Are We Nearly There Yet?

Gary Hosey, the founder of EI Company, a Master Coach, and speaker. He is passionate about people achieving their full potential both personally and professionally and a major part of his work is in the field of emotional intelligence. Gary's speaker profile says that he has been on a "colourful journey from being emotionally dysfunctional to a leading expert in the field of emotional intelligence". Find out more about Gary on LinkedIn and EI Company here.  

Gemma Muckle works as a learning and development professional and coach at The University of Manchester. In this career moment, Gemma discusses how she found the right balance between her professional career and her personal life with a growing family. By taking a bold step, Gemma has been able to flex this balance over time as her work, her personal wellbeing, and the needs of her family have developed.

Giorgio Locatelli is Full Professor of Complex Projects Business at the Politecnico di Milano – the largest technical university in Italy with 42,000 students. Giorgio describes a time in his life when he had to take a big step outside his comfort zone; flying for the first time outside his native Italy to complete a 6-month work placement in Pittsburgh, USA. This placement set a new course for his life and led to a successful academic career.

Adrian Bull, Professor of Nuclear Energy and Society at the University of Manchester, discusses a defining career moment when family circumstances meant he had to focus on the core of his job, managing a large team at BNFL, and exclude all the peripheral activities of engaging with other people inside and outside the business. But Adrian discovered that he was motivated more by engaging others than by the core of his job. So, he focused on this and developed a distinguished career in communications and policy for nuclear energy. Adrian was awarded an MBE in 2018 in recognition of his work on the development of public understanding in nuclear research.

What advice would you give your younger self? It's a questions Professor Andrew Sherry asks of all guests on the podcast series ‘Are We Nearly There Yet?' As season one draws to close, we thought we'd put all this advice into a few special episodes. We hope you enjoy listening and we encourage you on your career journey! If you'd like to listen to any of these episodes in full, you can do so on the AWNTY Podbean channel.  

What advice would you give your younger self? It's a questions Professor Andrew Sherry asks of all guests on the podcast series ‘Are We Nearly There Yet?' As season one draws to close, we thought we'd put all this advice into a few special episodes. We hope you enjoy listening and we encourage you on your career journey! If you'd like to listen to any of these episodes in full, you can do so on the AWNTY Podbean channel. Look out for season three!

What advice would you give your younger self? It's a questions Professor Andrew Sherry asks of all guests on the podcast series ‘Are We Nearly There Yet?' As season one draws to close, we thought we'd put all this advice into a few special episodes. We hope you enjoy listening and we encourage you on your career journey! If you'd like to listen to any of these episodes in full, you can do so on the AWNTY Podbean channel. Look out for season two!

Tom Scott is a Professor of Materials at Bristol University and also leads two spin out companies from the university: ImiTec, which specializes in the development and manufacture of novel methods for detecting, characterising and mapping radiation and Arkenlight, the Diamond Battery company which develops and manufactures micro-power sources based on radiovoltaic technology. To lives in Bristol with his wife Nikki and their two children Imogen and Joe. Tom grew up In Dorset and went to the Thomas Hardye school in Dorchester. Tom always enjoyed sports and played tennis, rugby and football. Tom studied Maths Geography and Art with Architecture at A-levels whilst also studying Geology GCSE. Tom went to study Geology at Bristol University and then went on to do a PhD researching Uranium Geochemistry. Tom then went on to become a Lecturer at Bristol in the School of Earth Sciences. Tom became the Executive Co-Director of Bristol-Oxford nuclear Research Centre and it was during this time that Tom then got the opportunity to become the Executive C-Director, then Executive Director of ImiTec. In 2016, Tom became the Special Advisor to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee on Nuclear leading to report: Nuclear research and technology: Breaking the cycle of indecision. Tom was then also promoted and became Professor Tom Scott and won a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship to develop new technologies to detect and observe materials containing uranium and plutonium.

Sarah Beacock is the CEO of the Nuclear Institute. She lives in South East London and in her spare time enjoys wildlife in the garden and birdwatching. Sarah grew up in South London and really enjoyed school as a child. She also enjoyed ballet and gymnastics and joined the school hockey team. After school, Sarah went to study Environmental Science at Plymouth Polytechnic. After graduating, Sarah then went travelling around Australia, New Zealand and Papa New Guinea where she worked as a school assistant. Sarah struggled to find jobs in the Environment, so decided to go to South East London College to do a graduate course to learn typing and shorthand, which then led her to getting a job as a Scheme Manager for the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) Examinations Board. Next Sarah took a role as a Senior Examiner for Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) where she worked for nine years. Sarah then took a job as an International and Professional Affairs Director in the Energy Institute. Sarah was promoted to the Skills and Capability Director and ended up working for the Energy Institute for fifteen years. Sarah then became acting CEO Energy Institute which then enabled her to take on the role as the CEO for the Nuclear Institute.   For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahbeacock/

Jean Llewellyn is a non-executive director for the Office for Nuclear Regulations (ONR) and for the World Institute for Nuclear Security. Jean is active in her free time and likes travelling, mountaineering and cycling and is partial to wining and dining too with her husband. Jean grew up in Stockport with her two older brothers. After sixth from Jean went to study Geography at Nottingham University. The style of studying didn't suit Jean's personality and she ended up finishing at the end of the first year. She took time to reflect on what she wanted to do, which was to work in hospitality. Jean successfully secured a place at Hollins College on a three-year programme in hospitality management. Jean began work in the hospitality industry before successfully getting a promotion to be a hotel inspector for the AA where she remained for five years, primarily working in Cumbria. Following an enjoyable five years, Jean moved on to become a lecturer in Hospitality and Tourism Management and Marketing at High Peak College in Buxton before moving to Manchester Metropolitan University. Jean then moved to become regional manager for the north-west tourist board before being asked to become Head of Skills Policy Development for the Northwest Regional Development Agency looking after 18 sectors, including nuclear. Overtime, nuclear took over and that's where her link to nuclear developed. Jean then transitioned to the role of Chief Executive for the National Skills Academy for Nuclear prior to being a non-executive director for the World Institute for Nuclear Security, and for the ONR.   For further information: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jean-llewellyn-obe-19ab7313

Stacy Snook is a Nuclear Security Professional specialising in Insider Threat Mitigation at Sellafield Ltd and an Ambassador to the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS). Stacy was born and grew up in Johannesburg, where she felt she lived in an international community which she described as good fun. After six years, Stacy and her family then moved back to the UK before then moving to Ethiopia due to her dad's work. Whilst in Ethiopia, Stacy started an apprenticeship to help fundraise and build classrooms in schools. When Stacy returned to the UK, she was asked to do an apprenticeship which sponsored her school on top of doing her university studies. After completing her apprenticeship when she was 21, Stacy then went to study Nuclear Science and Materials at the University of Birmingham. Stacy continued on at University of Birmingham after graduating to do her Masters in Physics and Technology of Nuclear Reactors. Whilst doing her Masters, Stacy also did a placement with EDF (Heysham) and then did a group project with Rolls-Royce, which took her into their laboratory. After her placement at EDF, Stacy decided to take a gap year out where she went back to South Africa, before taking a graduate scheme in Cumbria with Sellafield. From here, Stacy moved more into working in the Nuclear Security and Strategic Security side at Sellafield Ltd. She also secured a second placement working in corporate Safety and Security, working as special assistant to the Director. Stacy is also involved in the Nuclear Institute's Young Generation Network.   For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacy-snook/

