Deadline to Vote:

May 20, 2022 @ 11: 59 PM EST

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Register for Prize Here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2022NAYGN-BOD-elections-raffle

The Candidates

Matthew Mairinger

I have been with NAYGN since I was a wee lil’ ‘un in 2014. Started from the bottom now we here – I served my time in Durham as a member eventually moving onto Vice President for 2 years and then chapter president for another 2 years. I was elected to the NAYGN board as Canadian Operating Officer in 2018 and was re-elected in 2020. I’ve expanded the number of Canadian chapters and brought in new sponsorship from Canada and I want to help NAYGN grow. My specific goals are to solidify our identity – hosting our own national conference and having a major role in international climate conferences.

Professional Development Officer

The Professional Development Officer  is a two-year commitment and will be responsible for establishing and implementing the professional development program of the Corporation, including but not limited to:

• Supporting activities related to Annual Meeting and industry conferences.
• Providing professional development content to members through webinars, etc.
• Encouraging membership to participate in Professional Development opportunities offered by the industry.
• Provide content for the PD section of the website.

James Tyler Andrews

I was introduced to NAYGN in 2014 while interning at Duke Energy. My summer was filled with professional development lunch and learns, tours of nuclear plants, Brunswick Beach weekend, community service activities, and a brilliant regional conference. That summer was a formative experience in my life that led to my future involvement as a NAYGN site officer.

Shortly after graduating North Carolina State University with a bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering, I returned to Duke Energy as a Safety Analysis engineer and quickly became involved with my local chapter of NAYGN. Over several years, I served as the VP of Professional Development and the President of the Duke Energy-Charlotte site location. I later served as the Professional Development chair for all of Duke Energy NAYGN. Following my successful NAYGN career at Duke, I have served as the Carolinas Regional Lead for the past 2 years. From a core NAYGN perspective, I have participated in the Nuclear Energy Agency planning committee from 2019-2022.

The number of events I led, helped plan, or attended while a NAYGN officer are innumerable. However, the action that I am most proud of includes the five consecutive years that I have been involved in planning the NAYGN Carolinas Regional Conference (CRC). Known as the “CRC”, these conferences are the most impactful NAYGN event each year in the Carolinas region. These conferences typically involve all of the tenants of NAYGN (Professional Development/Knowledge Transfer & Retention, Public Information, Community Service, and Networking) and they consistently bring together a hundred or more members from all the chapters in the Carolinas region. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I successfully transitioned to planning virtual conferences that were very well received by the region in a time where many NAYGN activities were stagnating.

If elected as Professional Development Officer, I will uphold the tenets and core principles of NAYGN as I provide high quality PD content to our members both in person and virtual while striving to build a diverse, well-informed member base that is prepared to lead our nuclear future.

Ce’Nedra Darraghs

Hi NAYGN! My name is Ce’Nedra Darragh and I am the Nuclear Licensing Coordinator at Dominion Energy, Millstone Power Station, where I have worked for over 4 and a half years. I have my bachelors degree in English and my preferred pronouns are she/her. I would like to thank you all in advance for reading my message instead of watching a video. I was unable to film a video due to some medical challenges from long hauler COVID symptoms. It really does mean so much to me that you are taking the time to read what I have to say.

Some quick background for you! Like I mentioned earlier, I am the Nuclear Licensing Coordinator for Millstone. This role has given me unique opportunities to meet a lot of executives for Dominion, which has helped me build a strong network. In this role I always have to be adaptable and quick with problem solving. I manage 100+ operator licenses on site to make sure our plant is safely run, well within our Tech Specs. In my personal time, I am an event planner where I also love building my network with multiple different vendors and clients. Planning has always come naturally to me and although at times it can be stressful, the reward of a successful event is always worth the time. A few fun facts about me: I was born in a car, I was able to have a volleyball court built for our station, and I stream on Twitch. I hope you feel like you know me a little better now!

