Laura Wilkerson, the Department of Energy’s deputy manager of the Oak Ridge Site’s nuclear cleanup office, accepted the newly-created chief engineer position at the Eastern-Tennessee site, the department said Thursday.
In the same press release, the DOE Office of Environmental Management said another longtime hand Erik Olds, director of communications in Washington, D.C., will succeed Wilkerson as the new deputy for the Oak Ridge field office.
Both will report to Oak Ridge field office manager Jay Mullis and both moves take effect Jan. 28, according to DOE.
Wilkerson, who has more than 30 years as a DOE manager, will concentrate “on the most complex, crosscutting engineering challenges” for Oak Ridge environmental remediation, according to the release. She has served in many roles at Oak Ridge, including stints as both deputy manager and acting manager of the Environmental Management field office.
Likewise, Olds has been with DOE for 31 years and has handled several assignments, including acting chief of staff for Environmental Management in Washington, D.C., and chief of staff at the Hanford Site in Washington state. He also worked for a time at the now-canceled Yucca Mountain Project in Nevada for the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, according to the Thursday press release.
“We are excited to announce these critical [Oak Ridge Environmental Management] leadership positions,” Mullis, the field office manager, said in the release. “As we continue to ramp up our environmental cleanup activities at ORNL [Oak Ridge National Laboratory] and Y 12 [National Security Complex], Laura will use her extensive experience and in-depth knowledge about both of those sites to help us find solutions to some of our biggest technical challenges.”
Olds will oversee daily operations of Oak Ridge environmental management, according to the release. No appointment has been made for Olds’ communication post, according to a DOE spokesperson.
