Meet LLNL: Workforce Development Administrator Shaine Athey

Shaine Athey did not follow a linear path to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), but she helped create one for others.

A workforce development administrator in the Engineering Directorate’s Associate Director’s Office, Athey works in recruiting and workplace development programming. Her job centers on bringing people together, from students arriving for summer programs to employees looking to connect across the Lab.

A California native, Athey grew up in Los Angeles and Eureka, earned a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s in public history from Sacramento State University, and lives in Livermore with her husband and daughter.

Before joining LLNL, Athey worked as an urban planner in historic preservation for the city of Long Beach. After the 2008 recession, she was laid off, later moved to Pleasanton and eventually worked at Sandia National Laboratories before coming to LLNL.

Her current role grew out of that experience, and out of a willingness to take on more.

“I kind of created [my role],” Athey said. “I just kept asking to do other things. ‘Can I take this on? Can I do this?’”

Over time, that approach helped shape programs including the Engineering Directorate’s Summer Scholar Program, Engineering Inside and Out and the Admin Careers Development Series. She has also helped coordinate Lab-industry partnerships, including work that contributed to ventilator production during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Athey said she most enjoys the people-centered side of her work.

“I love interacting with people,” she said. “I love organizing the events, I love making sure that things run smoothly and have a great outcome and that people are glad that they showed up.”

She said in-person connection remains important. “I think in-person is hugely important,” Athey said. “It does something for you.” For Athey, those gatherings offer more than networking. They help people feel supported, build confidence and step away from the daily grind.

“I think it is hugely important for people’s mental health to step away, to have something that’s not work-related and to just be,” she said.

Athey said mentorship played a major role in her own path, and it is something she encourages others to seek out.

“Connections make this world go round,” she said. “You do need to connect with people in order to get yourself out there and to find new paths, new challenges and new opportunities.”

Though she no longer works directly in history or urban planning, Athey still finds herself drawn to historic preservation and infrastructure. She enjoys reading, traveling and admiring historic architecture, and she likes seeing the story of a place reflected in its buildings.

“You can learn so much about the Lab’s history just by looking at its buildings and how the campus has changed over time,” she said. “It’s fascinating.”