Within the first couple of months after being hired with Millstone I started hearing about a kickoff NAYGN meeting that Millstone was revitalizing. Being the giant extrovert that I am, it of course sparked my interest and I attended. At this meeting they immediately started asking for volunteers to be board members. They listed the descriptions for each role and asked who would like to volunteer. I volunteered as tribute for the Professional Development position which I held for about 2 years. Since then I have been the Chair for Millstone NAYGN and every day I am astonished with how far the Millstone Chapter has come and how much we accomplish as a team.

NAYGN has become a family to me. When I first started out in the industry I was welcomed into the organization with open arms and I was blessed to have immediate friends. Being a part of the Millstone Chapter has opened so many doors for me to participate in community service opportunities such as “Adopt a Family”, collecting donations for Ukraine, local food and homeless shelters. This organization has allowed me to share what I do with the schools in CT, to let students know what paths are out there for them, and encourage them that everyone’s path will look different and of course all of the benefits that nuclear has to offer. The Millstone Chapter also focuses heavily on professional development to ensure our members gain knowledge from our leaders on site. We have held a few lunch and lessons learned that we have opened up to the Dominion NAYGN Chapters, and we hope to be able to expand those nationally as webinars. We always send members to the Nuclear Energy Assembly which we have built in to our yearly budget and we recognize the importance of networking throughout the industry.

If I am elected as your Professional Development Officer, I intend to provide more webinars and key note speakers for NAYGN nationally. It will be my goal to provide more opportunities for our members to grow and develop into the careers that they want to have. Of course, with this takes time and organization, but I promise to give my best to open up doors for each of you. I would love to get to know the chapters one and one and see what areas they need help in. I have gotten so much out of being a member of NAYGN and I want to spread that wealth of knowledge so that you can benefit in the same ways! I want to be your Professional Development Officer so that I can encourage each of you that your goals are in reach, you just need a plan in place and the support to get there.

Nicholette De Freitas

 I was chosen to join the Nucleaders pilot program this year. I have almost completed the curriculum and have learned so much by joining that program. I currently work for Entergy as the Design Projects Engineering Corporate Scheduler. I currently hold our chapter chair for professional development. I plan on continuing my education this year in Industrial Engineering. I am married with two children. 

John Long

I am interested in the position of Professional Development Officer. I am interested in the position because, I have been fortunate enough to have a career path with people who led and developed me from a Nuclear Security Officer, Systems Operator, Reactor Operator, Senior Reactor Operator, and most recently a development opportunity as a Radiation Protection Supervisor. Now it is my turn to take that awesome experience and share it with my peers in the industry, while providing them opportunities to advance their professional and personal lives.

I currently serve as the chair of the First Line Supervisor Peer Group at my station, and I am always seeking ways to develop the next operator, technician, or engineer. I am currently attending Thomas Edison State University to obtain a degree in Nuclear Engineering Technology to further advance my career.

Elizabeth Rachel Smith

My life long exposure to the nuclear industry, through my father’s career and now my own, has shown me the value of nuclear power. That is why I am excited about the opportunity to work as the Professional Development Officer for North American Young Generation in Nuclear.

Professional development is something I am very passionate about and have planned engaging sessions with leaders in my company to pass on their expertise and knowledge. I believe it is important to learn from others who have different roles and responsibilities and have hosted departments on site to explain how their group contributes to the overall success of the organization and industry. The Grand Gulf Chapter has participated in the Professional Development Book Club several times and really enjoyed the information we learned and discussions it has promoted.

In each of my management and administrative positions, I used effective communication and procedural efficiency to enhance work productivity. I gather information for use in internal communications to inform others about what is happening as a department and site. I assemble meeting agendas, presentations, and action items for follow up communications.

As the Entergy NAYGN Fleet Vice President and Past President of the Grand Gulf Chapter, I am familiar with providing leadership and direction to NAYGN members. I have worked on several initiatives, helping to create a better understanding of nuclear through our Industry Shaping Events Series and building teamwork through our sitewide cookoff challenges that we hosted. I have learned a lot as part of the NAYGN Engagement Committee and look forward to the opportunity of working with the committees that support the Professional Development Officer.

