Elizabeth McAndrew-Benavides graduated with her BSNE from Purdue in 2001. She completed her M.A. in Teaching Leadership from Notre Dame in 2006 and has a pending EDD in Organizational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. She spent the first eight years of her career in different technical roles at Constellation Energy before joining the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). NEI is the industry’s policy organization that focuses on advancing nuclear energy use in the United States.

McAndrew-Benavides (pictured left) recently took on a new role as the Senior Manager of Member Services at NEI. In this role, she is responsible for increasing member value and identifying ways to engage organizations in NEI’s services and programs. She supports the Nuclear Energy Assembly, Members First and Nuclear Uniform Curriculum Programs and is responsible for other special projects that add long-term value to the industry like Delivering the Nuclear Promise and the American Nuclear Society’s K-12 Education effort.

McAndrew-Benavides has supported many nuclear policy initiatives in the nine years at NEI. She was responsible for nuclear energy jobs being included in the U.S. government’s definition of green jobs. A designation that opens up millions of dollars in federal training funding to nuclear related training and education programs. McAndrew-Benavides facilitated the Work Force Working Group, an executive team that oversaw the strategy to curtail the ageing workforce. She also was the longest serving board member to North American Young Generation in Nuclear where she was elected by 10,000 of her peers to serve as President of the organization.