Bill Frazier Honored as Employee of the Year

The Office of Legacy Management (LM) has honored engineer Bill Frazier as a co-winner of this year’s Philip C. Leahy Employee of the Year award for his outstanding achievement and exemplary teamwork as a site manager in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Frazier manages long-term care at Title I and Title II Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) sites that have been transitioned to DOE.  He is also assigned to Title II transition sites that have yet to be transferred to DOE.

He was surprised and grateful when he learned at the LM All-Hands meeting in August that he was one of two employees who were being recognized for their willingness and ability to go above and beyond the call of their regular job duties.

“I am honored to be an Employee of the Year, especially knowing the skill level and aptitude of my LM co-workers and how amazing they are,” he said. “It’s such a pleasure to work alongside them. We have a wonderful group of people in LM.”

Frazier is a member of the Navajo Tribe.  He is Todich’ii’nii (Bitter Water), born for Taa’chii’nii (Red Streak Forehead). His maternal grandfather’s clan is Honaghaahnii (One Who Walks Around) and his paternal grandfather’s clan is Todich’ii’nii.(Bitter Water). The Todich’ii’nii side of his family is from Dilcon, Arizona. The Taa’chii’nii side is from Oak Springs, Arizona, near Carrizo Mountain in the Navajo Nation.

Frazier is a U.S. Navy veteran of the Persian Gulf War. He graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and is a registered professional engineer (PE) in the state of Colorado. He has worked as a private consultant, municipal city engineer, facilities engineer, and now as a site manager at the DOE Office in Grand Junction.

Frazier also assists with the oversight of the Applied Science & Technology Program on a variety of projects. The program incorporates improvements in scientific understanding and technology applications into site management and remediation strategies, improves cleanup effectiveness, protectiveness, and sustainability and helps decrease long-term costs.

His background as a civil engineer is a natural fit for the work he performs with LM, he said.

“I have managed many design and construction projects over the years and managing site responsibilities is not much different. Design and construction are a part of some site activities, so I fit in well with that,” he said.   

His work in the field aligns well with his chosen field, he said. Engineers are constantly learning new things, which makes his job enjoyable and has made him an expert in his field.

“I found that there are no shortcuts to the time and effort you put into things,” he said. “If you put the time and effort into anything in life, it will show.”

LM Supervisory Engineer Paul Kerl nominated Frazier for the award in recognition of Frazier’s can-do attitude and willingness to take on extra responsibility when his team needed help. Kerl said Frazier exhibited all 17 qualities of a team player in execution of supporting the LM mission in his responsibilities as a site manager.

“Since you joined LM in November 2016 as site manager, you were quickly identified as a caring, competent, and dependable asset not only to LM-21, but also to LM holistically,” Kerl told Frazier in his nomination letter. “You have routinely been recognized as the ‘most trusted advisor’ for engineering expertise across the board to your teammates.”

Kerl commended Frazier for being adaptable and flexible when his team picked up extra work after the departure of another site manager earlier this year. Beyond the scope of his existing job duties, he supported the Riverton Alternate Water Supply System in Wyoming, directly engaging with the Northern Arapahoe Tribe to address the needed repairs there.

He also supported the operations and maintenance of the Grand Junction Office’s water distribution system, as well as interoffice water quality topics associated with contaminants of concern at fellow managers’ sites, and he supported his colleagues when communicating about site issues such as erosional piping at Mexican Hat, Utah, and the cell depression at Bluewater, New Mexico.

Frazier was able to draw on his Native American heritage to facilitate understanding and enhance communication at a high-level forum in Gallup, New Mexico, in April.

At the multi-federal agency field hearing with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman, commissioners and staff, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state regulators, and other panel representatives, Frazier presented material on LM’s behalf. He briefed Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and his Cabinet members on strategies and progress under the Navajo Nation 10-year plan, as well as critical lessons learned from remediation and long-term stewardship of former uranium mill sites.

For the meeting, Frazier developed the briefing materials for sites in the Navajo Nation, with an emphasis on future transition of the Church Rock site in northwestern New Mexico to LM oversight.

“You paid particular attention to assure the complicated technical issues were presented in an easily understandable manner,” Kerl said. “Your presentation was well received and demonstrated the commitment of the Secretary of Energy to meaningful, open, and effective engagement with the Native American communities. President Nez personally acknowledged and thanked you for your attendance and support.”

Frazier said speaking in public wouldn’t have come naturally to him once upon a time. He credits his experience with Toastmasters, a group whose members learn leadership skills by organizing and conducting public meetings, gave him the skills to represent LM with confidence.

“I got comfortable speaking in public,” he said, grinning. “I just got used to it.”

Frazier’s presence at the forum served as a strong model and inspiration for the next generation of Native Americans and STEM students, many of whom were present in the audience that day, Kerl said.

“You are a true team player in every sense of the word, and what you bring to the table every day goes well beyond your primary responsibilities,” Kerl said. “You are one of the greatest assets LM has to offer. Thank you for a job well done Mr. Frazier!”