Technology Officer

Robert Bradley Medlin

I have been around the Nuclear Industry for most of my life. My dad worked in nuclear for much of his 33-year career and I found it so fascinating I had to join. Currently, I run and manage, my bands website and socials PlomaDrive.com. I also manage the Email server for us as well in my spare time.

I feel like the technology officer should be managing the tech that NAYGN uses, of course, but also doing more. They ought to be seeking partners from sites and NAYGN chapters to go out and discover and communicate innovative technologies to the broader membership. This is what I tried to do as a NAYGN site leader. If this is something you would be interested in seeing, allow me to be your Technology officer. If not, maybe I am a little too ambitious for this role.

Hopefully, my desire to push and expand the functions is something you would all be interested in. I have a passion for technology and currently serve as my company’s high end computing tester. I have a will to push the boundaries and grow teams, all while providing as much mentorship to those that work for, and with, me.

Michael Smyth

I have been involved in NAYGN for 9 years. Starting as an entry level member looking for a free lunch, I slowly learned about all that NAYGN has to offer its members, our industry, and the world.

Having served as Chapter Lead for ENERCON’s largest chapter out of Kennesaw, GA, I was introduced to the role of the NAYGN Board of Directors through the monthly Chapter Lead meetings. I was thrust into the inner workings of NAYGN after attending the national conference that year. I saw the energy that the Board of Directors and other Chapter Leads had for the initiatives of NAYGN, and I wanted to be a part of it.

I joined the Benchmarking Committee and was a key contributor on the 2020 Career Survey team and now am leading that committee as we prepare the 2022 Career Survey. I became involved at the Southeast Region Level, was a part of multiple region initiatives, and spoke at the 2019 Southeast Regional Conference on the topic of Chapter Branding Best Practices. In 2021 I took over as Southeast Region Lead and spoke at our conference last year on the topic of the Role of NAYGN in Sparking Change in the Nuclear Industry.

While at ENERCON, I have helped our chapter and its members win multiple Excellence Awards and bolstered our chapter’s presence on the national stage in areas such as public information, community service, and networking culminating with winning Best Chapter in the Southeast Region for my last term as Chapter Lead. I am excited for the opportunity to grow the NAYGN organization and utilize my energy to advance its initiatives.

I believe my roles in NAYGN to this point have suited me well to elevate into the role of Technology Offer. I am excited for what I can bring to the role and the NAYGN Board of Directors. 

Canadian Operating Officer

Trevor York

After participating as an observer and learner in the nuclear sciences and industries from an economics perspective I’ve wanted to do more. I’ve always wanted to take more control over my studies and do something that interests me and nuclear science is one of those things. It’s the latest in mainstream energy technology to be developed and it always has that wow factor. I want to do this for the empowerment of Indigenous people, namely, the Anishinaabe. I think the Anishinaabe should have representation in the latest technology and power.

Just recently in 2021 I decided to get EdX certification in Nuclear Sciences, Laws, and Issues to complement my undergraduate economics and socio-legal degree. I also think the Anishinaabe deserve representation in space flight. One of my goals is to promote nuclear energy for space flight. I would like to promote nuclear energy from an environmental perspective, but also as a way to progress the development of civilization and humanity, from an Indigenous perspective.

In the past I’ve enjoyed representing a community and maintaining local relationships with people. I’ve done this representing others, my own self-made groups, and in local community politics. Over the past year in learning more about nuclear sciences and the industry I’m now looking to do more in participation and in Anishinaabe representation. Now is the time for more Indigenous representation in the nuclear sciences and industry, as we pursue true development of civilization and humanity!

Matthew Przybylowski

I am currently enrolled in the Engineering Physics and Management Co-Op program at McMaster University and have worked in various engineering roles within the Canadian nuclear industry. I plan on graduating from McMaster University in 2023. Once I graduate, I will continue to build on my career in the nuclear industry.