Claire Flint is a Senior Business Leader and a Non-Executive Director for a number of organisations including the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Claire lives in Oxford and enjoys walking in the countryside and grows vegetables in her garden. Claire's favourite subject was History whilst she was at school, so after school she went to study History at Queen Mary London University. After she graduated, Claire went to B&Q as part of the Graduate management scheme before moving to Natwest Bank where she did her training alongside in Diploma in Labour Studies. After three years, Claire took an opportunity at the Bass Group, where she developed and delivered a structured management training programme and succession planning process. She then later moved to Diageo plc where she was responsible for HR and Organisation Development for Head office. Claire then joined Oxford Instruments as Human Resources Manager on the executive. Claire was the first HR lead on the executive team of a division of the business and Introduced performance management, and performance related pay. Claire became an industrial member of the campaign board for the Institute of Physics and then through the women in boards joined NNL.   For more information please visit:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-flint-9707a34/

Jon Salthouse is currently the Content Director for Owl Live, which is a Brand Experience Agency specialising in employee engagement, training and events. Jon has had over 10 years of experience of working in engagement with companies such as Google, EY and Toyota. Outside of his career Jon has an interest in classic cars, cycling and photography. Jon grew up in Birmingham and lived there until he was about 19 years old. Jon went on the theatre school after doing a year at sixth form where he got a triple distinction. He then went on to study musical theatre for three years at Stella Mann College. After college, Jon went to work on cruise chips in the entertainment team, travelling the world for a year. After suffering an injury during one of his performances, Jon decided to look into the management side of the entertainment industry. From here, Jon started to work as a freelance Event Manager for a huge range of agencies. He also did his Level 5 Award in Behavioural Economics Jon then went to become a freelance Senior Producer for psLIVE where he lead on pitches and briefs and worked on the digital content for large companies. Jon then on to become the Creative Producer for The Smarty Train. This then led Jon to work for Owl Live where he leads the strategic communications and content direction for all pitches.   For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-salthouse-36640b26/

Sara Huntingdon is the Head of Innovation in the Operations and Performance Improvement Directorate at the NDA Corporate Centre. She lives in Cricklade near Cirencester and has been building a house with her husband Mike. In her spare time, Sara loves baking. Sara grew up in Lindley, Huddersfield with her parents and sister. During her A-level, Sara focused on Maths and the Sciences. Sara then went to Loughborough to study Physics. She decided to pick Physics combined with Engineering modules in her final year which she really enjoyed and was engaged with. After university, Sara joined BNFL's Grad scheme where she was appointed at Berkley in Reactor and Analysis. Although she initially struggled with the department she was put in, she really enjoyed the project management side of the scheme. After a few years in the post, Sara took a role in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in Bristol working as an Assistant Programme Manager. She developed through various roles during the 12 years she was at MOD, including Engagement Manager and Senior Project Manager. Sara then progressed into a role at the UK Space Agency leading an Innovation Programme where she had to liaise with Government. The innovation theme then took Sara to her current role as Head of Innovation at NDA.   For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-huntingdon-25ba3227/

Beccy Pleasant is Head of Nuclear Skills at the Nuclear Skills Strategy Group (NSSG). Beccy lives in Anglesey in North Wales. She enjoys her countryside walks and runs which offsets her love of cooking. Beccy also finds time to runs a small holding, aiming for self-sufficiency in meat and vegetables. She is also Vice-Chair of Governors of Llangefni Secondary School, Anglesey. Beccy grew up in Harlow on the Hartforshire/ Essex border. She went to school in Bishop's Stortford, a historic market town about 30 miles Northeast of central London.  After completing her A-Levels, Beccy join the Accelerated Training Programme at Barclay's Bank with training from the Chartered Institute of Bankers where she achieved a Foundation in Law, Economics, Finance. Beccy then joined Lloyds Register of Shipping, London, as a Training Administrator, before joining Unilever, first in graduate recruitment and then as Personnel Services Manager. During this time, she completed an Open University degree in Psychology. Beccy spent a few months as a Ski Resort Manager for Inghams in Switzerland, before studying for a PhD at Bangor University. Beccy then started at Nelson Thornes Ltd - an educational publisher producing books and digital resources for the UK, as well as international schools and colleges.  It is now part of Oxford University Press, in Cheltenham. Beccy then joined Magnox at their Wylfa site in Anglesey in Learning and Development and continued her own learning and development with a Post Graduate Certificate in Leadership – at Manchester Metropolitan. Beccy was then seconded to NDA as Head of Skills and Talent and then she most recently joined the Nuclear Strategy Skills Group as Head of Nuclear Skills Strategy.   For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beccypleasant/

Rebecca Weston is the Chief Operating Officer at Sellafield Limited and is accountable for programme delivery and performance of the nuclear site. Rebecca grew up in Skegness and now lives in West Cumbria with her wife Tanya and toddler Max. Rebecca went to Oxford University to study Physics. Rebecca enjoyed every moment of her time at Oxford University and made the most of being able to play a variety of different sports by joining the women's football, cricket and hockey teams. She also enjoyed rowing. After graduating, Rebecca then took a role as a Design Engineer at the Bonas Machine Company in Gateshead. She then did a PhD at Newcastle in Electro and mechanical engineering. From there, she then went to work for BNFL. Rebecca then took a role as an Operations Support Manager, and then progressed through a number of various roles at Sellafield Limited, from a Contract Officer in commercial and a number of roles as an Executive. For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-weston-1b52512b/

Tom Samson is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rolls-Royce SMR Limited. He has over 30 years of experience in the power industry in various senior level executive positions in the UK and internationally. Tom began his career as a Chartered Engineer at GEC Alstom designing combined cycle gas fired power plants before joining Marubeni Corporation where he helped them grow their global power portfolio and undertook a number of CEO and Board level assignments across that portfolio in the UAE and USA. Tom's first major role in the nuclear industry came when he joined ENEC in the UAE as the Chief Operating Officer where he helped establish Nawah Energy as the operator of Barakah, the first nuclear power plant in the region before returning to the UK as CEO and Board member at NuGeneration Ltd, which was responsible for developing a new nuclear power station at Moorside in Cumbria.  In early 2020 Tom joined Rolls-Royce to lead their SMR Consortium and is the CEO and Board Member of Rolls-Royce SMR Limited. For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tsamson/

