Joel Spangenberg, the first executive director of operations for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, is leaving the agency to become deputy director of the Selective Service System.
Spangenberg, a member of the government’s senior executive service, is leaving the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) and should start his job with Selective Service on Monday, Aug. 29, he said in a Wednesday email.
Spangenberg is a former chief of staff at the Selective Service System, having filled that role between 2012 and 2015, according to his LinkenIn profile.
The executive director post at DNFSB, an independent watchdog charged with providing safety advice and recommendations to the Department of Energy for nuclear defense installations, was created via the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. The post was created following a National Academy of Public Administration’s assessment of the agency. The November 2018 report found DNFSB had recently “underperformed” its mission and said hiring an operations director was one of steps needed for improvement.
Around that same time, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspector general’s office said DNFSB suffered from morale problems.
Prior to taking the DNFSB operations post during the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2021, Spangenberg was deputy associate administrator for external affairs at the DOE’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration. In addition to more than a decade of experience in government management jobs, Spangenberg is also a former congressional staffer, a U.S. Navy veteran and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.
DNFSB general manager Jim Biggins is now the board’s acting executive director of operations, Spangenberg said. Biggins became general manager in March 2021. Biggins has been with the board since 2015, having served as general counsel and other roles. Biggins will serve as the acting executive director for a period of 90 days, according to a DNFSB spokesperson.
