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Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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August 2026
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The transformation of the NRC: 50 years of commissioners
The dust is beginning to settle following the whirlwind of changes at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over the past year, and 2025 ultimately may be viewed as a transformative year, as well as the year the NRC celebrated its golden anniversary. The 12 months of that milestone year brought more change to the agency in its composition, its mandate, and its relationship to the executive branch than any comparable period in the preceding four decades.
Now at 51 years and counting, the NRC is working with a full commission and issuing new rulemakings to both regulate and support the next round of nuclear deployments. With the turbulence of 2025 still fresh in our minds, Nuclear News decided it was a good time to revisit the professional backgrounds of all 42 NRC commissioners who have served over the agency’s 50-year history to see how the composition of the commission has evolved over time.
2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
Ms. Rachel Jacobson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 15, 2022, and sworn in as the 17th Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Army for Installations, Energy and Environment (ASA(IE&E)) on April 4, 2022.
As ASA (IE&E), she is the primary advisor to the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army for all matters related to Army installation policy and oversight, and coordination of energy security and management. In addition, she is responsible for policy and oversight of sustainability and environmental initiatives; resource management, including design, military construction, operations and maintenance; Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC); privatization of the Army real estate portfolio and installation Safety and Occupational Health programs.
Ms. Jacobson is an experienced environmental lawyer, having previously served at the Department of Defense during the Obama-Biden Administration as the Deputy General Counsel for Environment, Energy and Installations. Prior to joining DoD, Ms. Jacobson served as a political appointee at the Department of the Interior, first as Principal Deputy Solicitor and then as Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
Ms. Jacobson, who came to the Army position following five years in private practice at the law firm Wilmer Hale in Washington, D.C., spent the majority of her career as a trial lawyer and supervisor at the U.S. Department of Justice in the Environment and Natural Resources Division. She also ran a conservation program at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation before joining the Obama-Biden Administration.
Ms. Jacobson is a member of the bars of Illinois, D.C. and Massachusetts, and the American College of Environmental Lawyers. She received an undergraduate degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis, and a law degree from Boston University School of Law. A native of Chicago, Ms. Jacobson resides in Washington, D.C. ASA
Last modified November 6, 2024, 10:01am EST
