Tuesday 15^th July: Empowering Change - Exploring the Impact of Mentoring

Hannah joined Assystem through its acquisition of Corporate Risk Associates and is now the Director of Assystem's Nuclear Safety & Risk capability, supporting a broad range of clients across civil and defence nuclear with practical and strategic Safety Case, Human Factors and Risk and Reliability services and solutions.

In her role leading Safety & Risk at Assystem, Hannah heads up the Nuclear Safety Academy, delivering online and in-person training, dedicated career progression and mentoring to less experienced and new-to-nuclear safety professionals across the industry. She's also responsible for the annual Safety & Risk Forum, a conference for technical practitioners and industry leaders alike, which will be held in Manchester in September this year.

Hannah's background is Nuclear Engineering and she is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, a graduate of Durham University Business School, and a Non-Executive Director (NED) on the Women in Nuclear NED programme.

Hannah is passionate about encouraging and empowering women in nuclear and broader STEM industries, and is a mentor on Assystem's EmpowHER programme and an ambassador for the Parents and Carers ED&I Network.

Ciara is an experienced senior commercial leader with a private sector background. She began her career with BAE Systems, delivering high value complex projects with domestic and international clients. She joined NTS from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority where she was Head of Commercial Projects. Ciara stepped up from Chief Operating Officer into her Co-CEO role in 2025, and for the last 3 years has been the Executive Sponsor of the NDA group Gender Balance Network, promoting and facilitating a stronger presence of women within the nuclear industry.

Ciara possesses deep expertise in the nuclear sector, spanning the entire fuel cycle and advanced nuclear technologies. She also maintains a broad and influential network of domestic and international partners, including industry stakeholders, Governments, and non-Governmental organisations (NGOs). With a strong track record of leading major projects and programs, Ciara brings a solid background in commercial, strategy, finance, and business development.

Fiona Rayment enjoys a plural career covering nuclear advisory and non-executive director roles and has dedicated decades to the nuclear sector with extensive strategic and operational experience. She is a chartered chemist and engineer with a PhD in chemistry from University of Strathclyde, Glasgow and a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Royal Society of Edinburgh, Royal Society of Chemistry, Nuclear Institute and American Nuclear Society.

Fiona has recently served as Chief Science and Technology Officer at the U.K. National Nuclear Laboratory, as a member of Euratom’s Science and Technology Committee, was the first chair of the UK’s Nuclear Skills Strategy Group.

Her current roles include being a member of the Office of Nuclear Regulation Chief Nuclear Inspector’s Independent Advisory Panel, a visiting professor at the University of Manchester, President of the Nuclear Institute, Patron of Women in Nuclear UK, Non-Executive Member of the Board of the UK Space Agency and Non-Executive Director of Nuclear Restoration Services.

Fiona has long advocated widening participation in science and engineering and champions approaches enabling diversity and inclusion.

She was awarded an OBE in 2017 and the French Légion d’Honneur in 2020.

Jake is the International Liaison lead for the Nuclear Institute Young Generation Network and has several years’ experience working with other nuclear societies around the world to enhance and create opportunities for cross-border collaboration. Jake has previous experience working in decommissioning, the supply chain and in public affairs before recently joining Nuclear Waste Services as a Site Evaluation Technical Support to the UK’s Geological Disposal Facility programme where he utilises his background in environment and geoscience to progress the project towards finding a final site for the safe and secure disposal of radioactive waste.

With more than 25 years of service at Bechtel and a broad foundation of work experience prior to joining the company, Lisa Armstrong brings a deep commitment to creating inclusive environments where all voices are valued. She has led teams in human resources, ethics & compliance, subcontracts, and procurement, and started her Bechtel career as an environmental scientist. Now, as Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Lisa shapes and drives initiatives that promote equity and belonging across Bechtel’s global workforce. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Elizabeth City State University.

Sophie is a nuclear process engineer and early career professional at Mott MacDonald. A member of the Mott MacDonald ‘Women in Nuclear’ initiative (and previous programme director of the scheme), Sophie contributed to setting up the first mentoring scheme under the initiative and has participated as a mentee for the past two years. Sophie has found the scheme incredibly useful – it has helped to plan and shape a career journey in the nuclear industry and has provided additional insight into nuclear career pathways that would not have been identified otherwise.