MEET OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – ROCHELLE BECKER

Rochelle Becker has been active on nuclear safety issues in California for 35 years. She co-founded the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility in 2005 to focus on her experience working with elected representatives and oversight agencies – both state and federal.

Rochelle has testified before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, California Energy Commission, Regional Water Quality Control Board, as well as the state legislature and Congress. She is currently intervening on license renewal issues at the CPUC and sits on the state’s review committee analyzing water-related impacts from aging reactors.

Rochelle was instrumental in gaining the support of California’s Attorney General (AG) and the County of San Luis Obispo for federal appeals and continues work with the county and AG’s office.

Rochelle met with NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko in March of 2010 to request the agency stay PG&E’s request for a license renewal and work in collaboration with California’s oversight agencies to investigate new seismic information. While in our nation’s capitol she also met with Deputy Secretary of Energy Peter Lyons, to discuss the risks of storing thousands of tons of highly radioactive waste on California’s fragile coast.

Rochelle has also worked with organizations on safety issues at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). Since Fukushima, she has done dozens of interviews and the media is following the Alliiance’s focus on state jurisdictional concerns. The Alliance is closely monitoring Southern California Edison’s efforts to push towards license renewal at SONGS.

Rochelle Becker has been quoted in articles and published Op Ed’s in local, state and nationwide newspapers. She is often interviewed radio and television network and outlets including NBC, CBS, ABC, NPR’s California Report, KPFA, KPFK, NOW, Newsweek and the New York Times.

Rochelle has won several environmental awards over the years. Rochelle’s non-environmental community activism includes: founding the birthday program for homeless children at the Santa Barbara County’s after school program in Santa Maria; working on Child Abuse issues in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County; president of the Camp Fire Board, and Executive Director of the March of Dimes in Santa Maria.

Rochelle Becker graduated from the University of San Francisco. She lives with her husband of 47 years in Grover Beach, and also in San Diego, where her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughters live full time.