NRC Announces Carrie M. Safford as the New Commission Secretary Inbox

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: 23-068 October 31, 2023
CONTACT: Office of Public Affairs, 301-415-8200

NRC Announces Carrie M. Safford as the New Commission Secretary

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission today announced the selection of Carrie M. Safford as the new Secretary of the Commission, effective Nov. 5. She is the fifth person in the 48-year history of the NRC to hold this position.

Safford has been serving as a Deputy Director in the Division Fuel Management, which has regulatory responsibility for nuclear fuel cycle activities in the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

She succeeds Brooke Poole Clark, who assumed her new position as the agency’s General Counsel in mid-October.

In her new role, Safford will provide executive management services to support the Commission and implement Commission decisions. The Office of the Secretary serves a critical role with its responsibilities for scheduling Commission meetings, managing the Commission's decision-making process, codifying Commission decisions in memoranda, processing and controlling Commission correspondence, and maintaining the Commission’s historical records, among other duties.

“Carrie has served in a variety of capacities and brings extensive legal and regulatory experience,” said NRC Chair Christopher T. Hanson. “Her proven executive leadership and vast knowledge of the agency’s policies and procedures well positions her to keep the Commission’s business functioning smoothly.”

Safford joined the NRC in 2008 as an attorney, and later was selected as Deputy Assistant General Counsel in the Division of Materials Litigation and Enforcement within the Office of the General Counsel. She has served in leadership positions across the agency, including as Deputy Director of the Waste Confidence Directorate in NMSS; and as Assistant General Counsel in OGC in the Division of High-Level Waste, Fuel Cycle and Nuclear Security, and in the Division of Legislation, Ethics, and Administrative Law.

Before joining the NRC, Safford practiced energy law in Washington, D.C. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology-Geology from the University of Rochester and her Juris Doctor from Pace University School of Law. Safford is a graduate of the NRC’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program.

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