Dr. Jessica Kratchman serves as the Acting Director for the Office of Worker Protection and Nuclear Safety (EH-20) within the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security (EH). In this role, Dr. Kratchman leads enterprise wide efforts to strengthen worker and nuclear safety while ensuring DOE operations remain efficient, mission focused, and results driven. She provides clear strategic direction on technical guidelines, nuclear safety oversight, and program performance.
Dr. Kratchman joined DOE in 2020 as a senior engineer, bringing deep expertise in nuclear regulation, environmental protection, emergency management, public health, and fire protection engineering. Throughout her DOE tenure, Dr. Kratchman has advanced high visibility initiatives involving multi agency, national, and international coordination.
Before joining DOE, she spent 12 years at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission serving in increasingly responsible technical and management roles. Her federal experience also includes the White House Office of Management and Budget, where she led the streamlining of environmental permitting requirements governmentwide. She also led OMB’s performance analytics during the initial COVID 19 response and served as a primary author for Congressional reporting related to per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Dr. Kratchman holds a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) from The George Washington University, where her research focused on advanced methods in predictive toxicology. She also holds both a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Fire Protection Engineering from the University of Maryland. Her academic background, combined with her operational and leadership experience, underpins her ability to translate complex technical issues into actionable strategy for senior leadership. Dr. Kratchman is widely recognized for her commitment to safety excellence, her collaborative leadership style, and her dedication to fostering a strong safety culture across the DOE enterprise.