Joanna Hardin serves as the portfolio federal project director for environmental cleanup and closure activities at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM).
Mrs. Hardin oversees the planning and execution of environmental cleanup performed at ETTP, in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). She leads a diverse, integrated project team that works in partnership with the State of Tennessee and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to apply the CERCLA process for investigating and making cleanup decisions at ETTP. OREM’s cleanup at ETTP, overseen by Mrs. Hardin, is transforming the former government-owned enrichment complex into an industrial center, historic park, and conservation area for the community.
Previously to this role, Mrs. Hardin served as a project manager for OREM. She has more than 15 years of combined environmental cleanup and management experience, operating primarily across the Environmental Management (EM) complex within DOE.
She has also served as a site lead and environmental scientist for the Office of Legacy Management’s support contractor in Grand Junction, Colorado, performing oversight of groundwater, vegetation, and radiological management, as well as project management and safety for all sites. Previously, she worked as an environmental scientist for EM support contractors at the Los Alamos National Laboratory supporting cleanup projects, including remediation of a Manhattan-era disposal area. In her early career, she assisted with scientific research across the southwest for the U.S. Geological Service, focusing on zoonotic diseases.
Mrs. Hardin holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and biology from Eckerd College and a master’s degree in environmental health science from East Tennessee State University. She lives in Oak Ridge with her husband, two children, and a growing menagerie of pets, to include a beagle, hermit crabs, and a bearded dragon. She is also an avid photographer, who spends as much time as possible outside sharing nature with her kids.