Don Seaborg

Proven Experience

Mr. Don Seaborg has over forty years of experience serving the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Don’s project experience has encompassed design, construction, readiness preparation, operation, stabilization, and the demolition of complex large facilities. Many of the requisite projects have held significant nuclear, chemical, or explosive hazards and provide technical challenges and risks to worker safety and the environment. Mr. Seaborg has provided federal oversight during contractor implementation of sitewide programs for environmental, safety, health, quality, emergency management, construction, engineering, conduct of maintenance and operations, radiological controls, nuclear and criticality safety. Don has extensive experience leading, mentoring, and advising senior leadership and federal staff from the development and implementation of strategies and plans, to guiding challenging organizational changes during improvement initiatives.

Mr. Seaborg earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington.

Sustainable Results

Mr. Seaborg was detailed by the DOE Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management (EM) to a Safety Basis Project Team and tasked as one of five Safety Basis Review Team leaders. Tasked to critically review contractor-developed documented safety analyses and technical safety requirements and develop safety evaluation reports for approval. This endeavor drove a difficult and challenging culture change that required extensive personal leadership among highly trained federal technical professionals and senior executive leadership of government and the contractors.

Mr. Seaborg acquired certification as a Senior Energy Official during an integrated exercise with the Monticello Nuclear Generating Station. He was recognized by multiple agencies for his leadership skills. Significant accomplishments included completing a re-write of the NFO site permitting and work authorization process and transferring that process from federal management to the M&O contractor. This was a complex and difficult culture change that required extensive diplomacy, integration skills, and interactions with contractor executive.

While serving as a Facility Representative at the Plutonium Finishing Plant Don oversaw and developed a Facility Representative program. He identified numerous deficiencies in PFP conduct of operations, radiological control, nuclear and criticality safety, procedural adherence, and management. As a member of the PFP Quartet, he executed a rebase line of PFP resulting in an Integrated Project Management Plan. The plan identified a path forward to reduce the project lifecycle cost by over $1B and accelerated project completion by several years. DOE-RL used this plan to incentivize contractor performance improvement.