Nuclear Allies of the Month

Andrea Leong cares deeply about nature and the environment. She also cares about people. That’s why she calls herself a “tree-hugging bleeding heart.” Practicing a form of pro-human environmentalism, encompassing people, food, and energy, Leong advocates for nuclear and sustainable food systems as the president of WePlanet Australia and the Fusion Party, a political party aiming to reverse Australia’s ban on nuclear. Read on to hear more of her story as a politician, biologist, and activist. 

One moment he was an ordinary engineering student at Texas A&M. The next, he was catapulted into the national spotlight, embraced by the global nuclear energy community, and transformed into a symbol for the growing grassroots support for nuclear. All it took was a homemade “I Love Nuclear Sign” held up at the nationally broadcast college gameday on August 31 as A&M took on Notre Dame. 

Meet Michael McLean, the YIMBY urbanist fighting for cleaner and more affordable cities. 

McLean, who works at a tech start up doing data and analytic work, is a key affordable housing and bicycle advocate in Chicago. He sees nuclear as a way to provide cities with clean electricity and transportation. 

Ia Aanstoot embarked on a journey towards environmental activism, at just 13, inspired by like minded youth across the world demanding climate action and envisioning a cleaner future for future generations. It was at this time, in August, 2018 that Greta Thunberg stopped attending school, vowing not to return until the Swedish government took action on climate change.

Dinara Ermakova, a nuclear engineer specializing in waste management and public policy, is driven to deliver environmental policies that secure environmental justice and a greener future. With the Anthropocene Institute, Ermakova engages in community outreach, attends global conferences on nuclear, and advocates for nuclear energy as a science communicator. 

Rodrigo Casimiro and André Feliciano, who describe each other as best friends, launched Nuclear Vision Portugal to inform people about nuclear energy and motivate the public to participate in energy policy. 

A large goal of Nuclear Vision is to allay the public’s fears, and clarify misunderstandings.

Westinghouse risk analysis engineer and nuclear advocate Jenifer Avellaneda described herself as a “proud nerd” seeking to be the female role model in engineering and nuclear that she never had growing up in Mexico and the U.S. 

Avellaneda has been interested in nuclear technology since she was 12, looking into the benefits it could bring, and energy production as a basic need. Her advocacy career, however, took off on X/Twitter as she tried to stop the spread of misinformation about nuclear and the Russian-Ukraine war. 

At just 26 years old, Johan Sollid has taken the helm of a nascent and budding pro-nuclear movement within his native country of Denmark. Sollid chairs Foreningen Atomkraft Ja Tak (nuclear, yes please), which “dismantles misunderstandings about climate and energy based on the leading science in the field”, writes about energy, and hosts a radio show about nuclear, Radioaktiv 24syv. 

The co-founders of Econucleares, Guillem Sanchiz Ramirez and Marc Altés Soler, both nuclear engineers from Barcelona, have sparked a pro-nuclear movement within Spain. Their organization Econucleares is launching a Stand Up for Nuclear rally on March 23rd in Barcelona to save Spain’s 7 reactors from premature closure. The group has amassed a following on social media, becoming one of the largest Spanish language nuclear accounts.

Heather Hoff, the co-founder of Mothers for Nuclear, helped save Diablo Canyon, where she works at as a nuclear operator, from premature closure. Her organization aims to fill a gap in nuclear communications, specifically listening to and working from the concerns of mothers.

Charlyne Smith, the first black woman to graduate from the University of Florida with a PhD in nuclear engineering, is on a mission to bring nuclear energy to the caribbean. Smith, an analyst for the nuclear think tank Breakthrough Institute, recently hosted a nuclear engineering boot camp in Jamaica.

A biologist and lifelong environmentalist, Tea Tormanen played a crucial role in shifting nuclear policy within the Green Party of Finland. She advocates for nuclear energy across the globe, from an ecomodernist perspective, with RePlanet, a coalition of environmental organizations with similar goals.

Since forming advocacy group Africa4Nuclear in 2021, Princy Mthombeni has become a premier advocate for nuclear energy on behalf of Africa. A skilled online communicator, Mthombeni utilizes Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube to explore nuclear energy issues from an African perspective. 

Adam Blazowski lives in the dirtiest country in Europe. As a lifelong environmentalist, he is on a mission to help transition Poland off of fossil fuels and onto clean nuclear energy. 

Madi Hilly, the director of Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal, views nuclear energy as a way to combat climate change and alleviate poverty around the globe. Her organization advocates to preserve existing nuclear plants in the U.S., train a nuclear workforce, and develop new nuclear technology. 

An energy investor since 2004, Isuru Seneviratne began investing in nuclear energy after research led him to believe it is the “most sustainable, reliable source of energy to unlock human prosperity.” 

When she first started to advocate for nuclear energy in 2021, Angelica Oung felt disheartened, like there was little to fight for. A former off-shore wind reporter in Taipei, Taiwan, Oung said today she has hope, amazed at the dramatic change in public opinion in only a couple years. 

Where Ryan Pickering grew up, in Livermore, California, he said everyone around him rejected even the idea of considering nuclear energy as a viable energy source. Always interested in the environment, as a child Pickering created science fair projects on energy and successfully lobbied politicians in Livermore to repair broken wind turbines. 

Growing up in Eastern Germany, Britta Augustin experienced lung pain and skin maladies related to the heavy air pollution. Augustin’s small town also bordered mountains and forests; like many Germans she cherished this natural beauty.