Time to pass the baton
- By C-10 Team
- •
- 02 Mar, 2022
Natalie Hildt Treat has led C-10 for 5 years, will continue as advisor
Treat knew there'd be challenges ahead as she worked to enhance the group's organizational capacity, online presence and fundraising efforts, but also that she would be leading an organization with a strong legacy and reputation on which to build. Little did she know that just weeks into her tenure, C-10 would launch what would ultimately become a successful legal challenge to Seabrook Station’s management of the serious and pervasive concrete degradation known as alkali-silica reaction (ASR).
"Working with our team as well as our concrete expert Dr. Victor Saouma and Attorney Diane Curran was just an incredible experience," said Treat, who helped garner regional and national media coverage during the case heard by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)'s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board. (See media coverage here.)
Under Treat’s leadership, C-10 has upgraded and expanded the Citizens Radiological Monitoring Network, the only independent field monitoring network surrounding a commercial nuclear reactor in the nation. Having secured funding from a variety of sources, C-10 is currently laying the groundwork to make the network resilient in the face of climate change (watch this video for details).
Treat has worked with Massachusetts U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and other elected officials to push for stronger oversight of the plant, and her efforts have gained greater recognition of the importance of C-10. Thanks to the group’s elevated profile, C-10 has been invited to meet with Christopher Hanson, Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on March 11 to discuss C-10’s safety concerns relative to Seabrook.
“Natalie has been exactly the leader C-10 needed. She has done spectacular work at C-10, and we will miss her profoundly,” said Patricia Skibbee, president of C-10’s board of directors. “She has led us into the 21st century on tech, and has established vital and solid relationships with our regional, state and local elected officials and with members of the press. Due to her work, C-10 has become a trusted source for factual and detailed information on the plant’s ongoing operational safety issues,” said Skibbee.
“It has been an honor to lead this important group for the past five years,” said Treat. “When I became the executive director and learned about the impact that C-10 has made, I said to myself, 'Wow. Every person living in the plant’s 10-mile emergency planning zone owes a debt of gratitude to this group for their efforts to keep us all safe.’ I feel that even more strongly today,” said Treat, who lives with her family in nearby Salisbury, Mass.
Treat leaves C-10 on solid financial footing, and with a three-year strategic plan which includes efforts to reach new audiences and to develop new environmental research projects.
In late March, Treat will start a position with the Boston-based nonprofit Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use (NESCAUM). She will work with C-10's board and staff to ensure a smooth transition, and plans to join C-10's esteemed Advisory Board.
C-10 is actively seeking to fill the executive director position. The job posting is available here.
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