Zerkle has more than 10 years at the Laboratory having worked most recently as an acting deputy associate director within Los Alamos' Operations directorate. Over the past four years she continued to accept increasingly challenging roles and was responsible for a $500 million annual budget associated with the Infrastructure, Facilities and Construction Office, moving from deputy program director to her current position.
"I'm really looking forward to bringing my project and program management skills to my new position," said Zerkle. "I see a number of areas in which risk-based prioritization could be of assistance to the directorate. It is important as we move forward, we do everything we can to demonstrate our control over our budgets and spending as it relates to the Laboratory's overall mission."
Before to joining the Laboratory, Zerkle spent time as an assistant director of campus planning at Illinois State University and as a principal investigator with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She has a master's degree in architecture and a master's of business administration from the University of Illinois and received her undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"We're very pleased to welcome Carolyn aboard," said Marquez. "Her experience both within and outside of the Laboratory made her an outstanding candidate for the position. Her operations background should also help provide a complement within the Administration directorate helping us to make the Laboratory more competitive from an effectiveness and efficiency standpoint."
In addition to playing a current and active role in the Lab's mentoring program, Zerkle also received a Distinguished Performance Award in 1997 and the Department of Energy's Deputy Secretary of Energy Excellence in Acquisition Award for her work with the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Building Updates Project in 2002.
Los Alamos enhances global security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health and national security concerns.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Washington Group International for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.