Jaczko says. “I’ve tried to create an environment inwhich the commission can have good discussions.. . . What matters is that the commission makes gooddecisions.”Having earned a doctorate in physics be<strong>for</strong>e servingon Capitol Hill, Jaczko combines technical andscientific acumen with practical political experience.As a graduate student at the University of Wisconsinat Madison, Jaczko learned “to think critically andanalyze problems in a fact-based way,” he says. Yethe wasn’t destined <strong>for</strong> a career of pure science. Hebecame involved in the graduate employees unionand discovered an interest in policy and governance.Uniting the two passions, Jaczko became a fellow inan American Association <strong>for</strong> the Advancement of Scienceprogram that helped people with science backgroundsget positions on Capitol Hill.Jaczko initially worked <strong>for</strong> Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., as a Congressional Science Fellow. He subsequentlyworked <strong>for</strong> Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., first,as science policy advisor and advisor to the SenateCommittee on Environment and Public Works, andlater, as director of appropriations. “I was very <strong>for</strong>tunateto work <strong>for</strong> two very different but incredibly effectivelegislators,” Jaczko says. “I saw how they wereable to work with their colleagues. . . . They showedme the ways to approach issues and how to deal withchallenges.”‘Powerful Motivator’Jaczko’s management philosophy emphasizes safety,transparency, efficiency and people. He endeavorsto continually renew a “culture of safety,” he says, tokeep everyone focused on NRC’s overriding priority.The safety mission pervades everything, Jaczko says,all the way down to mail delivery.Jaczko was deeply involved in the NRC’s ef<strong>for</strong>t tomake nuclear reactors less vulnerable to air strikesand terrorism, requiring them to always have on handequipment to deal with severe fires and explosions.And he headed up an NRC initiative to develop a safetyculture policy that seeks to measure and regulateprevailing attitudes, values and practices at nuclearfacilities to diminish the chances of an accident.Within NRC, safety in<strong>for</strong>ms the way the agency viewsand talks about itself. The agency doesn’t define itselfin terms of activities—overseeing regulatory compliance,reviewing licenses, training safety inspectors. ItThe agency is responsible<strong>for</strong> ensuring the continuedsafety of 104 aging U.S.nuclear power reactors, themost in any country, 101 ofwhich have been in service<strong>for</strong> more than 20 years.PHOTO COURTESY OF NRC26 Leadership | <strong>CGI</strong> INITIATIVE FOR COLLABORATIVE GOVERNMENT | S P R I N G 2 0 11
focuses instead on human health and safety to keepits staff energized.“The people here come to work to make sure thatthe American people stay safe,” says Jaczko. “That isa very powerful motivator and a very powerful driver.”In 2008, 2009 and 2010, the NRC has been the toprankedagency in “The Best Places to Work in FederalGovernment” report published by the Partnership <strong>for</strong>Public Service and Washington’s American University.NRC ranked highest in strategic management,effective leadership, work-life balance and the fit betweenmission employees’ skills. “We have a lot ofinherent advantages,” Jaczko says. “We listen to theemployees. We try and make changes based on whatwe hear.”When a recent in-house survey revealed that employeeswho weren’t directly involved in missionrelatedactivities felt less connected to the agency,leaders moved to reconnect with them, says Jaczko.The safety of Americans, he says, relies as much onthe people who procure computer systems and keepthe phones working as it does on the people who inspectnuclear reactors.“We really went out and emphasized the importanceof those non-direct mission functions that arejust as important to public health and safety as thepeople who have their engineering degrees,” Jaczkosays. “Everybody here has a responsibility <strong>for</strong> safety.Everybody is part of the team and a part of the family.”Human FactorsTo a large degree, NRC’s success hinges on attracting,motivating and retaining top-shelf talent. FollowingThree Mile Island, it became clear that the regulatorsas well as plant operators had focused too littleattention on the human factor.“Human per<strong>for</strong>mance is such an important piece <strong>for</strong>safe operation,” Jaczko said during an October 2010presentation at The Brookings Institution in Washington.“In examining the events leading up to really theworst accident in the history of the U.S. nuclear industry,the administration at the time and the Congressrecognized really two fundamental issues: One, thatthe NRC’s regulatory failures had really been part ofthe contributing factor to that accident. And that two,some of those failures were really rooted ultimately inthe agency’s institution, the structure and the foundationof the agency itself,” Jaczko continued. “Effectiveregulation involves more than just the right scientificand technical data. It also involves having the rightkind of management structure and the managementsystem in place.”Thus, Jaczko says, NRC strives to get the right peoplein the right jobs and to provide the training theyneed to function at a high level. It employs a skilledwork<strong>for</strong>ce with expertise in chemistry, nuclear physics,engineering and law. During the recent staff expansion,the agency enlisted people from industry,the Defense Department and colleges and universitiesto groom potential employees.NRC’s regulatory duties—including oversight ofreactor equipment and those who operate it—mustevolve with the industry. For example, new reactors willcome equipped with digital control rooms “that createnew challenges <strong>for</strong> us,” Jaczko says. In response,NRC is developing protocols <strong>for</strong> inspecting new digitaltools and <strong>for</strong> ensuring “the right kind of training <strong>for</strong> theoperators.”“A digital control system may be handling a lot ofissues on its own, versus the old system where theoperators had to take a lot of specific and direct actions.It means you have to change how you go abouttraining someone,” Jaczko says. “How do you knowif somebody is prepared to deal with an incident ifthey’re using a mouse as opposed to overseeing ormanipulating valves and pumps? It’s a very differentway to train and to ensure competency.”Even as technology changes, the value of institutionalknowledge remains high. But NRC’s deep reservesof in-house knowledge have been drained inrecent years by the retirement of NRC veterans whojoined during the boom years of the 1960s and 1970s.Today, nearly half the work<strong>for</strong>ce has been at the agencyfive years or less. To prevent the brain drain frombecoming a knowledge drain, NRC put in place a rigorousknowledge-transfer program to capture collectivewisdom be<strong>for</strong>e it walked out the door.For example, NRC has developed an enterprise so-S P R I N G 2 0 11 | COLL ABOR ATIVEGOV.ORG/LE AD | Leadership 27
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