminants in aquatic ecosystems. She leads the Environmental Toxicology Laboratory, and is particularly interested in understanding the effects of stressors to aquatic ecosystems and on developing methods to relate molecular level effects to effects seen at the individual and population levels. She works on various field and lab projects related to the biotransformation and bioaccumulation of mercury and other contaminants in aquatic food webs. Dr. Mathews has previously worked at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Monaco and the Institute for Radio-protection and Nuclear Safety in France on field and modeling projects related to radio-nuclide transfer in aquatic food chains. She received her B.A. in Biology and French from New York University in 1999, and her Ph.D. in Coastal Oceanography from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University in New York in 2007.

Associate Administrator for Safety, Infrastructure and Operations

National Nuclear Security Administration

Mr. McConnell is the NNSA Associate Administrator for Safety, Infrastructure, and Operations. He is responsible for safety, infrastructure, packaging, nuclear materials integration and sustainment & environmental programs. He is also the NNSA Central Technical Authority responsible for overall safety policy and interpretation throughout NNSA.

Previously, he held several positions within NNSA’s Office of Defense Programs including Associate Deputy Administrator for Infrastructure & Operations. He was the first Chief of Defense Nuclear Safety for NNSA. Mr. McConnell also held several senior positions at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board including Deputy Technical Director.

A former U.S. Navy submarine officer, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Naval Academy and two Master’s Degrees in Engineering.

Vice President Business Development and Sales

Studsvik

Tammy Monday has over 30 years’ experience in the environmental and nuclear industry supporting Commercial, Federal and International clients solving their waste management challenges. Tammy joined Studsvik in May 2019 as the Vice President of Business Development and Sales where she will continue to use her technical knowledge and years of industry experience to provide cost effective solutions that mitigate client's risk. Prior to joining Studsvik, Tammy served in a variety of capacities with Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. With Perma-Fix, she served as Vice President of Waste Services Sales and Business Development planning and directing all aspects of the division’s business development and sales program for the Government, Commercial and International waste services markets. Prior to that role, she was Director of Sales focusing primarily on DOE sites across the Complex. In her early years with Perma-Fix, she managed the Customer Service Division which included responsibility for Perma-Fix’s waste brokerage services, waste shipments and meeting customer’s needs and expectations. Tammy has been an active member of the Energy Facility Contractors Group (EFCOG) since 2012 and is currently the Vice Chair of the Waste Management Working Group and Chair of the Challenging Waste Subgroup.

Principal / Chief Strategy Officer

I.C.E. Service Group

After leaving the State of New Jersey for the private sector, Mr. Morgan held various positions including Site Health & Safety Officer, Project Manager and Program Manager; working for well know environmental, remediation and waste management companies; including Conti Federal Services; ENSR/AECOM & MHF Logistical Solutions, Inc.
Mr. Morgan is one of the founders and principals of I.C.E. Service Group, Inc. (ICE) www.iceservicegroup.com and Strategic Packaging Systems (SPS) www.spsonline.biz. ICE & SPS provide packaging, transportation, logistics and waste management services to public and private industries; the majority of which involve radioactive waste; hazardous waste and hazardous materials.
ICE & SPS have operations across North America; Including; New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Arizona & Tennessee; these don’t include project offices across North America. ICE & SPS employ approximately 100 individuals across North America.
Mr. Morgan is a career veteran with over 30 years of direct hands on experience in the management of over $500,000,000 in projects related to environmental construction services, remediation, hazardous waste management, remediation, demolition and emergency response services. During his career, he was often called upon to assist in the turn-around of problem projects by implementing his project management expertise, and value-added recommendations to successfully see the projects to completion.
Over his career, he has worked on some of our countries most notable environmental and remediation projects. He was the program manager for such projects as the CIC Superfund Site, Li Tungsten Superfund Site, Buckeye Landfill Superfund Site and Maywood Superfund Site. Over his career he was directly responsible for developing and implementing the plans for the handling, security / threat assessment, management, transportation & disposal of over 15,000,000 tons of low-level radioactive waste, hazardous and non-hazardous waste.

Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer

American Nuclear Society Inc

Craig serves as the CEO of the American Nuclear Society, a position he has held since November 2019. Prior to taking the helm at ANS, Craig was managing director of the Washington Office of the Bose Public Affairs Group, where he built and oversaw a 20-person, 60-client, $5 million a year government affairs and policy consultancy specializing in energy, science, and education.
While at Bose, Craig also served as ANS Washington Representative, playing a central role in several high-profile nuclear policy victories, including the creation of the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) and Integrated University Program (IUP) and defeating legislation that would have banned the commercial use of 14 radioisotopes.
Prior to entering private practice, Craig worked on Capitol Hill for 8 years, including service as Chief of Staff for Congressman Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Associate Staff of the House Appropriations Committee. During his time on the Hill, Craig led efforts to preserve federal nuclear R&D funding and to accelerate cleanup of the U.S. Department of Energy’s defense nuclear sites.
Craig has a bachelor’s degree in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park, and is a graduate of the Public Affairs Institute.

