Under Secretary Dabbar visits Portsmouth D&D project; EM Assistant Secretary White discusses EM's path forward; EM employees among recipients of Energy Secretary’s Achievement Award; and much more!

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EM Update | Vol. 10, Issue 35 | Sept. 4, 2018

Under Secretary Dabbar Visits Portsmouth D&D Project
Assistant Secretary White Charts Vigorous Path for EM
EM Employees Among Recipients of Energy Secretary’s Achievement Award
New Program Enables Students to Learn From Retired SRNL Professionals
Interns Learn About EM’s Progress, Consider Future Cleanup Careers
Oak Ridge’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center Receives Top DOE Safety Award
SRS Saves Taxpayer Dollars by Recycling Asphalt for Site Roads
Hanford Employee Receives Junior Achievement Volunteer of the Year Award

Under Secretary Dabbar Visits Portsmouth D&D Project

EM Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office's Johnny Reising, right, discusses progress on construction of the Portsmouth Site's Onsite Waste Disposal Facility with Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar from the facility's observation tower.

PIKE COUNTY, Ohio – DOE Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar visited the Portsmouth Site last week to learn more about EM’s cleanup at the former uranium enrichment plant.

Dabbar’s tour began at the 80-acre property recently transferred to the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative, the regional community reuse organization, for economic development. Reindustrialization at the Portsmouth Site kicked off with the property transfer in July.

Dabbar viewed deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) of the massive uranium enrichment process buildings, including the X-333 Building in the initial stages of deactivation and the X-326 Building in the completion stage of deactivation.

J.D. Chiou of Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth, right, details features of the Onsite Waste Disposal Facility's liner system for Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar.

From an observation tower, Dabbar saw progress on the construction of the Onsite Waste Disposal Facility, designed to safely contain waste and construction debris from demolition of the process buildings and plant facilities. The cell is scheduled for first waste placement in fiscal year 2021 with demolition debris from the X-326 process building.

“It is a unique opportunity to visibly see how critical the integrated sequencing of the cleanup activities are to the success of EM’s mission,” said Joel Bradburne, deputy manager of EM’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office and acting Portsmouth Site lead.

The tour continued at the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) Conversion Facility, one of two plants processing the coproduct of the uranium enrichment process. The conversion process results in the more stable compound of uranium oxide for reuse or disposal, and hydrofluoric acid for recycling to industrial use. The visit concluded with a tour of the American Centrifuge Project facilities.

Assistant Secretary White Charts Vigorous Path for EM

EM Assistant Secretary Anne White

EM Update recently spoke with EM Assistant Secretary Anne White about her early tenure as head of the DOE cleanup program and her vision for EM and achieving progress through action going forward.

You’re now about five months in as Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management. Have you developed a vision for where you want to take the EM program during your tenure, and how can that be implemented?

When I was fortunate enough to be nominated and confirmed as Assistant Secretary, I took a long, hard look at this program. I’m no stranger to EM --- I’ve spent most of my career as a cleanup contractor, and my experiences in industry have shaped my philosophies for how I intend to lead this program.

While I have a number of initiatives my leadership team and I are working to implement, I would say I have one overarching goal --- to fundamentally refocus the trajectory of the EM program in a meaningful and lasting way. As I’ve said on a number of occasions, I want to reinvigorate the sense of urgency and the completion mindset in EM that helped propel this program to some of its greatest successes, like the successful cleanups of Rocky Flats, Fernald, Mound and the former gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment plants at Oak Ridge. I believe that is at the core of being able to make meaningful, discrete and tangible progress in accomplishing our important mission.

I am grateful for the strong support of Secretary Perry and senior DOE leadership to help drive this culture change throughout EM. They have a great vision and a tremendous spirit to get work done at our sites, and I intend to capitalize on that to achieve a clarity of purpose to complete site closures in the near-term, as well as those that extend far into the future.

What are your plans over the near-term to help foster this culture change?