Melanie Brownridge is the Technology and Innovation Director at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Melanie lives in West Cumbria with her husband, Martin, and two teenage girls. In her spare time she likes to walk in the glorious countryside of the Lake District and to play her cello, piano and double base. Melanie was born in Chester but moved to High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire when she was one. Melanie went to Wycombe High School which she really enjoyed and after getting good grades at Maths and Sciences, she decided to study Maths, Chemistry and Biology at Sixth Form and then went on to study Chemistry at Imperial College London with a year in Hanover, Germany. After completing her degree, Melanie went on to do a PhD in Chemistry at Imperial College London. She then moved up to Cumbria to work for British Nuclear Fuels on a Research Associate Scheme. Melanie then moved into managing the programme for waste characterisation of legacy ponds and silos. Melanie continued her career journey and began work as Head of Technology Services at Nexia Solutions where she was more actively involved in technology development, commercialisation, and innovation. From here, she then took the decision to move to the NDA as Head of Research and Development and progressed to her current role as Technology and Innovation Director. For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-brownridge-26592028/

Dr Tim Stone is Chairman of the Nuclear Industry Association, the trade association for the civil nuclear industry in the UK, and Chairman of Nuclear Risk Insurers, a leader in nuclear insurance supporting over 300 nuclear sites around the world. Tim was awarded a CBE in 2010 for services to the Energy industry. In his free time Tim likes to play classical music. Tim grew up in Catcliffe, close to Orgreave pit where his Grandfather worked which incidentally happens to be where Nuclear AMRC is now based. He studied at Maltby Grammar and then went on to study Chemistry at St Catherine's College, Oxford. After University, Tim then joined the management consultancy division of Arthur Andersen & Co.'s where he designed and installed large, complex computer systems in government, insurance and the financing industry. Tim then made the big move to New York to work for Chase Manhattan Bank to run the software business and progressed through the organisation to Managing Director. From here Tim then moved to S. G. Warburg, where he got more involved in projects. Next, Tim founded and was chairman of KPMG's Global Infrastructure and Projects Group and also held positions as the Senior Adviser to five successive Secretaries of State responsible for energy and as Expert Chair of the Office for Nuclear Development in the Department of Energy & Climate Change. For more information please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-stone-cbe-53b3364/

Georgina Hines is a Policy Analyst at the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA). Georgina is also Secretary of the Next Generation Nuclear Industry Council, the Shadow Theme Lead for the NSSG in its delivery of the nuclear skills agenda, and a representative of the Nuclear Delivery Group, which is working on a vision for nuclear activity for the next parliamentary period. Georgina grew up in Telford and went to William Brookes School in Telford where she particularly enjoyed Science and Maths. After school, Georgina went to study Neuroscience at the University of Manchester and then a Master's in Science Communication. Whilst at University, Georgina also wrote for the Science & Technology section of The Mancunian newspaper which was what lead her after her Master's to work for SCI as a Digital Media & Policy Officer. It was here that she realised she wanted to pursue the Policy side and got a job at NIA as a Policy Analyst. For more information please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgina-hines-1734a210a/

Miranda Kirschel is an avid supporter of UK Nuclear and has worked in Commercial and Business Director roles interfacing with nuclear companies for over 20 years. In her current role she is a Commercial Director for Circular1Health, which provides services to businesses to ensure their workplaces are Covid secure and able to test their staff. Miranda grew up in Cyprus where she had a happy childhood, but felt she wasn't particularly academic. Her main focus and passion was ballet and she spent most of her days at ballet lessons. Miranda then moved from Cyprus to London to live with her Grandmother. She started a course in French and German for a year before changing to study European Politics. After completing her degree, Miranda moved to the USA where she worked as a nanny in Los Angeles where she took a step out of her comfort zone and felt she learnt a lot of life lessons. Miranda then moved back to the UK where she got a job at the Nuclear Industry Association as a PA as well as supporting the media manager which got her involved in media and marketing. Miranda worked at NIA for seven years and quickly got involved with the Young Generation Network. After progressing to Corporate Affairs Manager at NIA, Miranda felt she was ready for a new challenge, so she moved to CH2M Hill as a Director of Business Development for four years. Miranda then moved from Atkins to EY. During this period Miranda was founder, former President and Chair of Women in Nuclear UK and was awarded an MBE in 2017 for: Services to Equal Opportunities in the Nuclear Industry. For more information please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miranda-kirschel-mbe-a0776614/

Hannah Paterson is the Technical Manager for the Spent Fuel Consolidation Programme at Sellafield Ltd. She is also engaged in outreach activities, including Chair of the Nuclear Institute Young Generation Network. Hannah grew up in Aberdeen and loved school where she questioned everything with her inquisitive mind. She now lives in Cockermouth and when she isn't working, she likes to go fell walking and mountain biking. Hannah studied medicinal Chemistry at the at the University of Edinburgh where she was successful in securing a two-month paid for summer placement at Gallus BioPharamceuticals, St Louis Missouri, USA working in the process development laboratory. The experience she gained here made Hannah realise she wanted to get a job in industry rather than carrying on studying for a PhD. Hannah spent, what felt like a long time, searching for a job before coming across the ‘Nuclear Graduate' scheme where she initially started at Sellafield before working for a number of companies over a two-year period, including a secondment to the US Department of Energy (DoE) where she led on international cooperation activities for the International Programs Office for the DoE Office of Environmental Management. She also went to the Scottish Government in the area of nuclear decommissioning as a Waste Policy Advisor and to NNL R&D working on phase transformations during hot isostatic pressing of plutonium waste forms. Hannah then took a one-year secondment into the NDA as a National Waste Inventory Manager working on the materials and samples strategy, working with all the NDA group companies writing a paper.   Hannah is now back at Sellafield as a Technical Manager in Spent Fuel Management working on strategy and technical aspects, including the Spent Fuel Consolidation Programme tasked with receipt and long-term storage of a range of fuels from Dounreay. For more information visit: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/hannahpaterson

Saralyn Thomas is a Senior Consultant for Nuclear Safety working for Abbott Risk Consulting (ARC) in Newbury and Vice-Chair of the Nuclear Institute's Young Generation Network looking after International Liaison, including COP-26. Saralyn lives just outside Oxford and in her free time likes to bake and share the cakes that she's baked! She went to Amman Valley School in Carmarthenshire South Wales and was part of the school choir and chemistry club. She really loved school and got stuck into everything taking an extra-curricular GCSE in Russian during her A-levels! – she got in trouble with her mother for this at the time as she was worried she was taking on too much work. Saralyn then went to study Physics at the University of Bristol which she struggled with and found it was a big jump from school. She then went on to do a masters in Nuclear Science and Technology at Manchester and during that time she did a placement at NNL which took her into their laboratory – this was where she realised her passion for nuclear and enjoyed it a lot more than her university degree. Saralyn then took a role in Orano in nuclear safety as a Safety Assessor. After a couple years of working at Orano, she picked up three hats – one in safety cases, one as an Account Manager, and one in waste management using a process for making decisions. She recently joined Abbott Risk Consulting undertaking HAZIDs and safety assurance for defence as she knew this was a good place to work in Safety and liked the good connection with the YGN. Saralyn is also Vice chair of the YGN which she really loves – some of her best memories over the last 5 years have been at YGN and she has made friendships and relationships for life in being a part of it. For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saralyn-thomas-39a55474/

