David Allen named to top safety position at DOE’s Oak Ridge Office

David Allen has been named assistant manager for Safety and Technical Services at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

In this federal senior executive service position, Allen will report directly to the ORO manager and will be responsible for managing the performance of technical support in the areas of environment, safety and health, or ES&H; quality assurance; and engineering provided to multiple DOE site offices nationwide under the control of the department’s Office of Science Integrated Support Center.

“David is a highly qualified, technical leader with many years of experience in the area of safety, which is clearly something the Department of Energy takes very seriously,” said ORO Manager Larry Kelly. “I look forward to David’s insight and guidance as we continue our mission of ensuring that the agency’s projects are completed in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.”

Allen’s career with DOE-ORO spans nearly 30 years. Since 2003, he has served as ORO director of the Engineering and ISC Services Division, which is responsible for providing technical support in the areas of ES&H, quality management, and engineering, to ORO programs and serving as the liaison for ES&H support to DOE Office of Science laboratories throughout the U.S. Prior to that position, he served in positions at ORO as corporate support team leader in the ES&H Division, branch chief of the Environmental Operations Branch, and site manager for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Paducah, Ky.

Prior to his DOE career, he worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority as facility safety engineer at the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Project, and lead mechanical engineer at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant.

Allen is a certified Integrated Safety Management verification team leader, has chaired numerous DOE Accident Investigation Boards, and has led and participated on multiple SC ISM and Contractor Assurance System Implementation Assessments.

Allen holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, with an emphasis in nuclear engineering. He is a licensed professional engineer, a registered environmental manager, and qualified as a senior technical safety manager.

In his spare time, he is an avid distance runner competing in a variety of races. Allen and his wife, Connie, live in Andersonville. They have five children, Sara, 26; Emily, 23; David, 22; Rachael, 20; and Ethan, 17; and they are the proud grandparents of two new grandchildren, Summer, 20 months, and Riley, 1 month.