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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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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.
2022 ANS Winter Meeting and Technology Expo Speaker
The Honorable Bradley R. Crowell was sworn in as a Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on August 26, 2022 and is currently serving the remainder of a five-year term ending June 30, 2027. Crowell was nominated by President Biden in early May of 2022 to serve on the Commission and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 27, 2022. Crowell has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of energy, environment, natural resources, climate change, and national security, including executive leadership positions in Federal and State government. Prior to beginning his role as Commissioner, Crowell served as Director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), Nevada’s fourth largest cabinet agency. Crowell was first appointed as Director of DCNR in 2016 by former Governor Brian Sandoval (R) and was reappointed by Governor Steve Sisolak (D) in 2019. As Director of DCNR, he led approximately 1,000 employees across eight divisions and managed a nearly $300 million biennial budget. Crowell served in the Obama-Biden Administration at the U.S. Department of Energy from 2010 to 2016 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2013 as the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. Previously, Crowell worked in Washington D.C. for multiple Members of Congress, including former Nevada Governor and U.S. Senator Richard Bryan (D-NV) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Crowell is a native of Carson City, Nevada, and graduated from Santa Clara University with a B.S. degree in Political Science. Crowell currently resides in Philadelphia, PA with his wife, Rebecca Claypool, and their 1-year-old daughter, Hazel.
Last modified November 3, 2022, 6:04am MST
