NNSA News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) today announced the recipients of the Bradley A. Peterson Federal and Contractor Security Professional of the Year Awards:

• Pamela Valdez from the Los Alamos Field Office will receive the federal award; and
• Randy Fraser from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) will receive the contractor award.

The awards recognize one federal and one contractor employee whose contributions to security programs within the NNSA enterprise exemplify the excellence and commitment for which NNSA is known.

Valdez’s leadership as Acting Assistant Manager for Safeguards and Security at the Los Alamos Field Office in 2014 was central to the thorough testing and evaluation of the Nuclear Materials Safeguards and Security Upgrade Project (NMSSUP) Phase II sensors, lighting, fences, and entry control facilities.  

NMSSUP delivered security improvements to Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Technical Area-55, a facility that houses high-security plutonium assets and operations. Under Valdez, the federal team partnered with LANL to complete this major $245 million construction project on-time and $1 million under budget. With the support of her Federal and contractor team, Valdez led LANL to its best full-scale security inspection results in over a decade.

As Strategic Security Infrastructure Program Manager, Fraser demonstrated highly effective leadership in 2014 while directing the NMSSUP Phase II Transition to Operations/Readiness Verification team. Fraser’s efforts assured the performance and effectiveness of the physical security systems and equipment. His rigorous efforts supported Federal decisions at both the local and headquarters level, improving security at this critical facility.

Fraser’s superior knowledge of scientific, engineering, and security theories and their application helped create the sensor and camera vulnerability and effectiveness testing methodologies used for NMSSUP II. Recognized as a best practice, these testing methodologies will form the basis of guidance to be used for future security construction projects at NNSA.

“I am extremely honored to have the privilege of presenting these amazing individuals with the Bradley A. Peterson Federal and Contractor Security Professional of the Year Awards for significant achievements in the security community,” Chief, Defense Nuclear Security Jeffrey Johnson said. “They represent the very best in our outstanding security community.  The partnership between the Federal and Contractor teams on such a large scale security project ensured its success and demonstrated our collective commitment in the NNSA to achieve world-class security for some of the nation’s most critical assets.”