She grew up in Deep River and now Katie Shorter works as the manager of regulatory approval for the NPD project at the Chalk River site of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories.
The Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD) closure project proposes to demolish the above grade structure, place the debris underground and fill the facility with grout to convert it to a permanent disposal facility.
The project is in the middle of a federal environmental assessment.
Shorter is responsible for preparing environmental assessments for the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
In high school she was encouraged to try sciences to leave all of her options open.
After deciding to study as a geological engineer, Shorter was able to work on a ground water treatment project at AECL and did a masters degree at the University of Calgary that focused on groundwater, river flow systems and geo-chemistry.
Shorter spent a couple of years working for an environmental consultant at a gas site before a job opportunity came up in 2010 on the environmental remediation team at AECL.
In March of 2020, she became the manager of regulatory for the NPD project.
Katie has two pieces of advice, she encourages other to keep as many doors open as possible and not to nail down a focus too early.
She also says don’t be afraid to make mistakes and if it’s not right try something else.
You can listen to the full interview with Katie Shorter here:
