News Archive

23 June 2020
Christopher T. Hanson and David A. Wright Sworn in by NRC

Christopher T. Hanson was sworn in on 8 June 2020 by Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Kristine L. Svinicki as the fifth NRC Commissioner. Hanson was nominated by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by the US Senate to serve the remainder of a five-year term expiring 30 June 2024. Hanson will begin serving his term immediately.

Hanson has more than two decades of government and private-sector experience in the fields of nuclear energy. Prior to joining the NRC, he served as a staff member on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Before working in the Senate, Hanson served as a senior advisor in the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy. He also served as a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he led multiple engagements for government and industry.

Hanson earned master's degrees from Yale Divinity School and Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where he focused on ethics and natural resource economics. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in religious studies from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana.

David A. Wright, nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the US Senate, was sworn in on 8 June 2020 as an NRC Commissioner by Chairman Svinicki for a second term. Wright's second term as Commissioner will begin 1 July 2020 and will end on 30 June 2025.

Wright previously served as owner/president of Wright Directions, LLC, a strategic energy and water consulting and communications business. He also served as a member and chairman of the South Carolina Public Service Commission from 2004 to 2013. He was elected and served as president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners from 2011 to 2012. Additionally, he has served as a council member and mayor of Irmo, South Carolina, and as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives.

A colon cancer survivor, Wright is an advocate for cancer awareness and education. He received a bachelor's degree in political science from Clemson University.