One of our major initiatives is to improve how we compete and manage our contracts, including a shift to end-state contracting to enable and drive the accelerated completion of work. We have billions of dollars in procurements coming up at some of our largest sites over the next few years, and I think this represents a significant opportunity to shift our focus toward completion and getting our sites to their intended end use faster.

By moving to end-state contracting, we will have the opportunity to enable our contractors, who represent the best of American industry, to get the job done without undue micromanagement. I want to focus on a “manage the contract/not the contractor” approach, with appropriate and effective federal oversight. I will demand strong performance from our contractors and expect them to bring their “A game”, and their “A teams,” to our work. At the same time, I will ensure we create an environment where success is possible.

I also want to find new and innovative ways that we can perform the EM mission to allow us to maximize the resources we have and achieve real and tangible reductions in environmental risk and liabilities. I want to work with our regulators to ensure that our commitments reflect attainable outcomes tied to risk-based analyses and future land use. I believe there are opportunities to examine how we can better manage our waste, such as reprocessing waste that represents one of our toughest challenges, and I expect progress on that front very soon. And I want to see how we can drive down the operating and maintenance costs for our facilities, which takes up a significant portion of our annual budget, and utilize that funding to perform actual cleanup work.

How would you say your experience and career in the field have influenced your approach for leading EM?

Over the past 25 years I worked in almost every capacity of decommissioning and environmental restoration, from commercial to governmental to international. I know this is a program that’s capable of achieving big things --- I’ve seen it. I also can appreciate the complex technical challenges that we continue to address.

I began my career performing physical cleanup work – I’ve “suited up” -- so I gained first-hand knowledge and appreciation of what it’s like working in the field day in and day out. I have a deep appreciation for the risks our talented workforce face and that is something I keep in my mind each day. The safety of our workforce, and the public near our sites, is paramount to me and to senior DOE leadership.

During your tenure to date, you’ve had the opportunity to visit most EM sites. What have you brought back from those visits?

It’s been great to get out into the field and get a first-hand look at the progress we’re making and learn more about our remaining challenges. The best part has been the opportunities to meet with the dedicated and talented men and women who are working each and every day to get the job done, including the early career professionals at many of our sites, who represent the future of our success. I love having the opportunity to talk shop!

The EM workforce --- federal and contractor --- deserves the highest respect and consideration. One of my main duties is to tear down the barriers to their success, and I want to work to best optimize our workforce for continued excellence. My leadership team and I want to instill a “see something, say something” attitude when it comes to driving change. I know that those closest to the job can often have the best ideas for how to safely and efficiently perform the mission, and we want to make sure we are providing those carrying out our mission with all of the tools they need for success.

EM Employees Among Recipients of Energy Secretary’s Achievement Award

Energy Secretary Rick Perry honors the 2017 Hurricane Response Team with the Secretary of Energy Achievement Award.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The 2017 Hurricane Response Team — comprised of hundreds of DOE employees and contractors, many from EM — was honored with the Secretary of Energy’s Achievement Award last week.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be selected for the Secretary of Energy’s Achievement Award,” said Ethan Brackenbury, who works as a cost estimator at EM’s Office of River Protection (ORP). “The work done with the Federal Emergency Management Agency was humbling and rewarding, and it made me truly appreciate the many blessings in my own life.”

The award honors DOE employees and contractors who provided outstanding support to federal emergency response efforts in 2017, including the hurricane season. Team members were recognized for their dedication and exemplary service in helping the nation recover from energy disruption emergencies.

The EM team members came from EM headquarters; ORP and Richland Operations Office at the Hanford Site in Washington state; Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina; and Carlsbad Field Office in New Mexico.

EM Program Analyst Crystal Williams and EM Technology Development Office Program and Project Manager Jean Pabón hold the Secretary of Energy’s Achievement Award for the 2017 Hurricane Response Team.

Crystal Williams, an EM program analyst, helped address damage from Hurricane Irma in Miami.

“When I heard about the devastation caused by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, I felt compelled to participate in any way that might provide some relief,” Williams said. “A variety of organizations, backgrounds, and experiences came together and put differences aside to focus on the mission. Some wonderful accomplishments came from that unity and there was a lot of hope in that for me.”

