SHPE - Fall 2007 - (Page 28) BROWSER NRC Ranked Top Employer in Public Sector The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was recently ranked number one among Best Places to Work by the Federal Government Partnership for Public Service and the American University Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation. The results were based on surveys submitted by a record 221,000 employees at 283 federal organizations. Agencies are ranked according to employee satisfaction and engagement, plus by 10 workplace categories including effective leadership, strategic management, teamwork, training and development, pay/benefits and work/life balance. The NRC ranked number one in eight of 10 categories and scored well above the government-wide average. It ranked consistently higher in three key categories: effective leadership, employee skills/ mission match and work/life balance. The NRC also ranked first among all age groups and for black and white employees. The NRC plans to recruit about 400 employees each year for the next few years because of the expected arrival of close to two dozen applications for new reactor licenses beginning this fall. This ranking, along with new recruiting authority provided by Congress, should assist in the agency’s hiring efforts to maintain an innovative and effective work force. I All in La Familia Love and a lifetime commitment to SHPE run in these families. In June, Past RSR II Barry Cordero married Dr. Toni Jones. The ceremony took place near the beach in La Jolla, California, and was officiated by Mike Cruz, past RVP II and SHPE lifetime member. It may be the first time that two SHPE members were wed by another SHPE member. Fred Muñoz and Heidy Areola met while attending UCLA in 1995 and remained good friends until they began dating four years ago. Since Fred was working at another nonprofit, Heidy frequently invited him to SHPE-LA events, where he met a lot of her SHPE friends. Those connections led him to a staff position at SHPE National. “It’s a real blessing to have the same passion toward our community,” Heidy said. The couple wed this past August. Twin brothers Bryant and Andrew Amador were among SHPE’s first lifetime members. Their SHPE involvement began at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where Andrew studied engineering and Bryant studied business. The twins lived in the engineering dorms, and most of their friends were SHPE students. After graduation, Bryant served on Colorado’s MESA Industry Partner Council and was active in Denver Metro Area events, eventually serving as Region III vice president. Andrew serves on the board of SHPE’s Colorado Professional Chapter. Homer and Katherine Lopez met as students at Fresno State University. An active SHPE member, Katherine regularly invited Homer to meetings, and in time he joined. “It was through SHPE events that we eventually started dating,” she said. By the time they graduated, both had served as student chapter president and had held other positions on the board. They finally wed on Valentine’s Day 2006. As lifetime members, the Lopez’s are especially involved with SHPE-Fresno’s outreach to K-12 and college students. When her fiancé Fernando Diaz, of Procter & Gamble, decided to become a SHPE lifetime member, Xenia Guerrero, of Abbott Laboratories, faithfully followed. The couple met while they were students organizing the first Midwest Expo at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, in 2002, and a friendship bloomed into love. They are planning for a June 2009 wedding. Siblings Isidro Sanchez, Leticia Soto and Altagracia Sanchez (not pictured) began their SHPE involvement as student leaders at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Leticia and Altagracia later consecutively served as vice presidents for Region III, while Isidro participated in and now actively supports the National Design Competition. 28 SHPE R Fall 2007
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