Commencement Speaker

Elizabeth Sellers (Idaho Falls Center Commencement Guest Speaker) Manager of the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho Operations Office. Ms. Sellers is directly responsible for 300 federal employees and has oversight of 6,500 contractor employees. The Idaho Operations Office is a multi-program lab involved in nuclear energy research, national security, environmental restoration technology dvelopmetn and application, and basic science research and development. Before accepting her current position in Idaho, she served as the manager of the U.S. Departmetn of Enerty's National Nuclear Security Administration's Kansas City Site Office. Elizabeth has been recognized as a key leader who promotes innovative concepts and accoutability for federal and contractor performance.

Ms. Sellers joined the Department of Energy (DOE) in 1983 as a program engineer for nuclear materials production in Albuquerque, New Mexico quickly becoming responsible for all nuclear materials requirements within the DOE complex. in 1986, she served as a program engineer in teh Weapon Programs Division where she worked on privatizing parachute production and the B90 research adn development program. By 1989 she ahd moved to the Uranium Mill Tailings and Remedial Action Project as the Environment, Safety and Health manager. During her tenure she initiated several new waste policies before being promoted to team leader in the Environmental Restoration roject Office. In that post she was responsible for creating and institutionalizing the environmental management cleanup at four production facilities. In 1995 she became the direcor fo the Spent Nuclear Fuel Project at Richland Operations Office. This first-of-a-kind, $1.6 billion project is the largest cleanup project ever performed under CERCLA by a federal agency.

Ms. Sellers holda Bachelors of Science degree in chemiccal engineering from the University of New Mexico and a Bachlors of Arts degree in English from the University of Alabama. She has served on the board of directors and as president of the New Mexico Network of Womein in Science and Engineering. She also completed a three-year Leadership in Training currculum through the Department of Energy.