EM Technology Development Office Program and Project Manager Jean Pabón helped with recovery in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. He said he would return to the island “in a heartbeat” to continue the work.

“The need in the island continues,” Pabón said. “There were many people without electrical service, communications were not stable, water wasn’t available, and many still do not have a homes and are living in shelters. There is a lot of debris that needs to be removed.”

To read more about the 2017 Hurricane Response Team’s Achievement Award, view the full list of team members, and read about other awards given by the Secretary, click here.

New Program Enables Students to Learn From Retired SRNL Professionals

Dr. Vahid Majidi, director of the Savannah River National Laboratory, and Dr. Sandra J. Jordan, chancellor of the University of South Carolina Aiken, sign a memorandum of understanding establishing an affiliate program between the laboratory and the university at a September 4 event.

AIKEN, S.C. – EM’s Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and the University of South Carolina Aiken (USCA) have agreed to create a collegiate affiliate program in which retired laboratory professionals enhance student learning.

SRNL Laboratory Director Dr. Vahid Majidi and USCA Chancellor Dr. Sandra J. Jordan signed a memorandum of understanding Sept. 4 at USCA to establish the program.

The program provides two ways for retired SRNL professionals to collaborate with USCA faculty, staff, students, and the community:

Faculty affiliates are qualified lab retirees who teach college-level courses.
University affiliates are retirees who mentor young scientists, act as career counselors to science majors, connect students with internships, give guest lectures in classes, assist with Ruth Patrick Science Education Center programs, and more.

“We have a long history of collaborating with USC Aiken to strengthen the science and technology education at the university and expand the opportunities for students who may find future employment at our lab,” Majidi said. “We have a number of lab alumni whose expertise can be a valuable resource for the university, and we look forward to seeing this turn into an opportunity that strengthens STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education at USCA.”

Jordan said the partnership allows USCA to augment and complement its work with the talents and knowledge of SRNL employees.

“The program will bring retiring SRNL scientists and engineers to our campus to enrich the educational opportunities of students,” Jordan said.

The program is being supported with a $105,000 grant from Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), which manages SRNL. SRNS is the Savannah River Site management and operations contractor.

Part of that funding will go to renovating space in USCA’s Gregg-Graniteville Library to serve as an office for the participants. The funds will also be used to establish a training workshop and help provide salaries for faculty affiliates who teach courses, as well as general management and marketing support for the program.

Interns Learn About EM’s Progress, Consider Future Cleanup Careers

Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) summer interns assemble during their Hanford Site tour in June. The group visited the Cold Test Facility, a test site for new and innovative technologies used to safely remove radioactive and chemical waste from Hanford’s 177 underground storage tanks. The tour also included stops at two other WRPS-managed facilities — the 222-S Laboratory and the 242-A Evaporator.

Hundreds of college students and graduates arrived at sites across the DOE complex this summer for internships to gain hands-on job experience and contribute to EM’s cleanup mission.

More than 100 of them were at the Hanford Site. To get acquainted with their workplace — EM’s largest cleanup project with more than 9,000 workers — the interns participated in a tour of the 580-square-mile site.

"Touring the Hanford Site was a great way to begin the summer, and it gave me a better sense of how the work I do and see in communications connects to the cleanup mission," EM Richland Operations Office (RL) intern Chandler Bethley said.

Interns from the Richland Operations Office and Office of River Protection visit the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility, the Hanford Site’s engineered landfill, during their July tour.

Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), Hanford’s tank operations contractor, hosted college sophomores, juniors, seniors, and recent graduates. Many of them focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, but others worked in business programs, such as internal auditing, human resources, and project management.

“Working an internship at Hanford gives students experience in their field of study, while preparing them to enter the workforce, whether that’s here at Hanford or elsewhere in the community,” RL’s Santos Ortega said.

During their tours, the interns were briefed on cleanup activities in Hanford’s 300 Area, current work on the 324 Building Project, and the sludge removal project at the 100 K West reactor.

