EM Names Jessica Kunkle as Manager of Los Alamos Field Office

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) has selected Jessica Kunkle as the next EM Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) manager, effective June 16.

EM-LA’s acting field office manager, Ellie Gilbertson, will return to her role as EM-LA deputy manager. Kunkle succeeds Michael Mikolanis, who was appointed to the position of National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Savannah River Field Office manager in April.

Kunkle will join EM-LA from NNSA’s Office of Infrastructure Lifecycle Management in Washington, D.C., where she has served as deputy associate administrator, responsible for providing overall leadership and direction of activities for a $3 billion program portfolio modernizing, operating and sustaining real property across the NNSA Nuclear Security Enterprise. In this role, Kunkle provided leadership and direction for complex, cross-functional programs and initiatives spanning infrastructure planning, financial management, risk assessment, communications and non-traditional infrastructure acquisitions. She recently served as acting manager of NNSA’s Savannah River Field Office and has held other leadership positions with NNSA.

Originally from Los Alamos, Kunkle is a strategic leader with a commitment and track record of building strong collaborative relationships. Her vast experience makes her uniquely qualified to advance the cleanup mission at EM-LA.