ORAU promotes Kistner to director of Office of Quality

New director has more than 16 years of quality assurance and project management expertise

Oak Ridge Associated Universities has named Kristy Kistner director of its Office of Quality. In this position, Kistner will direct and coordinate the quality management system and quality assurance across ORAU, including responsibility for maintenance of ORAU’s ISO 9001 registration and compliance with the U.S. Department of Energy contractor assurance requirements.

Kistner has more than 10 years of quality assurance and project management experience at ORAU, a press release said. She had been serving as the project manager for the Office of Quality, where she was instrumental in ORAU attaining its ISO 9001 certification. She also managed quality management system initiatives, conducted quality assessments, led assessment teams, and ensured compliance with regulatory and contractual requirements relative to quality.

Other experience within ORAU includes assignments with the company’s national security and emergency management programs in Washington, D.C., where she worked with DOE’s Office of National Technical Nuclear Forensics to develop standard operating procedures and provided national policy support to the Department of Homeland Security.

Prior to joining ORAU, Kistner served as assistant director of George Washington University’s Executive Masters of Business Administration program and held other roles at the university associated with George Washington University’s Response to Emergencies and Disasters Institute.

Kistner holds a master’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Colorado State University. She is certified by the American Society for Quality as a certified quality auditor and by the Project Management Institute as a project management professional. She also is a member of the local and national chapters of both ASQ and PMI.

In addition, she is proficient in the French language and has knowledge of the Arabic and German languages.