Since high school, I was certain that I wanted to pursue a career within the nuclear industry. However, I never really grasped how I would make that dream a reality. That was until I had my first experience with NAYGN. I met some local chapter representatives at a career fair back in the fall of 2018. Through this interaction I was inspired and empowered to join my universities chapter that was just starting. I immediately took on a leadership role and joined the executive team as the communications lead. In this role I built the voice of NAYGN at McMaster from the ground up promoting events, planning recruitment initiatives, and developing community outreach initiatives. From that role I transitioned into a senior leadership position as the President of the McMaster Chapter. I lead the continued expansion of our chapters reach and helped increase the quality of our events year over year. In just 3 years, our chapter grew from a 15-person membership base to over 150 students with event turnout averaging 50 people.

I have seen firsthand the power that NAYGN has in connecting young professionals, empowering them, and making a difference in their careers. It is the reason why I continue to pursue higher levels of leadership in the organization. I want to be able to provide other young professionals with the opportunities that were offered to me when I was that naïve second year student just trying to make my way through what seemed to be a confusing industry. Since moving away from my involvement of President at the McMaster Chapter, I took on the role of Canadian Regional Lead in the summer of 2021. In this role, alongside the current Canadian Operating Officer Matthew Mairinger, I have successfully managed the operation of the Canadian chapters through monthly meetings. I also put on our first ever in-person regional conference in the winter of December 2021 while navigating the extremely unpredictable nature of the Covid-19 pandemic.

We have been able to continue to grow the NAYGN presence within the Canadian nuclear industry. We have strong ties with many organizations here in Canada that have been shown the value that NAYGN offers. In the Canadian Operating Officer role. I would like to continue to build on this momentum. I will continue to strengthen strategic relationships with other organizations. I will stimulate the growth of chapters within Canada. I will help build on the extreme success we’ve seen with new university chapters. I will ensure that the Canadian nuclear industry is heard within our community and that our chapters provide their communities with the outreach necessary for individuals to make well informed opinions. Most importantly, I will ensure that every young professional seeking a career in the Canadian nuclear industry will have the support they need to build their network, develop professionally, and grow within our amazing industry.

Treasurer

Brian Holman

I am currently a Senior Engineer in the Nuclear Fuels and Analysis department at Entergy, and I’ve been with the company almost ten years now. I have worked with spent fuel and neutron absorber material management and my current role is the River Bend reload lead.

I’ve been involved with NAYGN since I started in nuclear, taking a position as the Vice Chair of the Echelon chapter for many years, until moving into the Chair position. After a few years in the Chair position, I moved into the Fleet President role last year, where I owned the NAYGN budget and presented a budget request for the regional conference we are hosting in 2022. I am a member of the awards committee and hope to serve NAYGN further in the coming years.

I expect to obtain an MBA degree in May, and those who know me know I am passionate about finance in addition to nuclear power. In my role as Fleet President, I have gained experience in corporate budgeting and tracking expenses made by the various Entergy NAYGN chapters. I also like to automate tasks and make improvements to whatever I do. With this experience, I believe I would naturally fit into the role of Treasurer and be able to give back to the organization that has given so much to me over the years.

Chason Zacher

I have been actively involved in NAYGN since I began my career in nuclear power 7 years ago. While at LaSalle Station I saw what a large impact could be made from this organization. We were actively involved in the community and educating about nuclear power. In addition I was able to meet others in different aspects of the business and grow as a nuclear professional. Two years ago when I joined PSEG I knew I wanted to get more involved with the local NAYGN and was afforded the opportunity to become Vice Chair. During my tenure I reestablished monthly member meetings in a virtual environment and drove a 200% increase in member participation. I am looking forward to another wonderful year as Chair of my local chapter and would like to get more involved on the national level.

I have a bachelors in math and have taken finance and economics classes as part of my masters degree. I have held treasurer roles in organizations in my past including my fraternal organization in college.

After voting, make sure to input your information to be registered to win a $100 Amazon gift card! Two gift cards will be given out.

Register for Prize Here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2022NAYGN-BOD-elections-raffle