Dyer and Fitzgerald both work to keep the plants safe with their security teams.

Fitzgerald works to recruit security officers through career fairs and helps manage the budget and paperwork with the security team at Grand Gulf. She is also a big advocate for boosting the morale of security officers.

“I encourage the security department to get involved as much as possible with community service, I started doing employee of the month recognition and I celebrate the officers’ work anniversaries,” said Fitzgerald.

Dyer’s strong focus on career development has led to working toward her goal of becoming an access authorization fitness for duty collector. This role at the plant handles the authorizations during refueling outages for third-party contractors to enter the plant safely. As a learning opportunity, she is supporting access authorization at Waterford 3 Steam Electric Station during their current refueling outage.

When plant operators take the unit offline for a scheduled refueling outage, nuclear professionals remove a portion of the fuel from the reactor, organize current fuel rods and replace the old fuel with new fuel.

During the refueling, the team along with contract workers will also complete maintenance work and other projects to improve plant reliability. Every detail of a refueling outage is meticulously planned, including the contract workers who must have proper documented authorization access to the plant.

Both security team members have a strong emphasis on safety in their roles.

“Safety is paramount at River Bend,” said Dyer. “I focus on safety by keeping my eyes on my path while walking on patrols and traversing throughout the plant. Walking is working, meaning that I must focus on doing it safely.”

As a security officer,��Dyer��also expresses the importance of using handrails and staying hydrated while on duty.

Likewise, safety is the number one priority for Fitzgerald, too.

Both women emphasize making safety personal through being mothers and ensuring they return home healthy for their children. Dyer has one 20-year-old son and Fitzgerald has three children, ages 11-, 15- and 19-years old.

Fitzgerald’s favorite part of working at Grand Gulf is its employees emphasis on community service.

“I love that I get to work with a group of people so passionate about giving back to the community,” Fitzgerald said. “Entergy as a company does so much for their local communities. It warms my heart to know my teammates are so willing to jump up and lend a helping hand to those in need.”

For inquiries and postings about security positions available at Entergy Nuclear, please visit .

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Team reaches more than 1,500 students and families with nuclear education

Nuclear Science Week is an international, broadly observed week-long celebration to focus local, regional and international interests on all aspects of nuclear science.

During Nuclear Science Week, celebrated on the third week of October each year, Entergy’s nuclear fleet boosts outreach through hosting activities, events and plant tours in their local areas.

Entergy’s nuclear sites and headquarters participated in outreach, except for Waterford 3 Steam Electric Station, which is currently in a scheduled refueling outage.

Last year, Entergy’s Women In Nuclear chapter received the award of Most Reactive Chapter by having the highest outreach of any fleet in the nation, an award they are aiming for again this year. The week’s activities and events are described below by site.

Nuclear Headquarters

Nuclear headquarters’ WIN chapter kicked off Nuclear Science Week by visiting their local adopted school, North Jackson Elementary, to teach fourth and fifth grade classes, a total of nearly 100 students, about nuclear energy. A team of six volunteers presented a lesson about nuclear energy, taught students about the safety systems and redundancies inside nuclear reactors through an activity called candy reactors, and taught students about nuclear energy through a dance activity, in which students are split into groups and all do one move each that represents part of a structure that gets clean, carbon-free electricity to homes and businesses.

Headquarters’ chapters of WIN and North American Young Generation in Nuclear partnered for a postcard push—distributing 500 cards to send to Mississippi federal representatives that express the benefits of and advocate for nuclear power in the U.S.

On Thursday, the headquarters’ chapter of WIN partnered with their NAYGN chapter again to sponsor activities at the Mississippi Children’s Museum, located in Jackson, Miss. Eleven volunteers set up stations with a Wimshurst machine, a hand crank generator and a snap circuit set to demonstrate electricity generation, as well as a coloring station, candy reactors and an opportunity to dress out in radiation protection gear. They interacted with approximately 120 students ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade from New Hope Christian Elementary, as well as their parents and other museum attendees.

To wrap up the week, WIN hosted more than 30 Girl Scouts along with their parents at headquarters, helping the scouts to earn their nuclear patch. The day included a welcome presentation with a simple explanation of nuclear energy and seven stations with educational activities. Executive sponsors Chief Nuclear Officer Kimberly Cook-Nelson, Vice President of Nuclear Independent Oversight Dawn Sileo and Vice President of Regulatory Assurance Ron Gaston were in attendance and spoke about the importance of clean, carbon-free energy.

Arkansas Nuclear One

For Nuclear Science Week, Arkansas Nuclear One employees hosted plant tours for more than 50 students from Mountain Home High School and Valley View High School who travelled nearly three hours each to learn about Arkansas’s largest producer of green energy. The students learned the basics of nuclear energy while also learning about career opportunities at the plant.

