Hanford Communities Executive Director Pamela Larsen is retiring after a quarter-century of advocating for localities around the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state.
Larsen is the only executive director in the history of the intergovernmental organization established under Washington state law in 1994. Hanford Communities represents two counties, four cities, and a Port District in the vicinity of the former plutonium production complex. Her last day on the job is May 22.
Hanford Communities works with both DOE and the Washington state Department of Ecology on Hanford environmental contamination, remediation, waste management, emergency response, and workforce issues. The group tries to seek common ground among local communities on Hanford priorities, and encourages more federal funding for site cleanup.
Larsen is a familiar face at DOE Office of Environmental Management meetings from Washington state to Washington, D.C.
She has also been an executive committee member of DOE’s Hanford Advisory Board for 15 years, currently serving as national liaison, a post she will retain. “I keep the board informed about what is going on around the EM complex,” Larsen said in a weekend email.
The Washington, D.C.-based Energy Communities Alliance, which advocates for local governments around DOE nuclear sites, has awarded Larsen a lifetime membership.
With Larsen’s retirement, the city of Richland will cede its role as administrator for Hanford Communities to the Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC), City Manager Cindy Reents said in a Wednesday email. David Reeploeg, TRIDEC’s vice president for federal programs, will assume the role of Hanford Communities executive director effective May 23, Reents said.
