Gordon-Hagerty sworn in as first female NNSA administrator

 

Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty was sworn in Thursday by Energy Secretary Rick Perry as the U.S. Department of Energy’s under secretary for nuclear security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Gordon-Hagerty is responsible for managing and operating the NNSA in support of the nuclear security agenda of Perry and President Donald Trump, a press release said. The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is an NNSA site.

“Lisa Gordon-Hagerty exemplifies the leadership and institutional knowledge required to oversee the National Nuclear Security Administration,” Perry said in the press release.  “I am especially proud of the fact that she is the first woman in history to lead the NNSA and look forward to working together to address the administration’s goal of modernizing our nuclear security enterprise.”

Gordon-Hagerty has more than 30 years of national security experience, the press release said.

“I would like to express my gratitude to President Trump and Secretary Perry for their trust and confidence in me to lead the National Nuclear Security Administration,” Gordon-Hagerty said in the press release. “What an honor and privilege it is to serve my country and strengthen our nuclear security.”

Prior to joining the Trump administration, Gordon-Hagerty was president of Tier Tech International Inc., a service disabled veteran-owned small business providing professional expertise to combating weapons of mass destruction terrorism worldwide, the press release said. She was also president and chief executive officer of LEG Inc., a consulting firm focusing on national security issues.

She has also served previously in several U.S. government leadership positions at the National Security Council, DOE, and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, the press release said. She began her career as a health physicist at DOE’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Gordon-Hagerty has a master’s degree in public health in health physics and a bachelor’s degree, both from the University of Michigan.

Gordon-Hagerty replaces Frank Klotz, a retired Air Force general who had been in the job since 2014 and retired January 19.

She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday, February 15. Her nomination was announced in December.

Steve Erhart had been the acting under secretary for nuclear security and NNSA administrator. Erhart was previously the director of NNSA’s Office of Policy, and he has served as the manager of the NNSA Production Office, which manages and oversees the consolidated contract at Y-12 and the Pantex Site in Amarillo, Texas.

Established by Congress in 2000, the NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within DOE, and it is responsible for nuclear nonproliferation, the nation’s naval reactor programs, and managing and securing the nation’s nuclear weapons. It also responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the United States and abroad; provides safe and secure transportation of nuclear weapons, components, and special nuclear materials; and has other national security missions.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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