ANO’s WIN chapter spent Monday speaking to the entire sixth��grade class at Russellville Middle School. More than 400 students learned about how nuclear energy is made, the history of and general information about the plant and the various career opportunities available there.

On Tuesday, ANO’s NAYGN chapter visited three kindergarten classes at Atkins Elementary School to read George’s ���ϳԹ��� Adventure, a book in which the main character learns about how energy diversification powers the world. They also handed out Entergy Nuclear trinkets for the kindergartners to take home.

Grand Gulf Nuclear Station

For three days during Nuclear Science week, Grand Gulf Nuclear Station employees from WIN, NAYGN and Day and Zimmerman hosted more than 200 local middle and high school students from six schools at the plant. During the plant tour, students participated in hands-on activities to learn��about different craft trades, how electricity works through a STEM activity, what a day in the life of a security officer is like, how radiation protection technicians work to keep the public and employees safe, how a chemistry technician takes samples in the plant and much more.

On Saturday, GGNS hosted Girl and Boy Scout troops and students from the Natchez Youth Council, totaling 24 students, as well as their families. The students participated in STEM activities such as volcano lemons, rain clouds in a jar, lava lamps in a bottle, dancing popcorn and built structures through a tradesman activity to earn their nuclear patch and learn about nuclear energy.

River Bend Station

River Bend Station hosted their third annual STEM fair for Nuclear Science Week, hosting 208 students from Bains Elementary School as well as 12 parents. The fifth graders participated in different activities, including snap circuits and candy reactors, focused on the benefits of clean, reliable and sustainable nuclear energy. The fifth graders also spent time in the control room simulator. As always, the buttons were very tempting, but they learned about what it takes to become a nuclear operator.

River Bend Station also celebrated Nuclear Science Week at the annual West Feliciana Trunk or Treat, with more than 350 community members in attendance. During the event, community members participated in activities showcasing the benefits of nuclear power and enjoyed sweet treats. One of the sweet treats handed out during the trunk or treat was a gummy bear, which is equivalent to the size of a uranium pellet. They walked away learning that one��of our gummy bears (uranium pellets) is equal to one ton of coal, 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas and three barrels of oil.

Inspiring the next generation of nuclear professionals

Congratulations to the Entergy Nuclear fleet for another successful Nuclear Science Week and thank you to everyone who attended and participated in the activities!

For more information about Entergy Nuclear, follow us on Twitter at @EntergyNuclear or visit our website .

Ellis plans refueling outage work for instrumentation and controls at the plant. He monitors and controls the finances, schedule and resources required for the instrumentation and controls team to improve plant reliability.

Every couple of years, nuclear plants must be taken offline to refuel the reactor. While the plant is offline, maintenance on machinery is meticulously scheduled to ensure the plant can be powered back online in the set time.��

Ellis explained how scope and budget has been challenged to make sure the station stays within the financial and duration goals during the refueling outage next year. He works cross-functionally with teams across the plant to decide together what work needs to be completed during the refueling outage. Lower costs during refueling outages at Grand Gulf means lower bills for Entergy’s customers, making Ellis’s role very important.

“Employees are empowered to make processes within the outage more efficient,” said Ellis. “The teamwork has been amazing. In every meeting, cross-functional disciplines ask, ‘What help do you need to meet your milestones or project goals?’ We can execute a safe and efficient outage because people are so willing to relentlessly focus on continuous improvement and hold themselves and others accountable.”

A fun fact about Ellis is that he likes to dance, and he is good at it. Michael Jackson is his favorite dance inspiration.

#MeetThePros

Nuclear shift managers have the primary command and control responsibility for the management and direction of all operation and maintenance activities, including the manipulation of any controls, equipment or components relating to machinery on their shift.

“In my role, I support equipment reliability by determining the impact of degraded equipment, clearly communicating the impact and problems to the station and ensuring that our resources are properly focused on the right issues,” said Farthing.

As a leader in the organization,��Farthing��showcases his value for safety by ensuring all��excellence standards are met and there is consistently a personal tie to working safely.

“I ensure my team discusses safety at every pre-job brief, and I challenge them to make safety personal,” he said.

During his free time,��Farthing��enjoys camping, hunting and discovering old growth cypress trees with his family.

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Entergy Nuclear owns and operates a national fleet of five reactors in four locations, safely generating enough clean, carbon-free electricity to power more than 2.6 million homes. With approximately 4,000 nuclear professionals in multiple states, Entergy is more than just a fleet of nuclear power plants. We are a company dedicated to improving the lives of our customers, our communities and the environment in which we live and work.

By harnessing 100% clean nuclear energy, we can help solve the challenge of climate change, and meet the growing demands of our nation’s energy needs.

Entergy is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Our clean, carbon-free nuclear fleet is a major part of meeting that goal.��

Nuclear is clean.

