Lindsey W. shares the importance of her 1-year placement as executive officer in the Office of the President. (Jordan Ray)
The Y‑12er spotlight shines on one of our own. It takes all Y‑12 employees to make the mission happen successfully and safely. All views and opinions are the employee’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of CNS.
As a child drawing floor plans on placemats in restaurants, Lindsey W. never imagined she would put her skills to work in the Nuclear Security Enterprise.
Lindsey has served as an architect, project engineer, and now executive officer during her time at Y-12. She started her career as an architect subcontractor working on the Uranium Processing Facility Project and then moved into a project engineer role with Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS). As a project engineer, Lindsey used her strengths to pull teams together, help them remain focused, and ensure they stayed on schedule. Her last project before taking on a 1-year placement as executive officer was the Post 8 Canopy that was recently completed.
“I really enjoy solving puzzles, which translates very well into navigating the variety of challenges we face at Y-12,” Lindsey said. “Whether it’s design, policy, procedure, scheduling, or otherwise, thinking outside the box to achieve necessary results is a great strength.”
Lindsey brought her strengths to her current role in July 2025. Acting largely as an advisor, she works closely with the executive leadership team to obtain and present information not just internally but also to the National Nuclear Security Administration and to the CNS parent companies. The executive officer role is a 1-year rotating assignment in the Office of the President.
“I took this role and didn’t really know what to expect, but it has instilled in me an even stronger commitment to the mission,” Lindsey said. “In this placement, it is important to learn all of the various organizations and what it takes to make Y-12 work at the level it does. This role showed me that the hard work we do here does not go unnoticed by the customer.”
For the past 11 months, Lindsey has been leaning in to those around her to learn as much as possible.
“The most important thing I will take away from this experience is the encouragement to do this job to the best of my abilities because every role truly is important and needed to meet the mission,” Lindsey said. “I have built on the relationships I had and have learned the importance of being able to ask who you need to meet to learn more.”
After being able to witness how the site works together to meet deliverables, Lindsey is looking forward to her next role after the placement ends in July.
“I am looking forward to what’s next and hope that whoever has this role after me will really take advantage of the opportunity they are given to learn and grow,” she said.
What advice do you offer someone who has made a mistake in his or her job? How should they be accountable for that issue?
Everyone makes mistakes; we are human. The opportunity is owning it, learning from it, and asking for help. I really like a Thomas Edison quote that reads “I have not failed 10,000 times; I have successfully found 10,000 ways it will not work.” While we don’t want 10,000 failures across the site, I appreciate the sentiment to learn from your mistakes.
Why is teamwork an important aspect when working at Y-12?
Teamwork is the best tool because none of us are experts at everything. We need to leverage each other’s knowledge and skills to get the best results.
What’s your favorite outside-of-work activity and why?
Definitely spending time with my family – husband, teenage boys, dad, brother, sister, in-laws, dogs – all of them! I am so blessed to have a supportive and humorous family; I love being around them, laughing with them, and having them in all the chapters of my life story.
What excites you about your role?
I get to see outside the silos we usually work in and interact cross-organizationally. I like seeing the different talents individuals possess and how they work for Y-12.
Who in your life has inspired you the most and why?
My mom. She was personable yet intellectual and assertive. She got what was necessary completed but was also flexible and compassionate. She adjusted as needed to any obstacle in her life.