Miriam Juckett is an enthusiastic environmental scientist and public outreach specialist working as a federal contractor on nuclear energy regulation projects. She holds a B.S. in Chemistry and an M.S. in Environmental Science, and currently serves as the Senior Program Manager of the Environmental Protection and External Hazard Assessment program at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). After working in pesticide analysis as a student researcher, her first job out of college was on a team of scientists and engineers evaluating the safety and environmental impacts of a proposed nuclear waste disposal site. Since that time, she’s worked on and led a wide variety of environmental and seismic (earthquake) evaluations, and has helped develop federal regulatory guidance on seismic hazard assessments.

Working in public outreach and stakeholder engagement as part of these projects provided a unique window into the often distinct rift between the viewpoints of regulators, citizens, and scientists. Miriam has dedicated more than a decade of her career to helping bridge that gap. In 2015, she was awarded San Antonio Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 recognition for this work. Miriam is deeply passionate about restoring trust in science, understanding the citizens’ voice, and helping science work for the betterment of society. She’s an avid hiker, loves public speaking, and is a slow (but dedicated) runner.