“I’ve been in this industry for 40 years and we have never been at a moment like we are today. …About 10 years ago, a little bit more than that, the narrative at that time was we were closing down plants…. Now the narrative today is, Hey, you know what? Some of those plants you shut down, we’ve changed our mind. How hard would it be to restart that?… All of these hyperscalers (Google, Amazon, e.g.) are figuring out partnerships and marriages, if you will, with nuclear and trying to help nuclear be brought to the marketplace….I mean, the demand is off the charts, and that’s really the biggest game changer.” Maria Korsnick on Electric Ladies Podcast
We need massive amounts of clean energy to power our electricity-hungry Economy while also reducing global warming to keep the ravages of climate events at bay. Solar and wind are great but intermittent. Between new innovations and super-high energy demands, nuclear power is back in vogue. But what are the dangers?
Listen to Maria Korsnick, President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute and a 40-year veteran of the industry in this fascinating conversation with Electric Ladies host Joan Michelson. She even operated nuclear reactors. They also share insightful career advice.
You’ll hear about:
- How nuclear plants actually work, and why she calls them “essentially a power plant.”
- Why she says nuclear plants are so much safer today than ever before.
- Why nuclear power is having a renaissance, with demand “off the charts” and 40-60-year lifecycles.
- Plus, insightful career advice, such as…
“Honestly, I would say get into nuclear power. Nuclear power is …at a threshold for incredible Growth. And the value of that is it really doesn’t matter what your background is. You could be an accountant, you could be an HR person, you could be an engineer, you could be a chemist. We need people with four year degrees, no degrees… We’re not just building that here, we’re building it around the world. Some people might want to do some more Travel as part of their job. There’s going to be room for that…. There’s all kinds of opportunities. You’ve got startup companies and you have established companies that have been in business for 50 years.” Maria Korsnick on Electric Ladies Podcast
Read Joan’s Forbes articles here.
You’ll also like:
- An Industrial Revolution Unlike Any Other – with Gwenaelle Avice-Huet, EVP and head of Automation at Schneider Electric, from their U.S. Innovation Summit 2025
- Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), on the politics of energy and infrastructure
- Doreen Harris, President and CEO of NYSERDA, on how New York is leading the way to the clean energy future.
- Jana Gerber, President, Microgrids, Schneider Electric
- Paula Glover, from the Alliance To Save Energy
- Autum Huskins, Hitachi Zosen Inova, turning waste into energy (and wine)
- Marit Brommer, Ph.D., International Geothermal Association, how geothermal is a dependable energy source
- Claire Seaborn, former Chief of Staff to Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources on what the U.S. can learn from Canada’s energy policies
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Joan Michelson, MBA is a highly accomplished business leader and award-winning strategic social impact and ESG – environment, social, governance – leader, who drove breakthrough results at Chrysler (in EVs), American Express and Deloitte, small businesses, and government agencies. She is an instructor on ESG issues to professionals, leaders and board members across industries. Her specialties include leveraging ESG solutions and partnerships strategically for maximum benefit, helping organizations recruit innovative, diverse women, and helping these women thrive in their careers. She is based in the Washington D.C. area.
Joan is also an accomplished journalist who has worked with top media organizations and hosts and produces the acclaimed Electric Ladies podcast (formerly known as Green Connections Radio), about innovation and leadership in energy-, climate- and sustainability-related issues across industries, featuring women experts.
She writes regularly for Forbes on these issues and has also been in the Harvard Business Review, HuffPost, TheAtlantic.com, Greenbiz, The New Economy magazine (distributed at the World Economic Forum), New Thinking magazine, regional business journals; and various other media. She coproduced segments with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” ABC News, and “The Crusaders,” and television specials on NBC.
Joan has spent her career working in energy-sustainability-climate-ESG issues and in marketing communications, including as head of communications and co-leader of the sales and marketing team of Chrysler’s Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), driving “best year ever” growth and significantly accelerated the adoption of electric vehicles. Prior to GEM, she led marketing communications efforts to high-net-worth and high-visibility clients in management consulting-financial services companies Deloitte and American Express. She's a native of NYC and has a BA from UCLA, an MBA from Baruch College at City University of NY, and post-graduate studies at Harvard Business School, The New School and The Aspen Institute, among others. She has a Sustainability and ESG certification from Competent Boards.