Interns from Richland Operations Office cleanup contractor CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company visit the K Basin Sludge Removal Project at the K West reactor in June.

Interns from site services contractor Mission Support Alliance toured the Hanford Site in July.

In addition to learning about the site’s history and current cleanup challenges, the interns saw firsthand what Hanford’s future will hold.

“Everything you’ve seen today gives you a glimpse of the remaining work ahead. If you choose to continue your career at Hanford, the challenges that need to be solved will become your accomplishments,” said Brian Von Bargen, vice president for site services and interface management at Mission Support Alliance, RL’s site services contractor.

Summer interns took a trip 2,150 feet underground at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s (WIPP) 13 interns worked across the site, from Rad Control to Work Control and in five other departments. For a couple of the engineering students, the summer cemented their interest in contributing to WIPP’s mission in their careers.

Ben Batchelder and Alyssa Hendren graduated this spring and now work for Nuclear Waste Partnership, WIPP’s management and operations contractor. Both returned to the same departments where they spent the summer — Batchelder in Engineering and Hendren in the Central Characterization Program.

Batchelder worked on a variety of systems at WIPP over more than one summer and decided to pursue a career at the site because he found the work to be interesting. This spring, he received his mechanical engineering degree from the New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology.

He said the internship program provided a good foundation for him as he worked on a final-year college design project and served as a great link between the academic and working worlds.

“It really helped me learn how to write so that everyone at the site could understand,” he said of working with his mentor to translate engineer speak. “It’s so important to be able to get across what you need to.”

For Hendren, meeting employees through her internship was important in her decision to use her chemical engineering degree from New Mexico State University at WIPP.

“It was the atmosphere and the people,” she said. “They’re all very friendly.”

Much of Hendren's work at WIPP was directly tied in with new waste characterization requirements, including chemical compatibility evaluations, put in place since 2014.

She said any student with an interest in environmental management would benefit from an internship at WIPP.

Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth (FBP) welcomed new college interns this summer with a site tour. FBP’s Dr. J.D. Chiou, left, provides an overview of the OnSite Waste Disposal Facility under construction at the Portsmouth Site.

This summer, 50 interns worked with EM’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office. Thirty-nine of them joined cleanup contractor Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth at the former gaseous diffusion plant near Piketon, Ohio. At its sister site at Paducah, Kentucky, nine interns worked with EM’s deactivation and remediation contractor, Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, and two of them assisted infrastructure support services contractor Swift & Staley.

The students spent 10 to 12 weeks working in fields ranging from business services to regulatory planning to nuclear safety and engineering.

Emma Edwards, a mechanical engineering junior from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, said she was interested in a Portsmouth Site internship because she “wanted to see how the knowledge gained from school applies in the real world, and to learn more about the history and current operation of the plant.”

The interns also participated in learning sessions, networking, and community service.

Supporting a Paducah Site community service outreach, college interns, left to right, Alex Montgomery, Evan Green, John DeNeve, Kristin Atkins, and Logan Mitchell load supplies donated by the annual Feds Feed Families food drive for a western Kentucky charity.

Senior Logan Mitchell, a business administration major from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, said he returned to the Paducah Site for a second summer to continue honing his professional skills and expanding his network.

“The DOE program included a lot of speakers, and our mentors were devoted to helping us grow,” Mitchell said. “I wanted another opportunity to learn from them.”

EM Technology Development Office Program and Project Manager Jean Pabón, front row, second from left, joins student interns from Florida International University (FIU), University of Texas-Austin (UT), and University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) in front of the Savannah River Site's P Reactor. Front row, left to right: Joshua Nunez of FIU, Pabón, Michael DiBono of FIU, Connor McMahon of UT, Silvia Garcia and Ximena Lugo of FIU, and Christopher Suarez of UT. Back row, left to right: Alejandro Koszarycz of FIU and Julian Benitez of UPRM.