Andy Worrall is currently the Integrated Fuel Cycle Section Head in the Nuclear Energy and Fuel Cycle Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Deputy Director of the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN), a U.S Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy initiative. Andy lives in Knoxsville, just north of the Smoky Mountains. He grew up in Wolverhampton and went to Bingly Junior School and Highfields Secondary School. Andy studied Maths, Physics and Chemistry at A level. Andy then went on to study Physics at Lancaster University and then Physics and Technology of Nuclear Reactors as a Masters at the University of Birmingham. During this time, Andy also completed an Industrial Placement with BMFL, where he was later offered a job after completing his Masters where you developed into Senior Technology Manager where he managed a team of people. After seven years, Andy then went on to become Technical Authority of Reactors and Fuels for National Nuclear Laboratory and then from there decided it was time for a change, so he moved abroad to the U.S. where he now works at ORNL. For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-worrall-36aa0a23/  

Rob Hurlston is the Principal and Chief Engineer, Fidelis Engineering Associates based in Michigan. Rob lives in Canton, Michigan in the US with his wife Jessica and one year old son Rory. In his free time he likes to play golf. He grew up in Stalybridge near Manchester and went to West Hill School. Rob was always drawn towards Maths and Sciences and as a child, Rob's Grandfather used to make locomotives in his garage which they would take to the tracks which started his interest in engineering. Rob went to Ashton Sixth Form College to do Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Rob then went to University of Manchester to study Materials Science with a year of Industrial Experience where he got a 1st Class Masters. After University, Rob became a Research Engineer (EngD) at Serco before moving to the USA where he worked for a variety of projects under University of Manchester, including the development of a Nuclear Reactor Simulator game for public engagement and school's outreach. Play the Reactor Simulator game here: lotus.itservices.manchester.ac.uk:8080 Rob and his wife then moved to Michigan, Rob got a job as a Project Engineer at Caelnyx for a couple of years before being loaned out to American Axle & Manufacturing in Detroit. Rob then made the brave decision to set up his own company called Fidelis Engineering Associates (www.fidelisfea.com/) with his business partner Bill Webster. For more information please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fea-rob-hurlston/

Melissa is the PA to the Board at NNL and also supports a number of executives and will soon move into recruitment at NNL. Mel lives in Leigh with her husband Kieron and dog Bruce and is a fan of all things sports related – she holds a season ticket for Wigan Warriors – Rugby League. She even played for Wigan Athletic Ladies football team when she was younger. She studied at Westleigh High School in Lancashire and then went to St Mary's Sixth Form College in Manchester, being the only one from her school. She claimed she had the best two years of her life here, finding her confidence and meeting lots of friends similar to her. Mel then went onto work at UK Mail in a customer service and data input role. In the middle of 2013, she was made redundant. Next in her career, she found employment at NNL in the Business Services team. Mel then became a PA for one of executives after being approached by the HR and Strategic Director. She began this role part time to test the water and naturally really enjoyed it and began working full time within this role. She then started looking after the board, learning everything from scratch, making the role her own. Mel has now picked up even more roles and is now interviewing and recruiting people and helping with their onboarding.   For more information visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-evans-2844a9151/  

Dave Goddard is a Fellow at NNL and a technical specialist in nuclear fuel manufacturing with over 25 years of experience supporting plants and fuel development in the UK. Dave grew up in Cambridgeshire on a small holding with around 1,000 free range chickens! He studied Physics at Sheffield University – where he met his future wife. He now lives in Manchester with wife Jaddy and two children. After university, Dave worked at AWE for six months before going on to do a PhD at the Corrosion and Protection Centre, UMIST, Manchester focussing on high temperature corrosion of superconductors. After his PhD, Dave secured a job at British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) on the Springfields site. During his time there he transitioned from a scientist to a technical leader. He was recruited into company research laboratory – setting up research laboratory outside of the ‘core' business areas. During this time, he did work with NASA, working on a meteorite to examine – even meeting the people from NASA.   Dave has remained technical throughout his career and has more recently been heavily involved in the Government's new nuclear innovation programme looking to develop the next generation of fuels for the next generation of reactors. When Dave isn't working on the next generation of nuclear fuels, he likes to run, and has an allotment where he grows his own fruit and vegetables.

'The Conversation' To celebrate the first year of the podcast series 'Are We Nearly There Yet?' we have a special conversation between one of the nuclear industry's newest recruits and one of it's earliest pioneers. Dr Tim Gregory is a geologist who did a PhD in cosmochemistry. He became a meteorite scientist at the University of Bristol and the British Geological Survey until 2020 when he joined the National Nuclear Laboratory at Sellafield Ltd as a nuclear analytical chemist.  He published his popular science book, ‘Meteorite' in 2020.  Tim is a scientist, an author and a speaker having appeared on television and radio.  His own episode of 'Are We Nearly There Yet?' can be found here: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-gkez5-105b3cf Professor Juan Matthews joined the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority at Harwell in 1962 as a Scientific Assistant in the Metallurgy Division. He pioneered uranium fuel for the UK's prototype Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor at Windscale before doing a physics degree at Surrey. He has worked on plutonium fuels for the UK's Fast Reactor programme.  He became Programme Manager for General Nuclear Safety and Fast Reactors.  He was Regional Director for Asia Pacific for AEA Technology plc, based in Japan with operations also in South Korea, Hong Kong, China, Singapore. This is a fascinating conversation. For more information about Dr Tim Gregory and his book, ‘Meteorite', see: https://www.tim-gregory.co.uk/ For more information about Prof. Juan Matthews see: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juan-matthews-518313/

Gwen Parry-Jones is Chief Executive of Magnox Ltd and President of the Nuclear Institute. Gwen was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to science and technology. Gwen lives on the island of Anglesey in North Wales near Wylfa power station. She also has a passion for horses. She grew up in North Wales and also in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia as her dad went to work there. After a few years of living abroad, she came back home to a boarding school in North Wales which gave her, her independence. Her head teacher, Mr Peacock, was a huge influence and taught her about the importance of every individual having a view and requiring respect. She went to college in Colwyn Bay and then moved to Manchester to read Physics joining the physics undergraduate population – she liked the uniqueness of there not being many female students. She also enjoyed the Manchester city lifestyle. Gwen then went on to do banking and finance in Bangor at a master's level. Following this, Gwen joined the Central Electricity Generating Board at Magnox Wylfa as a reactor physicist. When she first started as a nuclear operator, there were no female changing rooms, toilets or work clothes! Gwen successfully developed her career within the nuclear industry to become the first female station director of Heysham 1 – an achievement she still feels very privileged to have done to this day. The turning point in Gwen's career is when she stopped trying to do everything herself and realised it was okay not to know everything and she believes you really start adding value when you start talking about what you think. For more information visit: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/gwen-parry-jones-b489a594

AWNTY is entering the Manchester Publicity Inspiration Awards 2021 which recognise the amazing talent across the city, and inspiring future talent, innovation and creativity. As part of our award entry we need to showcase a selection of podcasts from the past year to showcase the variety of interviewees. If you've not heard any of our previous episodes then I'm sure you'll be hooked after you've listened to this!    