It protects our air quality by generating electricity without harmful pollutants like carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter or mercury. 

Our fleet of nuclear plants prevent the emission of nearly 23 million metric tons of carbon dioxide yearly, which is approximately the amount released by five million vehicles each year.��

Nuclear is reliable.��

Nuclear plants are an efficient source of electricity, operating around the clock at a 92% capacity factor.��

Not to mention, nuclear plants are built to withstand the toughest of circumstances. Waterford 3 was back up and running, supplying power to devastated communities, a week after a direct hit from Hurricane Ida.��

Nuclear fuel is small but mighty.��

One uranium fuel pellet is about the same size as a pencil eraser. One pellet creates as much energy as one ton of coal, or 149 gallons of oil, or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas.��

A typical nuclear power reactor generates enough electricity to power 755,000 homes without emitting any greenhouse gases. That’s more than enough to power a city the size of Philadelphia.

Nuclear energy is critical to decarbonize the energy sector.��

Entergy is taking aggressive action to combat climate change and its impacts. We are committed to net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, and our nuclear portfolio is a major part of that equation. Learn more about that commitment here.

Learn more about our nuclear fleet .

Qasim, who has worked at the station for three years, said his favorite part of working at Grand Gulf are the opportunities and enthusiasm for professional career development.

“I like that Grand Gulf takes the time to develop my professional career,” said Qasim. “Since starting my job here, I have been able to benchmark other sites, go to conferences and trainings and step into leadership roles.”

Qasim’s team works to monitor system health and develop preventative maintenance strategies to improve equipment reliability. ��As the NAYGN president,��he��wants to build a chapter that allows nuclear professionals to develop into leaders and network across the industry.��He also wants to be able to give back to the community through the organization.

Learn more about Entergy Nuclear by visiting����and follow on X/Twitter.

#MeetThePros

Graise works to make sure the operations team has reliable instrumentation they can trust so the plant can run safely and efficiently.

He chose to be a co-lead with the Craftmanship Council because he wanted to be a voice for the craft and show how the council is a tool people can use to make a difference at the plant.

Graise says his favorite part of working at Grand Gulf are the people.

“I’ve got a lot of friends at work,” said Graise. “When you spend so much time here, you to get to know people really well.”

He also appreciates the opportunities for career development and Entergy Nuclear’s willingness to invest in its employees.

“I like how the company is being more innovative,” he said. “I see the company noticing people more and moving them to opportunities for development. They are really focusing on empowerment and taking note of the talent that already exists here.”

Learn more about Entergy Nuclear by visiting����and follow on X/Twitter.

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“As a nuclear chemistry technician, I support River Bend by monitoring and identifying radioactive isotopes in various water and air sources throughout the plant,” said Carpenter.

Carpenter’s daily work also includes trending chemistry data and advocating for degrading components that may impact the plant’s chemistry. This��includes being responsible for inspecting, calibrating and maintaining laboratory and count room equipment.

Carpenter had wanted a change in scenery, which is what brought her to a career path she did not see on the horizon—becoming a power plant worker.

“At the time, I was looking to relocate to the South,” she said. “A friend suggested I work a refueling outage at River Bend, assisting the radiation protection team. I did not know anything about nuclear, but after completing the outage, I knew the nuclear industry was a special place for me to work.”

When asked what makes her proud to work in a power plant, Carpenter’s answer was simple – safety.

“Working at a power plant makes me proud because personnel safety is always the number one focus,” Carpenter said. “This includes the safety of the public and workers.”

She is also a dedicated nuclear energy advocate. She wants the public to know that nuclear power plants are essential in providing clean and reliable power.

“It is so important that we continue to educate and advocate on the advantages of nuclear power,” she said.

Although Entergy Nuclear observes Power Plant Worker Appreciation Day on September 6, we are grateful every day for the commitment of our employees to deliver clean, carbon-free energy safely 24-7, 365 days a year.

Learn more about Entergy Nuclear by visiting����and follow on X/Twitter.

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“I am proud to work for Entergy,” said McElhaney. “Having been employed through some challenging times, I am still amazed at the grit and dedication of the people I work with.”

Recently, he volunteered at Hector High School in nearby Hector, Ark., to give 30 students a brief explanation on how nuclear power works and the many opportunities available for various skill��sets.

“There are all kinds of opportunities in the nuclear field, specifically at ANO,” McElhaney said. “It takes all kinds of personalities and skill sets to run a nuclear facility. If you find a field of work that you enjoy and get satisfaction out of, you’ll be better for it.”

