Teresa Robbins from Y-12 was appointed assistant principal deputy administrator of operations at National Nuclear Security Administration headquarters, according to an email seen by the Exchange Monitor.
The newly created headquarters job, NA-4 for short, siphons off some of the responsibilities previously given to the agency’s top-ranking civil servant, the associate principal deputy administrator, or NA-3. Jim McConnell holds the latter post.
“As Teresa assumes the operational elements of the enterprise, Jim McConnell will focus on the governance and management elements of the enterprise,” Jill Hruby, head of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), said in the email. “I expect Jim and Teresa to be a strong team.”
McConnell has held the associate principal deputy administrator position since December 2021. Robbins, meanwhile, has worked as the Y-12 National Security Complex field office manager since 2021 and has over 30 years of experience in the Department of Energy, according to Hruby.
Hruby also said that Mary Helen Hitson will take over as manager of the Y-12 field office. Hitson has been deputy field office manager since 2022. Before that, she worked at the Savannah River Site. She has worked at DOE for 29 years, Hruby’s email said.