Charlotte Williams is the Head of Communications for the National Nuclear Laboratory. Charlotte grew-up and lives in Leigh with her husband and two boys. She enjoys running and walking to keep healthy, which counteracts her love of baking, something she developed an interest in during Covid using the months of lockdown to cheer family and friends up by baking. In her early years, Charlotte attended Bedford High school where she was very work focussed and remembered for always having a smile on her face. She enjoyed the creative subjects, especially English and art. After school, she initially went to Wigan & Leigh College however due to personal reasons couldn't carry on this path and started to work at a local solicitors for 18 months. After this time, Charlotte realised the role wasn't working and moved to a similar organisation to feel disinterested again which made her realise she had to cast her net further to see what other opportunities existed.  She was successful in getting a position on an undergraduate scheme at Marconi Communications which allowed her to move around the organisation whilst studying on day release where she achieved a BA Honours in Business Studies. One of her placements was in the HR team and realised she enjoyed the people side of thing, plus the marketing team focussing on business to business an experience valuable.  From here, Charlotte went to work at Erikson in an internal communications role a position that allowed her to make a difference in employee's working lives, by keeping them suitably informed during significant business changes. Next on the cards was a move to British Gas Home Care in their internal communications team looking after communications for their contact centre and with the engineers going out on home visits – a very different role with lots of travelling – however very energetic with lots of creativity. She then moved within British Gas to their installations team to continue with her professional development, creating a different style of communications which involved getting safety messages out to engineers onsite with two large communications campaigns which were so successful ended up going company wide. Charlotte currently works for the National Nuclear Laboratory, a move she made for family reasons with a young family. For more information visit: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-williams-9209852

Dr Tim Gregory is an analytical nuclear chemist working at the National Nuclear Laboratory, based on the Sellafield site. He has experience as a meteorite scientist and is active in outreach, talking in schools and on the BBC sharing his passion about space and science. Tim lives in Cumbria and in his free time likes to go running, hiking, canoeing, and practises photography in the country.   Tim grew up in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire with his mum and sister. In his younger years he developed a passion for science and nature. In high school, a lot of his interests in science were stamped out as he felt unable to share his passion with anyone. Tim then went on to 6th form to do his A-levels where his passion for science returned meeting people who had a shared interest.   Tim then went on to study an integrated masters at Manchester in Geology with Planetory Science. During his studies, he completed a two and a half-month internship in Houston, Texas, at the NASA Johnson's space centre studying meteorites. During his time in Manchester, Tim volunteered at the Manchester Museum where he discovered he had a knack on how to explain things in layman's terms to the visitors about rocks.   Tim on to study for a PhD in Cosmochemistry at the University of Bristol. Whilst here, Tim went into schools to teach geology days and went to local organisation to present too and he soon realised he had a natural ability to present. He was also successful in securing one of twelve places on a BBC 2 programme called Astronauts where he made it to the final which included him being put in a centrifuge and spun at 4.5G for ten minutes! The TV programme gave him the opportunity to present twice on the ‘Sky at Night'. Tim's also presented on BBC 4 and BBC Radio Bristol.   Tim took a sideways step into nuclear and is continued to be blown away by science.   Tim has also published a book called ‘Meteorite'.   For more information visit: https://www.tim-gregory.co.uk

Robin Taylor is a Senior Fellow at the UK's National Nuclear Laboratory. He lives in Cockermouth, with his wife Anna and three teenage children. Robin grew up in Stoke where he enjoyed school and chemistry in particular as his teacher was very engaging and interactive. Robin went to Manchester University to read Chemistry and continued on to do a PhD in radiochemistry on neutron activation analysis. Robin was successful in getting his research published. After university, Robin joined BNFL in their Technical Department at Sellafield in the Advanced Reprocessing group. During his time at work, Robin helped set up university research alliances and set up the first one at Manchester in Radiochemistry. He then had an opportunity to manage a 50-strong team, stepping out of his comfort zone. Robin's successfully worked his way up to be a senior fellow, working collaboratively on European programmes. For more information please visit: www.nnl.co.uk

Georgia Pawson is a Consultant Analyst a Corporate Risk Associates and the acting chair of the Next Generation Nuclear Industry Council. Georgia Pawson lives in Fulham near where she grew up. She went to boarding school at Wycombe Abbey. Georgia was diagnosed as dyslexic during primary school and found the pressure during her GCSEs overwhelming and decided to move to St Edwards in Oxford to do her A levels in Maths, Chemistry and Geography her where was offered more support with her dyslexia. Georgia had a gap year where she lived in Australia and Spain and worked as a wind surfing and sailing instructor before going on to study Geology at Bristol University. At the end of her second year, Georgia was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue where she was forced to take a year out of University. She then went back to University to join complete third year where there was an extra module added to the syllabus called Environmental Radioactivity which led Georgia to the career she is in. After completing her Undergraduate degree in Geology, Georgia went to Birmingham University to do a Master’s degree in Nuclear Decommissioning and Waste Management. Georgia then went on to join Areva Risk Management Consulting as a Safety Consultant which she found a very friendly environment where she felt she could get involved and develop her skills. After two years, she then joined Corporate Risk Associates in London where she works on Nuclear safety cases and Periodic reviews of safety. For more information visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiapawson/ This was recorded prior to Georgia moving to PA Consulting

