Scott Roecker, who joined NTI one year ago after serving in senior positions at the White House and U.S. Department of Energy, has been named vice president of NTI’s Nuclear Materials Security program, NTI Co-Chair and CEO Ernest J. Moniz and NTI President and COO Joan Rohlfing announced.
In his new role, Roecker will lead a number of NTI’s signature projects, including the Global Dialogue on Nuclear Security Priorities, the NTI Nuclear Security Index, and the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification. He also will advise NTI leadership on issues related to Iran’s nuclear program.
“We are thrilled to welcome Scott into this leadership role at NTI,” said Moniz. “His vast government experience and deep expertise on nuclear security policy will be invaluable as he takes the reins of our Nuclear Materials Security Program at a critically important time.”
Roecker joined NTI in 2021 as a senior director and served most recently as deputy vice president of the program he now leads. “In addition to the substantive expertise and global network of partners Scott has built over the course of his career, he brings tremendous energy, creativity, and dedication to the work of building a safer world,” said Rohlfing.
Prior to joining NTI, Roecker served as director of the Office of Nuclear Material Removal at the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). In this position, he was responsible for all U.S.-led activities with partner countries to remove or dispose of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and separated plutonium.
Before his most recent tour at NNSA, Roecker served as director for Nuclear Threat Reduction at the White House National Security Council. In that role, he coordinated the development and implementation of policies to prevent nuclear terrorism through efforts to secure nuclear and radiological materials, minimize HEU and plutonium, and counter nuclear smuggling. He was the sous-sherpa for the United States at the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit and led efforts achieve entry into force of the Amended Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material.
Previously, Roecker was senior policy advisor at NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation. His additional government positions have included work with partners in South and Central Asia to manage border security engagement, and with Russia and China to secure nuclear materials.
Roecker began his career as a legislative assistant to U.S. Rep. Bruce F. Vento. He holds a master’s degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science from The University of Minnesota. He is proficient in Russian.
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Co-Chair and CEO of NTI and CEO and President of the EFI Foundation Ernest J. Moniz, Executive Director of CATF Armond Cohen, and experts from NTI, EFI Foundation, and CATF briefed Managing Director and CEO of ENEC His Excellency Mohamed Al Hammadi and ENEC staff on their work promoting the responsible, sustainable, and effective expansion of nuclear energy.
“The bottom line is that the countries and areas with the greatest responsibility for protecting the world from a catastrophic act of nuclear terrorism are derelict in their duty,” the 2023 NTI Index reports.
NTI and ENEC signed a three-year agreement for a new collaborative nuclear security project, “Building a Cooperative Approach to the Future of Nuclear Energy Development and Nonproliferation.”
