The Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS) will be represented by Senior Principal Project Manager Danelle Herr during the 2024 Project Leadership Institute (PLI), a prestigious Department of Energy (DOE) program that identifies project delivery practitioners capable of delivering major high-risk projects. Herr supports the NNSS’ Special Technologies Laboratory, a multi-mission support organization that provides special-purpose devices, measurement instruments and analysis methods.
Approximately 25 DOE complex team members are selected annually for the PLI program, which offers professional development and project delivery practices tailored to the DOE’s unique opportunities and disciplines to a wide array of DOE federal and contractor employees spanning laboratories, plants and sites. Each PLI participant takes part in in-person and virtual sessions along with the presentation of a capstone project.
After joining the NNSS this March from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory where she supported the Department of Homeland Security and DOE, Herr first learned about the PLI program from her leadership team, who encouraged her to apply for its networking and career development benefits.
“I’m finding that in the complex arena our work often falls into outside-the-box problem solving and a diverse network are crucial to getting things done effectively and efficiently,” said Herr. “Growing my network and hearing from others about how they navigated similar obstacles in creative ways will be something I can add to my toolbox, which will make me better equipped to execute NNSS projects.”
Since the first PLI cohort in 2017, seven NNSS leaders have completed the program.
“PLI opened my eyes to what was happening across the rest of the DOE,” said Marlis Breitkreutz, who represented the NNSS in 2019. “Many of my classmates were from the Office of Science or Nuclear Energy. I had the opportunity to hear about the projects they were managing, what they were doing well and how they were overcoming challenges. I brought a lot of those lessons, and those relationships, back to Nevada with me. Those experiences had a profound impact on my leadership style.”
To learn more about the PLI program, visit their website. To find NNSS career opportunities, see our current openings.