President and Chief Executive Officer

UCOR

Ken Rueter is President and Chief Executive Officer of UCOR, the Department of Energy's (DOE) cleanup contractor for the Oak Ridge Reservation. As President of UCOR, Ken has guided and motivated a professional management team and hundreds of skilled workers as they successfully undertake the largest environmental cleanup in DOE’s history. Together, he and the UCOR workforce are eliminating hazards and reducing risks in East Tennessee.
Under Ken’s oversight, UCOR has experienced an unmatched record of success –
not only finishing major projects ahead of schedule and under budget but doing so safely as demonstrated by DOE’s awarding UCOR Star status in its Voluntary Protection Program. As a result of Ken’s leadership, UCOR’s incentive award fees from DOE have been among the highest in the complex.
During almost three decades of industry experience, Ken has led all aspects of site cleanup and remediation, radioactive waste treatment and project integration, including construction, risk management as well as cost and schedule development. Previously, Ken served as President of Savannah River Remediation LLC and as Project Manager for the Savannah River Liquid Waste Project.
Earlier in his career, Ken served as Chief Operating Officer for the Hanford Tank Operations Contract in Washington State and as Director of Project Integration for Washington River Protection Solutions at DOE’s Hanford site.
Ken is most proud of building investment-worthy enterprises that deliver more value to the customer for every dollar spent. That philosophy is paying off as DOE has exercised the option period of UCOR’s Oak Ridge contract, opening the door for even more work through 2020.

Editor in Chief

ExchangeMonitor Publications & Forums

Chris Schneidmiller is Editor-in-Chief of the ExchangeMonitor Publications & Forums, encompassing the daily Weapons Complex Monitor Morning Brief and three weekly newsletters: Weapons Complex Monitor, RadWaste Monitor, and Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor. He has more than two decades of experience as a reporter and editor for news publications across the country, most recently as editor of Global Security Newswire, a Washington, D.C.-based online publication that covered international security and WMD proliferation issues.

Chris received his bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Texas in Austin, TX, and started his career as a reporter in Roswell, NM.

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Environmental Management

U.S. Department of Energy

Mr. Todd Shrader is currently serving as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) in the Office of Environmental Management (EM). In this role he works to enable the safe and successful execution of the EM mission, while providing management oversight of activities, operations, and program integration across DOE field sites.

Prior to becoming the PDAS he served as the Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) Manager from October 2015 until June 2019. Under Mr. Shrader’s leadership, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) successfully restarted waste emplacement operations and the shipping of waste from around the DOE Complex to WIPP after a nearly three-year recovery effort. The CBFO provides federal oversight to the National Transuranic Program (NTP) and WIPP, the nation’s only geological repository for the disposal of defense related nuclear waste. During this time, he was awarded a Meritorious Service Presidential Rank Award.

Mr. Shrader previously served as the Director of the DOE headquarters office responsible for supporting Hanford’s Office of River Protection and held a leading role in developing a path forward that allowed for accelerated treatment of Hanford tank waste.

Prior to that, he was assigned to DOE’s Office of Loan Programs, where he led technical reviews of over twenty energy generation projects that eventually received over $13 billion in loan guarantees. Earlier, he was a project manager for the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, leading key components of the NRC licensing process for the Yucca Mountain Project.

He began his DOE career at the Hanford Site and held various positions including service as the Hanford Site TRU Program Manager and the Facility Area Engineer for the Pretreatment Facility at the Waste Treatment Plant.

Mr. Shrader earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida and a Master’s degree in Engineering from North Carolina State University. He is registered Professional Engineer. He was appointed to Senior Executive Service in November 2012.

Strategic Communications Manager

Navarro Research and Engineering, Inc.

Jesse serves as Strategic Communications Manager for Navarro Research and Engineering, supporting a variety of public affairs, stakeholder engagement, and internal and external communications functions for the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management Nevada Program. Prior to joining Navarro, Jesse served as Director of Communications for Monroe County, New York. He possesses more than a decade of experience in local, state, and federal government communications, public relations, and strategic messaging. A native of Upstate New York, Jesse is a proud graduate of St. John Fisher College in Rochester, where he earned a B.A. in Political Science and English.

Vice President, Project Director

Fluor

Bob Smith is a Vice President, Project Director for the Fluor Government Group. He is currently serving as the Site Project Director of the Portsmouth Site in Ohio for Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth. Bob joined Fluor in 2016 and completed his first assignment as the Program Manager at the Paducah Deactivation Project before moving onto Portsmouth in 2018.

