Carolyn Zerkle

Carolyn Zerkle is deputy director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and vice president of Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), LLC. Zerkle participates in the day-to-day management of the Laboratory and works closely with the Livermore Field Office (LFO), the LLNS Board of Governors, the Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA), other national laboratories, industry, and the local community.

She oversees key institutional priorities, including safe and successful operations and vital infrastructure to support program deliverables; recruitment and retention of a quality operations workforce; and efficient business and operational approaches.

Previously, Zerkle was senior director for Project Execution in the Plutonium Infrastructure Directorate in Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Weapons Program, overseeing an $8 billion portfolio of nuclear construction and equipment installation in support of LANL’s pit manufacturing mission.

Zerkle earned an undergraduate degree in architecture and civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and graduate degrees in architecture and business, focusing on nuclear construction project management, from the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign.