This session will highlight breakthrough innovations in reactor designs, including small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced fission systems, emphasizing their potential for enhanced safety, efficiency, and sustainability.

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Join Judi Greenwald, Executive Director of the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, and Datuk NK Tong as the session’s moderator for an insightful discussion on the practical applications, policy implications, and the critical role of nuclear energy in building a decarbonized energy grid.

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Whether you’re an energy professional, policymaker, or enthusiast, this webinar offers a comprehensive look at nuclear energy’s pivotal role in a sustainable future.

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About the Speakers:

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Judi Greenwald
 

Judi Greenwald is the Executive Director of the Nuclear Innovation Alliance.

Ms. Greenwald has over 35 years of energy and environmental policy leadership experience in the public and nonprofit sectors, including the U.S. Congress, the White House, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES, formerly the Pew Center on Global Climate Change). Highlights of her distinguished career include working on the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments as congressional committee staff; overseeing energy and environmental programs at C2ES and DOE; co-founding the Carbon Capture Coalition; advising U.S. state and regional greenhouse gas initaitives; and collaborating with stakeholders to advance both economic and environmental goals.
 

She has focused extensively on deep decarbonization through the interplay of public policy, technology innovation, human behavior, and markets. She served as Deputy Director for Climate, Environment, and Energy Efficiency at US DOE's Energy Policy and Systems Analysis Office, and the Senior Climate Advisor to the Energy Secretary. She is a fellow at Princeton University's Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. Ms. Greenwald received a B.S. in Engineering, cum laude, from Princeton University, and an M.A. in Science, Technology, and Public Policy from George Washington University.

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Datuk NK Tong

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While NK’s background has primarily been in the real estate industry, he has been a lifelong advocate of sustainable living. In the past four years, he has also been a proponent of nuclear energy as the way forward for a sustainable energy transition road map that doesn’t leave anyone behind.

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Justin P. Friedman

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Mr. Friedman assumed his duties as Senior Advisor for Commercial Competitiveness in Nuclear Energy in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN) at the Department of State in September 2021.  In this position, he is responsible for developing and implementing whole-of-government strategies to support civil nuclear power projects which adhere to the highest international standards of security, nonproliferation, and safety while advancing clean energy transitions globally.  

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Previously, Mr. Friedman served as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) at the U.S. Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria (2018-2021) and Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey (2014-17).  Other overseas assignments include DCM at the U.S. Embassy in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei (2006-8), and positions in Croatia (2003-6), Canada (1997-9) and Ukraine (1995-7). 

 

In Washington, Mr. Friedman served as the Director of the State Department’s Office of Caucasus Affairs and Regional Conflicts (2011-13) and as Director of the Office of Export Control Cooperation in ISN (2009-11).  His other Washington assignments were as Special Assistant for Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy (2001-2) and on the Russia Desk (1999-2001).  Mr. Friedman has been awarded two State Department Superior Honor and five Meritorious Honor Awards.

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Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Friedman was Vice President of International Technology Consultants, a Washington, DC-based telecommunications market consulting firm. Mr. Friedman was a distinguished graduate of the National War College, where he received an M.S. in National Security Strategy.  He also holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley and an M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University.  He speaks Bulgarian, Turkish, Russian, Croatian and French.