Bob has more than 35 years of experience in nuclear facility leadership and management; including Project Management, D&D, Operations, Maintenance, Startup and Commissioning, and Engineering.

Previous assignments in the DOE nuclear market include Separations Project Research Unit (SPRU) Project Manager, East Tennessee Technology Park Technical Services and Site Project Manager, D&D Director for Washington Closure Hanford Project, and the Area Project Manager for H-Area Material Disposition at the Savannah River Site. Bob also worked a number of assignments of increasing responsibility in the Tritium Facilities at Savannah River Site early in his career.

Prior to working the DOE nuclear market, Bob served in the United States Navy as a Naval Nuclear Trained Officer. This service included the naval nuclear training, and then serving on 2 submarines in various officer assignments.

Active in a number of professional and business organizations, Bob is a member of the Project Management Institute and worked with the Paducah Chamber of Commerce in his recent assignment. Bob is a graduate of the University of Alabama, Huntsville, with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Manager, Mission Integration, Chief Technology Office, and Closure

Washington River Protection Solutions

Karthik Subramanian is the Manager for Mission Integration, Chief Technology Office, and Closure for Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), the tank farm operations contractor at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. The Mission Integration Office includes integration of the Tank Farms with the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP), Mission Analyses including System Planning. Through the CTO and Closure, he is responsible for managing the specific technology maturation projects (e.g. Vapors Monitoring and Detection, Low-Activity Waste Pretreatment System, Tank Side Cesium Removal, and Radioactive Waste Test Bed), coordinating effective National Laboratory and other technology provider collaboration with WRPS, completing performance assessments, and preparing the tank farms for closure.

Prior to WRPS, Mr. Subramanian was the CTO and the Engineering Manager of the Flowsheet, Integration, and Technology Group for Savannah River Remediation (SRR), the tank farm operations contractor at the Savannah River Site. Mr. Subramanian went to SRR from managing the Materials Performance and Corrosion Technology (MP&CT) group at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL).

Mr. Subramanian has a Master’s in Materials Science and a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering, both from Case Western Reserve University.

Program Manager

Navarro Research and Engineering, Inc.

Dave Taylor is the Nevada Program Manager for Navarro Research and Engineering, the Environmental Program Services (EPS) contractor to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management (EM) Nevada Program. Dave has led the EPS contract for the EM Nevada Program since 2005 and contributes more than 43 years of experience in engineering design, operations, and ESH&Q at DOE sites across the Complex. Under Dave’s leadership, Navarro has safely and successfully completed environmental corrective actions at hundreds of contaminated sites identified in the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) that were impacted by historical nuclear testing activities in Nevada. Dave is also the Vice President of Projects for Navarro Research and Engineering and serves on the Board of Directors for several University Environmental Programs. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Management from Findlay University.

Deputy Program Manager, Operations, Nevada Program

Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy

Bill Wilborn is the Deputy Program Manager for Operations for the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management (EM) Nevada Program. As the Deputy Program Manager for Operations, Bill is responsible for all operations related to completion of environmental corrective actions and closure of historically contaminated sites identified in the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO). These sites include locations where surface/near-surface soils were contaminated, deactivation and decommissioning of historic nuclear testing facilities, characterization of contaminated groundwater, waste disposal activities, and long-term monitoring at FFACO sites located on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) and the surrounding Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). Bill possesses nearly 30 years of experience with the EM Nevada Program and is a certified Project Management Professional and Federal Project Director. Prior to joining DOE, Bill served in the U.S. Navy for four years and earned a BS in Geology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Waste Disposition Manager

UCOR

ETTP Cleanup Enterprise Project Manager

UCOR

Chad York is a Project Manager for the East Tennessee Technology (ETTP)Complex Cleanup Enterprise. In this role, he is responsible for managing, coordinating, and administering projects from the conceptual stages through planning, engineering, procurement, construction, start-up, performance testing, initial operations, and project close out. His most recent scope included demolition and remediation of various projects at ETTP totaling over $40 million . He also provided oversight for the design, building, testing, maintenance, and operation of two separate water treatment systems in support of remedial action work.
Prior to his role at ETTP, he worked as a Project Execution Maintenance Manager for Nuclear and High Hazard Operations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) as an employee of UCOR contracting partner, RSIEntech.
He served in Superintendent roles at ORNL, for both RSI Entech and former ETTP cleanup contractor Bechtel Jacobs Company LLC
Other roles in which he has served include Chemical Operator for waste disposition at ORNL, Heavy Equipment Operator for decontamination and decommissioning at the David Witherspoon 901 and 1630 sites in Knoxville, Tenn., and Foreman for the cleanup of ETTP,
Before entering private sector work, Chad served as a Machinist Mate onboard a nuclear submarine for the U.S. Navy. In that role, he was responsible for preventive and scheduled maintenance and repair of all equipment.