Josh Cunningham
Information Technology Project Manager
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(NGFP Class of 2018-2019)
What is a favorite career highlight?
In 2017, I started my career journey within DOE as a Science Writing Intern for the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. That year, I had a front-row seat to the construction and launch of the Summit supercomputer, the world's most powerful supercomputer at the time. Getting a close look at the amazing projects and breakthroughs happening through DOE's work really ignited my enthusiasm to contribute, even in a small way, to those achievements.
What is a personal highlight?
In January 2023, I did something I've had on my bucket list since watching a nature documentary as a kid - hiking Mount Kilimanjaro! It was an amazing and challenging experience made all the more sweet by getting engaged to be married at the summit. All in all, a very memorable experience!
What is a favorite NGFP memory?
During my NGFP year, I used my travel/training allotment to attend the Defense Nuclear Weapons School at Sandia National Laboratories. While taking their Nuclear Emergency Team Operations (NETOPS) course, I had the opportunity to complete training exercises during which we donned complete sets of anti-contamination clothing, used RADIAC equipment, and performed realistic nuclear emergency team functions at DNWS live radioactive training sites in the Albuquerque desert. Dressing in full radiation suits to walk around in the hot desert sun probably doesn't sound all that fun on paper, but it was a really engaging and memorable learning experience.
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Women's History Month.
Lyndsey Adams is an NNSA program analyst in the Office of Plutonium Disposition. She was featured in NNSA's Women in Nuclear Security series.
Read more about her background, inspirations, professional highlights, and self-proclaimed Swiftie status. Adams was a member of the NGFP Class of 2016-2017.
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Whitney Baillie-Berring is also featured and shares her roots in national security, advice for anyone interested in nuclear security, and her green thumb.
She is an NNSA program analyst in the Domestic Uranium Enrichment (DUE) Office and NGFP alum from the Class of 2019-2020. Read her spotlight. |
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Valerie Brusilovsky, a senior policy advisor in the Office of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation, shares her experiences leaving Ukraine, working at NNSA, and celebrating Women’s History Month.
She is an alum from the NGFP Class of 2011-2012. Read her spotlight. |
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Inaugural Alumni Survey. Looking back on 30 years of developing the next generation of exceptional national security leaders, NGFP wants to celebrate and hear from past fellows.
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Class of 2024–2025. Orientation for the Class of 2024-2025 is June 9-14, 2024, on PNNL’s campus in Richland, Washington, and fellows will arrive in their offices on June 17, 2024.
This cohort represents 68 fellows from 42 universities and will be supporting more than 20 NNSA offices. Within this group, 40% of the fellows attended a minority-serving institution for undergraduate or graduate school. In addition, 34% of the future fellows have completed a master’s-level degree at the time of their application with 52% in progress, while 4% of the future fellows have doctoral degrees with 10% in progress.
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Class of 2023–2024. Closing Ceremony for the Class of 2023-2024 is Thursday, May 9. It will be in Forrestal, with Administrator Jill Hruby as the keynote. Other speakers include NNSA’s Frank Lowery and NGFP fellows, who will share their highlights. PNNL’s Deb Gracio will open the alumni reception that follows Closing Ceremony.
So far, 26 fellows from the NGFP Class of 2023–2024 fellows have received federal offers in offices across NNSA’s mission with more expected in the coming months.
With this class, the NGFP alumni network totals more than 750 spanning the NNSA and broader national security community.
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Alumni Gatherings. If y ou are interested in attending an alumni event in your area, contact NGFP@pnnl.gov.
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Arab-American Heritage Month.
Saadi Al Saadi Bu’alaq (IN-13) is a fellow with the Class of 2023-2024, working in the Nuclear Materials Information Program.
He was featured in NNSA's Employee Spotlight series during Arab American Heritage Month in April. Read more about his commitment to public service, fascination with aviation, and his love for his family and work at NNSA. |
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Focused Friday Speakers.
Kendall Peterson (NA-MB-812) was featured by his alma mater. In March, he was a guest speaker during the Focused Friday Speakers series, which is hosted by the Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University.
During the talk, he discussed his experiences as an NGFP fellow, shared advice regarding targeting and applying for government-related jobs, and touched on other topics such as building federal resumes, preparing for interviews, and timelines.
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Women's History Month.
Phoebe Devos-Cole (NA-1.1) works in the Office of Policy and Strategic Planning. In March, she was featured NNSA's Women in Nuclear Security series during Women's History Month.
Read more about her family, start in nuclear security at Los Alamos National Laboratory , wide-ranging passions, and work at NNSA.
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Closing Ceremony. The NGFP Class of 2023-2024 Closing Ceremony will be May 9, 2024, in Washington, DC.
All NGFP alumni are invited to join us for a reception that follows the ceremony from 4:30-6:30 p.m. ET, in the James V. Forrestal Building.
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Sign up to be a speaker! Our agenda of professional development events is filling up quickly. If you are interested in joining us for a session or would like to share other networking or training opportunities to help fellows connect within the nuclear security enterprise, contact NGFP@pnnl.gov. |
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LinkedIn. If you have a job opportunity that might be of interest to other alumni, we invite you to share on our LinkedIn alumni page! You can also send suggestions to NGFP@pnnl.gov. |
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Become an Ambassador. Our new NGFP Ambassadors utilize personal and professional networks to help grow awareness of the program and encourage future leaders to apply. To make it easy, Ambassadors have access to exclusive resources and training to help effectively communicate the value of the program to potential applicants.
This opportunity is open to all fellows, alumni, and key stakeholders. This is your chance to make a meaningful impact on the next generation of national security leaders. Sign up today to become an NGFP Ambassador and help shape the future of national security leadership: current and past fellows and other stakeholders. |
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NNSA Graduate Fellowship Program
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
1100 Dexter Ave N, Suite 400
Seattle, WA 98109 USA
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