Arun Khuttan is an Engineer at Magnox Ltd, a member of the Next Generation Nuclear Industry Council and also the COP26 lead for the UK Nuclear Institute Young Generation Network. Arun grew up in Slough and went to Herschel Grammar School and now lives in Bristol with friends. He enjoyed sciences at school as well as music where he played an Indian instrument called the dhol. He then studied A-Levels in Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology to potentially go down the medical route, encouraged by his dad. Medical places being limited, Arun took a gap year where he worked as a Healthcare Assistant before deciding to go to University College London (UCL) to study Chemical Engineering. During his time at university Arun continued to work part-time as a healthcare assistant and then a sales assistant and laterally a M&S Operations Assistant. As part of his degree, Arun went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a private research university in Troy, New York on an exchange programme with UCL. While out there he volunteered on a design project building a solar powered hot water system for a village in Mexico before returning to UCL to complete a master’s degree in nuclear engineering. During his master’s Arun worked on a research project for a Waste Effluent Plant in Australia for four months and spent two weeks at the University of California, Berkeley on a nuclear innovation bootcamp. In 2016, Arun joined the NDA Nuclear Graduate Programme giving him an overview of the whole nuclear lifecycle before continuing his work with Magnox where he chairs their young person’s network to give young people a voice. For more information visit: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/arunkhuttan

Maggie Brown works with EDF UK at their Hinkley Point C site. She leads on Supplier Relationship Management and previously led their innovation programme. Maggie grew up in Ottawa Canada and now lives in Bristol with husband Sam and two-year old Mya. In 2003, Maggie studied for a BA in Political Science at Concordia University in Montreal. Following this period of study, she travelled across Australia, Asia, Mexico and Central America. Maggie then took the bold decision and moved to London to do her MSc in Political Sociology.   After her MSc, and a short-term position with Ringway Jacobs in London, she began a job with Amida Recruitment in 2012, with a focus on sustainability. Impressed by her work ethic, Maggie won the Rising Star Award in 2012. In 2013, Maggie decided to become an Independent Consultant and worked with clients like Mott MacDonald. In 2016, she started as an Innovation Coordinator at Crossrail and was promoted to Innovation Programme Migration Manager before making a move to EDF as an Innovation Manager where Maggie got involved with their new build project at Hinkley Point C project. Maggie is currently Commercial Lead-Supplier Relationship Management. When Maggie’s not too busy pushing the next generation of nuclear power stations into existence, in her spare time she likes to sail and also enjoys travelling, cooking and dancing. For more information visit: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/maggie-brown-61870a42

Callum Thomas is the founder and CEO of Thomas Thor Associates providing recruitment, executive search and consulting services to the global nuclear industry and major infrastructure projects. Callum is also Chairman of KeySource Global. He is also a co-founder with Monica Mwanje of Inclusion and Diversity in Nuclear which aims to support and enable the industry to achieve diversity and inclusion in their teams. Callum spent the first six years of his life in Brighton and then moved to grow up in a village called Cosgrove in Milton Keynes. He attended Akeley Wood School and then went to Royal Latin School in Buckingham studying A-levels in Business studies, Mathematics and Physics. He then went on to study Financial Studies at Bournemouth University in 1996. During his time at University, he ended up contracting severe meningitis which made the headlines in the local paper. He then went on to run a marathon for a meningitis charity (once recovered) and carried on running ever since. He currently lives in Amsterdam with his wife Analia and are soon to be parents.   In 1999, Callum became a Consultant - Recruiting for Contract Project/Programme Management, Business Analysis and Technical Consultant roles within the Financial Services and Public Sectors in the UK. From here, he became the Business Manager for Sthree. Building and managing teams of up to 20 consultants and team leaders to provide recruitment services to the IT, Financial Services and Public sectors, Callum later went on to become the director of the business. In 2009, Callum set up Thomas Thor Associates, having been inspired as a child, when he used to go his dad’s office at weekends, he had an ambition to have his own business from an early age.  Callum is also a on the Board of Panda Life Sciences and a member of the Next Generation UK’s Nuclear industry Council. In his spare time, Callum enjoys triathlon running, cycling, swimming and is looking for to travelling too. For more information visit: https://nl.linkedin.com/in/callumthomas

Fiona Reilly is Managing Director of FiRe Energy and a Strategic Advisory Board member of the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) and Non-Executive Director of Ansaldo Nuclear. Fiona grew up in a village called Reed in the Ribble Valley and went to school in Burnley. She now lives in Weighbridge. Fiona studied Law at university before completing a master’s level with International Business, Trade and Tax at The University of Manchester and qualified as lawyer in Lancashire.  Throwing herself in at the deep end, she joined Alstom as their Company Solicitor and Commercial Counsel reporting directly to the Commercial Director and to the Board before moving to Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, Associate where she worked for 15 years. During her career, Fiona has worked on some large nuclear cases, including advising on the proposed sale of UKAEA and advising International Nuclear Services on a number of politically sensitive issues relating to the storage and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and waste and MOX fuel. Fiona has also advised on the structuring, investment, financing and implementation of nuclear new build programmes not only in the UK but also in the Middle East and the Russian Federation. In 2018, at the request of BEIS, Fiona Chaired the Expert Finance Working Group on Small Reactors (EFWG to create the EFWG and develop the programme for the group. She led a series of meetings (hearing presentations from a number of potential vendors) including discussions on available finance and the risks associated with small nuclear. In conclusion she drafted and presented the report to Ministers. At the start of 2019, Fiona established FiRe Energy Limited to deliver advisory work to the energy and infrastructure industries providing strategic and project advisory services to a wide range of public and private sector stakeholders. For more information visit: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/fiona-reilly-1992975

Tom Greatex is a Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA). Tom was born in Ashford in Kent and grew up in Tunbridge Wells, attending a local grammar school. During his time at school, he learnt to question and challenge actions and has continued to so throughout his career. Tom now lives in in Oxfordshire near Culham and is married to Laura, with twin daughters Katie and Jessica. Tom went to university at London School of Economics (LSE) where he studied politics. Formerly MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, Tom was shadow energy minister from 2011 – 2015 and the opposition’s lead spokesman on nuclear energy, electricity market reform, smart grid and metering, carbon capture and storage, interconnection and both onshore and offshore oil and gas. Leading the scrutiny of the Energy Act and the Infrastructure Act in the last Parliament, he secured a number of amendments to the proposed legislation. He also served as a member of the Energy Select Committee from 2010 and from 2007-2010 was a policy adviser in the Scotland Office, including on energy. Since 2015, he has been an independent policy analyst working in the energy sector for a range of clients, a frequent media commentator on energy issues, and a regular columnist for Utility Week. In a varied prior career, he was Director of Corporate Affairs for the NHS in Scotland, a chief officer in local government and a GMB trade union official in England. In his spare time, Tom likes to watch his favourite team Fulham play football, spend valuable time with his family and enjoys watching films to relax from his busy life. For more information visit: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tomgreatrex

