For Ann Heinrich, AS82, a big part of her job is to remain calm and prepared at a moment’s notice. As the former Director of the Office of Nuclear Incident Policy and Cooperation in the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, her career may sound daunting given the weight of her responsibilities. However, it has also been rewarding, knowing the impact she’s made to save lives and protect the environment.

Although her focus is strengthening responses to nuclear and radiological emergencies, it’s not all dangerous – nuclear science also has positive capabilities. It’s currently being harnessed to open new frontiers in medicine and technology, and nuclear power is considered an alternative energy source to fossil fuels.

Heinrich recently retired after 30 years with the government agency. Below, she demystifies what it’s like to work in international nuclear incident management and how her UD experience prepared her for a successful career as a public servant.

What inspired you to pursue this career?

Early in my career, I worked in the security sector within emergency management and became interested in the broader preparedness and response program. Many skills and capabilities need to come together for an effective program, so I realized there were many opportunities and that the work would be interesting.

Could you describe a typical day in your professional life?

A typical day involved addressing core business issues such as budgeting, managing projects, and working with team members on various programs for which the office was responsible. We conducted a lot of international training and engagements, which required a great deal of preparation and travel. Flexibility to adjust plans on a moment's notice was definitely a necessary skill.

What are some of the greatest challenges and opportunities working in your field?

Day-to-day work plans could easily be disrupted by real-world events, so it often was a challenge to get some of the more routine work accomplished. At times in international engagements, we would hit an impasse or have differing opinions to iron out. This made the work always challenging and unpredictable. However, at the end of the day, we all knew our goal was the same: to improve our capabilities to respond to emergencies effectively to protect people and the environment. That shared goal led to many opportunities to work successfully with partners from around the world.

How did UD impact your journey – both personally and professionally?

I benefited from a great education and experience at UD – learning was a joy! I met people from many different backgrounds, which is an important learning experience for a young person. Entering the workforce knowing I had a solid education and skills that would serve me well as I started working gave me confidence.

How can we break down barriers to encourage those underrepresented in the industry to pursue careers in nuclear incident management?

I think it is important to focus on recruiting from broader pools than currently is the case. An emergency affects a whole community, and that diversity is what we should see in emergency preparedness and response organizations. Understanding the many skills needed for effective response and recruiting for all those skills should help reach women who may have yet to consider this area of work.