Nuclear Leadership Academy Strengthens Future Hanford Cleanup

Carol Johnson, Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure president and program manager, addresses a group of the company’s senior managers during the first installment of its Nuclear Leadership Academy, a weeklong workshop focused on growing leaders that model nuclear professionalism.

RICHLAND, Wash. — A new leadership development program for senior managers is strengthening key skills vital to helping the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management accelerate cleanup progress at the Hanford Site.

The first weeklong session of the Nuclear Leadership Academy wrapped up in February with 25 senior managers completing workshops focused on developing leaders who consistently model nuclear professionalism based on established values and expected behaviors.

Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure (H2C), the contractor responsible for treating and stabilizing tank waste, launched the academy with goals to strengthen safety culture, build high-quality performance competencies required at each management level and foster collaboration across organizational boundaries.

Strong leadership is essential to achieving Hanford’s cleanup mission and protecting the environment.

“The Hanford Site has achieved an incredible milestone in recent months with the start of vitrification, and significant work still lies ahead,” said Andy Wiborg, director of the Tank Farm Programs Division. “The commitment shown by our contractors to developing future leaders underscores the importance and complexity of the cleanup mission.”

Twenty-five senior managers at Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure participated in the first group of the company’s Nuclear Leadership Academy, held near its offices in Richland, Washington, on the campus of Washington State University – Tri-Cities.

Carol Johnson, H2C president and program manager, spoke to the academy participants about the importance of earning trust and viewing leadership as a lifelong discipline.

“You learn something from every experience — even if it’s learning from mistakes,” Johnson said. “The toughest assignments stretch you and ultimately make you more resilient and capable. If you lean into them, they shape you into the leader others know they can trust.”

By strengthening leadership capability and capacity, H2C creates a foundation for innovation — such as digital tools and automation — to improve safety and reduce costs for taxpayers. Jordan Davis, H2C’s chief digital officer, encouraged academy participants to embrace technology to streamline operations.

“Leaders are measured not by the time their teams put in, but by the value they deliver and the capacity they create — through empowering people with the right training, tools, and technologies to work smarter, not longer,” Davis said.

A second session for an academy group was held in early March, with a third scheduled for April.

-Contributor: Jenna Roberts