#MeetThePros

Kimberly Cook-Nelson recently sat down for an ‘s Jack Criss to discuss the benefits of nuclear power and her journey to become one of only three female chief nuclear officers in the country.��

Cook-Nelson was named Executive Vice President of Nuclear Operations and Chief Nuclear Officer of Entergy in November of 2022, where she is responsible for the safe, secure and reliable operations of Entergy’s four nuclear power plants and five reactors located in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Entergy Nuclear is headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi.��

As a member of the company’s office of the chief executive, Cook-Nelson is also engaged in building and strengthening relationships with external stakeholders. Prior to her current role, she served as chief operating officer, nuclear operations from 2021 to 2022 with responsibility for Arkansas Nuclear One, River Bend and Palisades nuclear generating stations. She served as Entergy’s vice president, system planning and operations from 2019 to 2021, where she was responsible for the local balance authority, energy marketing, commercial operations/origination, energy settlements, non-nuclear fuel purchasing and scheduling, long-term capacity planning and more.

In 2016, Cook-Nelson—a Massachusetts native—moved to the Entergy Nuclear headquarters office as vice president, operations support, where she was accountable for the line corporate functional area managers, training, performance improvement, organizational effectiveness, and business planning. She previously held various leadership positions of increasing responsibility in system engineering, continuous improvement, maintenance, nuclear safety assurance and operations. She was the general manager of plant operations at Waterford 3 from 2011 to 2014. She also completed a rotational assignment at the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, where she qualified and functioned as an organizational effectiveness team leader and a corporate evaluator. Cook-Nelson began her career in 1996 as a design engineer at Entergy’s Waterford 3 nuclear plant in Killona, La., later moving to the nuclear safety analysis group where she focused on work in probabilistic risk assessment and risk-informed applications. She moved into plant leadership in 2001 as a mechanical maintenance first-line supervisor, followed by operations, receiving her senior reactor operator license in 2003.

She has an MBA, a master’s degree in engineering management and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of New Orleans. She also attended the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. She is a licensed professional engineer and received her senior reactor operator license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for Waterford 3.��

DBJ: Congratulations on your new job and promotion! You’ve spent your entire career with Entergy, moving up to the top nuclear position as one of only three female chief nuclear officers in the country. Tell me about those years.

I’ve worked with Entergy for twenty-seven years and was in the nuclear realm for all of those years but two. So, given that, I knew I was on the trajectory to my new position and, honestly, I am so happy to be at this pinnacle of my career. I’m thrilled to work with the people I do and am thrilled to be in my new role. As a female executive, I’ve been in a male-dominated field and, while I’ve never been treated differently, it’s a pleasure to be seen as a role model and inspiration to young women. We’re “always learning,” as we put it here at Entergy.

DBJ: What is your day-to-day focus now?

My focus is on our people and our long-range strategy. We want to empower our employees—everybody. My goal is for all of us to be better people physically and spiritually, with a strong purpose with the company and the communities we serve. Fulfillment is the key. I interact with people a lot, on a regular basis, and I love doing that.

DBJ: Have you discovered or learned anything new in your current role?

I am learning more about what our people on the ground are doing on a daily basis and how the nuclear unit can help them. It may sound simple, but it’s the truth. Going forward, I think nuclear power is an exciting option and I am constantly meeting with people in politics and business about potential options. My challenge is to present the case for nuclear in the most positive, pro-economy way I can. And I’m up for that!��

DBJ: So what are the economic benefits of the nuclear program?��

Nuclear fuel is less expensive, for one thing, and we are able through nuclear to weather any possible disruptions to service. Additionally, we are providing well-paying jobs to thousands of Mississippi residents and residents in the other states where we have plants, and we are also committed to giving back to the communities we serve. That commitment is well-documented, and we are happy to help those in our service areas. As am I: my father was employed in the nuclear energy industry and I actually did a sixth-grade project on the benefits of nuclear so you could say it’s in my DNA!

There’s another significant economic and environmental benefit that nuclear offers: it’s clean, carbon-free energy that is extremely important to helping Entergy meet its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Lowering our carbon emissions can’t be achieved through renewables alone, although those are important, too. Increasingly, industries are committing to reducing their carbon footprint, and when they look to relocate or expand, it’s one of the first questions they ask:�� how clean is the energy you provide? It’s become an economic recruiting tool.

DBJ: Given the possible misconception by the public about the safety and reliability of nuclear energy, how do you assuage those misgivings or fears?

Our safety requirements are incredibly stringent and the record shows that nuclear power is very safe. There was a Forbes article a few years back that noted that the safest job in America is in the commercial nuclear industry because it’s easy to measure and guard against radiation and because the extreme safety protocols at nuclear plants are the best in the world. What we have in place is very rigorous concerning safety, and we also work very closely with local political officials on training and response in the extremely rare case/event that some problem could occur. We are totally prepared. However, that is a preemptive measure. The benefits of the 24/7 carbon-free energy that nuclear can provide far outweighs any perceived negative perceptions.��