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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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September 2025
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August 2025
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From operator to entrepreneur: David Garcia applies outage management lessons
David Garcia
If ComEd’s Zion plant in northern Illinois hadn’t closed in 1998, David Garcia might still be there, where he got his start in nuclear power as an operator at age 24.
But in his ninth year working there, Zion closed, and Garcia moved on to a series of new roles—including at Wisconsin’s Point Beach plant, the corporate offices of Minnesota’s Xcel Energy, and on the supplier side at PaR Nuclear—into an on-the-job education that he augmented with degrees in business and divinity that he sought later in life.
Garcia started his own company—Waymaker Resource Group—in 2014. Recently, Waymaker has been supporting Holtec’s restart project at the Palisades plant with staffing and analysis. Palisades sits almost exactly due east of the fully decommissioned Zion site on the other side of Lake Michigan and is poised to operate again after what amounts to an extended outage of more than three years. Holtec also plans to build more reactors at the same site.
For Garcia, the takeaway is clear: “This industry is not going away. Nuclear power and the adjacent industries that support nuclear power—and clean energy, period—are going to be needed for decades upon decades.”
In July, Garcia talked with Nuclear News staff writer Susan Gallier about his career and what he has learned about running successful outages and other projects.
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
Dr. Erin Henderson has served as the Director, Nuclear Development Acceleration in Microsoft’s Data Center R&D team since December 2023. In this role, Henderson is focused on efforts to accelerate the use of small modular reactors and microreactors to power Microsoft’s future energy needs.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Henderson spent over 17 years in leadership roles in the U.S. power industry at PSEG and Tennessee Valley Authority. She has diverse leadership experience in the energy industry, spanning power operations, transmission projects, chemistry, environmental, and nuclear regulatory/policy. Henderson has served as the Director of Regulatory Affairs, Director of Plant Support, and most recently as the General Manager of Transmission Projects where she led a large organization of project professionals responsible for delivering transmission solutions for the largest public power provider in the US.
Henderson has a PhD in Performance Psychology (PhD), a MBA, and a Bachelors in Biochemistry. She also holds Project Management and Senior Nuclear Plant Reactor Operator Certifications. She was an inaugural member of the WIN Executive program. She also serves on the board of the Ronald McDonald House. Dr. Henderson resides in Chattanooga, TN with her husband, Michael, and daughters, Alaina (18), and Kallie (15).
Last modified July 26, 2024, 11:41am EDT