DOE Fellows from Florida International University (FIU) interned at sites throughout the complex, including DOE headquarters in Washington, D.C., the Hanford site, and the Savannah River, Pacific Northwest, and Los Alamos national laboratories. The 17 FIU STEM students are part of the EM–FIU Science & Technology Workforce Development Initiative.

Florida International University DOE Fellows at DOE headquarters in Washington, D.C., left to right, Michael DiBono, Christopher Excellent, Joshua Nunez, and Juan Morales.

Florida International University DOE Fellows Joseph Coverston and Clarice Davila interning at EM’s Hanford Site.

The FIU students addressed cleanup challenges and supported technology deployments, including the recent RadPiper robot demonstration at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

“Witnessing the results of our research being applied in a real world environment was a rewarding experience,” intern Tristan Simoes-Ponce said. “Seeing the onsite demonstration firsthand highlighted the operational difficulties of deploying environmental technologies in the field.

Florida International University DOE Fellow Silvina Di Pietro performs soil and groundwater experiments at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Intern Silvina Di Pietro helped Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) scientists with experiments involving contaminated Hanford Site soils.

“Interacting with the professionals in my field was the best part of my internship experience,” Di Pietro said. “Working alongside geochemists at PNNL increased my professional knowledge on the research I am performing. Their invaluable input, suggestions on how to improve my experiments, teaching, and collaboration allowed for my professional growth. This, in turn, allowed me to become a better scientist because I emulate their thinking.”

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions interns gather for a photo during a reception this summer where they talked with Savannah River Site executives and other site employees.

Nearly 170 students from dozens of colleges and universities gained professional experience while contributing new ideas during internships this summer with EM’s Savannah River Site (SRS) management and operations contractor and the Savannah River National Laboratory.

"Our reputation on college campuses throughout the U.S. is definitely growing," Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) Intern Coordinator Nate Diakun said.

Student interns came to SRS from 17 states and U.S. territories including California, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Puerto Rico.

SRNS engineering intern Magdalina Hansen of Clemson University said her assigned tasks have added to her skillset.

“It involves using a computer-aided design program to help design stretch-wrap covers for radioactive containers stored in K Area,” she said. “I highly value this experience and the opportunity to work with people who are in the occupational field I'm pursuing.”

Current and former interns accepted 90 percent of SRNS job offers in 2017, up from 83 percent a year prior, according to Diakun.

Savannah River Remediation (SRR) labor relations summer intern Mikhaela Kelson (right) oversaw the onboarding paperwork process with newly hired SRR Construction Laborer Sherlaine Flournoy.

Savannah River Remediation (SRR), EM’s SRS liquid waste contractor, hosted 37 students in its summer internship program. They worked in areas ranging from engineering to law to communications.

Mikhaela Kelson is pursuing her master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in human resources at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. She worked as a labor relations intern with SRR this summer.

“I chose HR because it allows me to take what I’ve learned from my background in sociology and apply it to real life situations,” said Kelson. “I figured out how to incorporate both of my college degrees into one career field in labor relations and human resources.”

-Contributors: Leonel Lagos, Jason Lovins, Mark McKenna, Brad Mitzelfelt, Dylan Nichols, Victoria Parker, Kelly Rae

Oak Ridge’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center Receives Top DOE Safety Award

Oak Ridge officials stand with the DOE Voluntary Protection Program Star Site Award. Left to right, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) Oak Ridge National Laboratory Portfolio Federal Project Director Bill McMillan; North Wind Solutions President John Bukowski; Transuranic Waste Processing Center Project Manager Linda Beach; and OREM Operations Management Division Director Larry Perkins.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Employees at Oak Ridge’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center (TWPC) received the DOE Voluntary Protection Program’s (VPP) distinguished Superior Star Award on Aug. 30.

TWPC is operated by EM contractor North Wind Solutions. Contractors whose programs meet the highest requirements for outstanding safety and health programs receive recognition from the VPP safety program.

Earlier this month, employees at the site gathered to celebrate completing a year of safe shipments to EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. A couple of weeks later, they again assembled to be recognized for their commitment to safety in all aspects of their operations.