Nichola grew up in Warrington in Appleton and still lives in Warrington now with her husband Chris, son Harry and four dogs. Nichola thought that she wasn’t particularly academic at school and preferred art and drama. She went on to study Health & Social Care at College with the idea of becoming a Social Worker whilst working part time at British Telecom (BT) as a Sales Advisor. She then went on to work at BT full time and really enjoyed the money she was earning. Nichola then went on to become the Team Manager which enabled her to be able to fund buying her first house by the age of 18. This drove Nichola to want to progress further and applied for the role of Implementation Manager at Barclaycard where she was successful at getting the job. During her time at Barclaycard, Nichola was offered the opportunity to lead projects outsourcing companies in India which was a great experience for her. After a number of years of developing in Project Management Nichola then started working for The Co-operative Banking Group as a IT Programme Support Consultant and worked her way up to Project Manager. Nichola then went on to work for United Utilities as Portfolio Manager for three years. Nichola then joined National Nuclear Laboratory as Head of PMO and is now Head of Technology and Digital Change.   For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nichola-newton-19a5644b/

Julianne joined PA Consulting last year and is Global Head of Nuclear. She also sponsors the PA’s Women Networks and works with Women in Nuclear on their leadership programme. She lives in Southport with her husband David also known as ‘Mr A’ and two children Oliver and Lucy who are at primary school age - and has been doing plenty of home schooling with them! Julianne grew up in Levenshulme, Manchester and moved to Southport with her family to start a hotel business. She spent most of her youth living in a hotel where she learnt to work hard. She helped out with everything from pot cleaning, changing beds to serving at the bar. Julianne loves all music from Country music to Oasis and Take That. She played in St Johns Silver brass band for 10 years playing the fluegelhorn. She has even played at Albert hall and has appeared on television! Julianne attended Manchester University to study Environmental Science and Environmental Technology as she was fascinated by the world around us. During her time at University, she went overseas for 6 - 8months to New York to look at the pollution in places like Ontario. She has also been an Interim at the Environment Agency and then went on to become a graduate at BNFL working with Springfield Nuclear Fuels. Her next role at BNFL was working closely with the Chairman which meant she had to move to London. She left BNFL during the break-up of the industry and went on to work at Nuvia for four years in the Business Development side of the company. In 2009 she took on the Statutory Board position. Julianne then went on to work at Atkins as Business Development Director.

Mike lives in Preston with Wife Janet and his son and daughter who live nearby. He grew up in West Cumbria and lived in a small village Keekle in a single row of houses between Cleator Moor and Whitehaven. He went to Whitehaven Grammar School and then went on to West Cumbria College in 1976. Mike joined Calder Hall power station in 1975 when he was eighteen and spent much of his early career at Sellafield Ltd starting out as an Accountant. He joined Westinghouse in 2004 as the Director of Springfields Fuels Ltd. In 2010 he became Managing Director of Nuclear Power Delivery UK then Vice President of Westinghouse UK Fuel and Managing and finally CEO of Westinghouse UK. In 2013 he moved to The University of Sheffield as CEO of Nuclear AMRC. He was also a founder Board member of both the National Skills Academy for Nuclear and the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership. He is now the chair of NIRAB and a member of the UK Nuclear Industry Council.

Reuben grew up in Hawarth, Yorkshire and then moved to Cumbria before starting secondary school in Millom. Reuben enjoyed taking part in competitive sports when he was younger and particularly enjoyed tennis. He was also heavily involved in the Air Cadets and after four years at the Air Cadets he became the highest ranked cadet in his squadron. Reuben’s goal up until he was sixteen was to be a pilot, however due to his eyesight deteriorating, he went down the Chemistry route instead after being inspired by his enthusiastic chemistry teachers. Reuben went to St Andrew’s in Scotland to study Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry. He really enjoyed his time at university where he worked part time at the betting shop, Ladbrokes and joined the local darts club. After completing his masters degree, Reuben went on to work at British Sugar UK in the laboratory providing direct operational support. During his time at British Sugar UK, Reuben used the time to think about what he really wanted to do with his life and applied for a graduate scheme at Sellafield, where he ended up working in the Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing department as a Technical Specialist.   Reuben then moved on to work for the National Nuclear Laboratory as a Plant Chemist. Within just weeks of starting at NNL, his chemistry responsibilities became split with public engagement research on nuclear topics, so he developed a broad range of experience in both the technical as well as social aspect of nuclear. After working for NNL for five years, Reuben then decided to start a PhD at The University of Tokyo, Japan after deciding he wanted to gain more confidence in his technical ability and reasoning. For more information visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reuben-holmes-96748639/

Jack Gritt lives in Gloucestershire with her 2 dogs and is the founding member and former president of Women in Nuclear UK and still works as an advisor and is an executive board member of Women in Nuclear Global. She has 3 children who all live locally to her. In her early years she grew up in Buckinghamshire. She started out her journey by starting an apprenticeship in hairdressing and then at 18 she started her own beauty therapy business for a couple of years. She soon realised this wasn’t for her and then went on to start her first position at Berkeley Nuclear PowerStation as a General Duty Assistant – quite the opposite to her other job! This gave her a real taste for the nuclear industry and realised this was for her. She moved to working within the reactor, and after reading in to the nuclear industry, she realised she needed qualifications to work her way up. She then applied to do an HNC in Physics and Chemistry – the only female at Berkeley on site other than in the admin blocks. After that, she went on to study Mathematics, and is now a chartered Mathematician. Working her way up the grades at Magnox, she continued to work there for seven years. She then went on to work at Jacobs for over nine years. In total, she has 36 years’ experience in the nuclear industry, holding a number of positions including Executive Management, Director of Operations, Programme and Project Management, Transformation and Change Management, Safety Case Management and Performance and Quality. It was in the early years of her career that she formed a passion for encouraging people in the nuclear industry, especially women. She currently sits on the WiN Global Executive Board, is the UK representative on the WiN Global Board as well as retaining a role within WiN UK in a Non-Executive Director capacity. Through these roles Jack believes she can continue to build a future for the nuclear industry and create an environment where women can thrive in this exciting sector which offers endless opportunities.  Jack has championed women in the industry throughout her career, as well as working in her local community as a Councillor and School Governor. She has always had a keen focus on helping women to manage their work/ family balance, remain in employment whilst raising a family and to have the confidence to consider transferrable skills to explore new opportunities. This lifelong passion led her to becoming a founding member of WiN UK and is what continues to drive her commitment today. For more information visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-gritt-49962a2b/  

Clare Barlow lives in Preston with her husband Warren and daughter Hannah and is the HR Director and Board Member at the National Nuclear Laboratory. Clare grew up in Liverpool and really enjoyed school. She loved maths and went on to do maths A level. After leaving school, Clare decided against going to university and went on to work at CBS Batteries as an Accountancy Trainee where she made the most of all the opportunities that came her way. Clare then went back to study and get her degree in Business whilst balancing working at the same time. After moving around a few companies, in 1990 Clare started working for Kawneer where she eventually became Head of HR. After taking a step-down to learn more about the business side of her job, she had the opportunity to travel to many different countries and throughout these jobs, Clare had a mentor which she valued greatly, and she felt she learnt a great deal through this period.  Clare went on to have jobs in British Airways and BAE Systems where she was HR Director for almost ten years. To find out more about Clare visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarembarlow/

