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Lorenzo Wells

Lorenzo Wells
Health Physicist

“I saw a need for the Lab to see people of color who can be educated, fun and human. We are the SAME."

Lorenzo has worked at the Lab for over 25 years as a health physicist for Environment, Safety, & Health (ES&H). He was hired after working 13 years at a nuclear power facility as a health physicist. Lorenzo was always interested in radiation as he knew it was all around us and that it could affect the body, but he also wanted to understand the risks and its helpful uses. Monitoring the exposure of radiation to individuals drew him into becoming a health physicist. He enjoys working at the Lab because there is always something new to learn. He feels the learning curve will always climb at a 45-degree angle and keep the Lab interesting.

He is one of the African American Body of Laboratory Employees (ABLE) Employee Resource Group (ERG) leaders and continues to support all ERGs. The importance of diversity and inclusion is evident to him because of the negative feelings people have for those who look different. “I saw a need for the Lab to see people of color who can be educated, fun, and human. We are the SAME,” he says.

For the first time in his 25 years at the Lab he is seeing senior managers wanting more diversity and talking about it. He feels that “diversity should not be hidden because it will be apparent to anyone when you look at any organization to see people of different races, nationalities, genders, and backgrounds.” His hope for the future of this Laboratory is “to see more diversity up and down the management structure, and not only talk about wanting to be diverse, but also holding those accountable to make the change that has been desperately needed for some time.” He believes that “things have to get better and that senior management has heard the call and picked up the ball. Now we have to be proactive and continue with the tough discussions that need to occur in order to get better.”

Lorenzo’s role models are his dad, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the friend who helped him get his position at the Lab.