“We are very proud of the men and women whose work helped the project obtain DOE’s highest safety award,” said Larry Perkins, director of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management’s operations management division. “At TWPC, they work daily with sensitive and potentially hazardous materials, and this achievement is a reflection of their emphasis on safety and maintaining a robust safety culture.”

Employees from the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and North Wind Solutions hold a flag that will hang at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center.

A VPP Star site of nine years, TWPC consistently meets safety and health goals and has an injury and illness rate significantly below the average of similar entities.

“We are pleased that the workers’ commitment to safety, their active involvement in work planning and hazard analysis, and their willingness to identify improvements and raise questions was evident to the VPP review team,” said Linda Beach, TWPC project manager.

VPP began in 1994 to promote improved safety and health performance through publically recognizing outstanding programs. Since that time, DOE has seen improved labor and management relations, reduced workplace injuries and illnesses, increased employee involvement, improved morale, and reduced absenteeism at participating sites.

-Contributor: Ben Williams

SRS Saves Taxpayer Dollars by Recycling Asphalt for Site Roads

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions Subcontract Technical Representative Wayne Cadden, right, monitors crews as they resurface cracked, aging roads across the Savannah River Site.

AIKEN, S.C. – Workers are repurposing thousands of tons of asphalt milled up from decades-old roads to resurface well-traveled gravel site arteries, avoiding the high costs of new pavement and disposal.

The 310-square-mile Savannah River Site (SRS) has over 2,000 miles of roads. Workers with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the site’s management and operations contractor, recently milled asphalt from two of the site’s most traveled roads and repaved them — the first site roads of significant length to be resurfaced since the 1990s.

In milling, crews use special machinery to remove cracked and aged asphalt to ensure a good foundation for the new surface.

"I always compare asphalt millings to gold," SRNS Engineer Richard Swygert said. "At what first appears to be waste material can serve a valuable purpose elsewhere."

Swygert said milled asphalt costs about $25 a ton while new asphalt can cost as much as $110 a ton.

“Repurposing the milled asphalt versus paving secondary roads onsite is highly cost effective," he said.

Swygert said past practice called for placing a paving fabric between two layers of the pavement to prevent cracks. However, he noted that the high cost of that fabric — it’s almost as much as a new asphalt surface — prompted a search for a less expensive alternative.

"Discussions with our local contractor about this cost issue resulted in a cost avoidance of $68,000 by placing an open-graded layer of asphalt between the old and new pavement instead of the geosynthetic fabric," Swygert said. "This coarse asphalt creates a surprisingly strong, yet flexible, long-term buffer, serving as a much less expensive and highly effective way to protect our new road surface."

Orangeburg County, South Carolina has received 7,000 tons of SRS millings through the SRS Community Reuse Organization. Miles of roads can be upgraded with this recycled material.

-Contributor: DT Townsend

Hanford Employee Receives Junior Achievement Volunteer of the Year Award

Nathan Morgan, a Washington River Protection Solutions project controls manager, stands with Junior Achievement regional director Susan Fillafer.

RICHLAND, Wash. – A Hanford cleanup contractor employee was recently named the Junior Achievement (JA) of Washington Southeastern Region’s 2017-18 Volunteer of the Year.

Nathan Morgan, a Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) employee at the Hanford Site, received the award, one of the highest honors given annually by the regional organization to a local volunteer. WRPS is the tank farms contractor for EM’s Office of River Protection.

Morgan, a WRPS employee of 10 years, began volunteering for JA 15 years ago when he joined a team for an annual bowling fundraiser. That experience piqued his interest in the organization, and he became a classroom volunteer. Since then, he has served as a board member, chaired the organization’s strategic planning efforts, and led a major regional business competition for high school students.

“Nathan is a visionary leader, and we are fortunate to have him in our JA family. He’s an inspiration to the students he works with and to everyone around him,” said Susan Fillafer, the JA regional director.

JA is the world's largest non-profit economic education organization, reaching more than four million students in the U.S. each year.

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