Andrew Sherry is Special Advisor UK's National Nuclear Laboratory and Research Professor at The University of Manchester. He lives in Manchester with his wife Sue and has two grown up daughters. Andrew grew up in South East London and went to school at Dulwich College. He really loved sports and music and wasn’t particularly academic during his time at school. After not getting the A level results he’d hoped for, Andrew was offered a place through clearing at The University of Manchester to study Metallurgy. Andrew really enjoyed his time at university and jumped at the chance when he was offered to do a PhD which he did on Single Crystal Superalloys. After completing his PhD, Andrew went on to work at UK Atomic Energy Authority for seventeen years and within his time at UKAEA Andrew began a Royal Society Industry Fellowship with the University of Manchester enabling him to do part time research whilst working for five years. This then led Andrew back into academia. Andrew became the Director at Dalton Nuclear Institute. It was here that Andrew was working on significant projects that impacted the whole country and he found the work very rewarding. Andrew then went on to work at National Nuclear Laboratory as a Chief Scientist. For more information visit: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ahsherry

Nassia Tzelepi was fascinated by science from a young age growing up in Greece.  It led her to read Molecular and Laser Physics at the University in Crete.  Her career journey took her from 40°C heat in Greece to horizontal rain in West Cumbria to work in the UK nuclear industry. Nassia talks about discovering her purpose and her inner desire see the positive impact of science in the real world; on energy and the environment. As a materials expert, Nassia shares her passion to contribute to a greater good, to something that is useful; the safe operation of nuclear reactors providing zero carbon power in the UK. Nassia is a Laboratory Fellow at the National Nuclear Laboratory. For more information visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nassia-tzelepi-7a3aa132/

Professor Gerry Thomas is Director of the Chernobyl Tissue Bank and Professor of Molecular Pathology at Imperial College London. She has an experienced career in research, including becoming a Research Associate at the Department of Pathology in the University of Wales, College of Medicine and then became an MRC Postdoctoral Scientist at the University of Wales after completing her PhD. Gerry grew up in Rugby and Leicestershire and now lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband Peter, who she met on her first day at University and two Jack Russel’s. To begin with, Gerry did her BSci (Hons) in Pharmacology at the University of Bath in 1978. She then went on to become a Research Associate at the Department of Pathology in the University of Wales College of Medicine and completed a PhD in clonality of thyroid-tumours. After her PhD Gerry went on to do more research as an MRC Postdoctoral Scientist at the University of Wales. After her post-doctorate, she adopted the role of Research Associate, and then Senior Research associate. In 2002, Gerry moved to Cambridge and then began lecturing at Swansea University. She then became the Scientific Director of Wales Cancer bank and on top of this, she also became a Clinical Director for the West London Genome Medicine Centre. Gerry was a designated individual for the Imperial College Human Tissue License, this was where she featured on Sky News to talk about the Fukushima disaster. She then went out to Japan many times to give her advice. Gerry is now part retired, but is still the Director of the Chernobyl Tissue bank. For more information visit: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/geraldine.thomas

Dame Sue Ion, is an independent expert and advisor on nuclear power. Sue initially started life in Carlisle before moving to Preston at the age of eight.  Sue went to  Penwortham Girls Grammar School where she enjoyed the science subjects and learnt things that weren’t in the syllabus in the science club. Her chemistry teacher introduced her to materials science, a mixture of physics and chemistry which explained while materials failed. Following this inspiration, it encouraged Sue to go to Imperial College, in London to study Materials Science. Sue found Imperial College a very different environment from an all-girls school to a mainly male environment and from being the top of a class to be with other very clever people. Sue stayed on to do a PhD. as she’d had a very supportive supervisor and knew all the technicians so realised this would help her complete her studies within three years. After university Sue went on to work for BNFL as a Technical Officer in the chemical engineering at Springfields. From here, Sue went to Sizewell B in the sales and marketing department to bid for fuel commercially before moving back to Springfields as their Head of Research and Development. In 1992, Sue was successful in being promoted to Executive Director of Technology. Sue is now a high-profile, independent advisor in nuclear providing expert advice.   Sue is a passionate advocate of women in science and engineering. She is strong supporter of increasing diversity of the nuclear workforce featured in the Nuclear Industry Strategy.

Robert is the Senior Strategic and Economic Advisor for the Nuclear Innovation Research office (NIRO) within the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Robert was born in Vancouver, Canada and now lives in Cumbria and is a qualified Sub-Aqua Ocean Diver and enjoys walking and cycling in his free time as well as volunteering. Robert enjoyed school and was always inquisitive, wanting to learn more, with a why and more mindset. He was inspired from the age of 14 by URENCO giving a talk at school on atoms, which made him decide to take the chemistry route in to nuclear. He studied at chemistry, maths and physics at A-Level before studying for a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry with Analytical Chemistry at Loughborough University. Robert’s first experience of industry was during a placement year where he worked at Croft Engineering Services. After university he started with NNL on the graduate programme in Chemical and Process Modelling Team before becoming a deputy technical lead Post Irradiation Examination. From here, Robert was seconded to NDA in 2019 to be a Technical Assistant to the NDA group Strategy and Technology Director, Adrian Simper. Robert currently works for NIRO. Robert has won the NNL IMPACT award for social responsibility and the YGN Young Excellence Prize. For more information visit: Robert Alford | LinkedIn

Suzy Hobbs Baker is co-founder of the Good Energy Collective. Suzy has experience in communications, with reference to advanced nuclear policy and governance and is committed to community-centred clean energy adoption.Suzy grew up in Tokyo then Atlanta Georgia before spending 10 years in western North Carolina. Suzy is now based in Washington DC with her husband Ted and two boys.She studied fine art at the Appalachian State University, where she became interested in Mel Chin, a conceptual visual artist motivated largely by political, cultural, and social circumstances. And, luckily for Suzy she was offered a year-long apprenticeship with Mel after university where she worked on a community-based project leveraging arts-integrated educational resources to teach kids in lead contaminated environments on how to stay safe from exposure.Using skills learnt from Mel, Suzy set up PopAtomic Studios and the Nuclear Literacy Project, a non-profit organisation. She had always had an interest in nuclear through her father working in the industry. She was really interested in the environment and how ‘we’ care for the world and how nuclear can play a role in this.Suzy then joined Idaho National Laboratory focusing on science public information working  on special projects.From here, Suzy then spent time in the United States Department of Energy in the Office for Nuclear Energy before spending three years with Third Way in the Clean Energy Programme as an advisor and visiting fellow.Suzy now works at the University of Michigan focusing on geospatial mapping and socio technical approaches to energy deployment.For more information on Good Energy Collective visit: www.goodenergycollective.org