Learning architect for regulated industries. Building training programs and organizations where safety and performance are non-negotiable.
I have spent more than 25 years building and leading nuclear operations and training organizations where safety and performance are non-negotiable.
My path runs from the engine room of a Navy fast attack submarine to the control room of a commercial nuclear plant, through uranium enrichment and the commissioning of the first AP1000 reactors to reach commercial operation in the United States, and now into advanced reactor technology.
Today I focus on standing up training programs and organizations from the ground up: learning and development strategy, staffing, procedure libraries, qualification programs grounded in the Systematic Approach to Training, and the learning technology that supports them. My PhD and MBA pair that operational credibility with research-based practice and disciplined business execution.
What has not changed is why I do this work. My passion is helping people learn, develop, and perform at their best, especially when it matters most.
I work with clients through LandD Consulting, LLC, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business I own and operate, serving the nuclear, energy, technical, and government sectors.
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LSU Doctoral Dissertations, 6281. Louisiana State University.
Academy of Human Resource Development Conference Proceedings.
Matt’s skills in management and leadership of various departments of a nuclear organization are among the best I have seen in 30 years of nuclear experience. He consistently encourages personal professional development while maintaining the highest performance standards for his organization.
I have spent most of my career in leadership roles, from supervising plant operations crews to managing departments and, now, running my own firm. Each role has had its own challenges, but all of them require dedication to organizational goals and a genuine desire to help people work together and become more than the sum of their individual abilities. Organizations get stronger when their people are more capable, more motivated, and better prepared.
In operations and project environments, the focus is on short-term tactical goals such as monitoring and controlling plant equipment or completing a test sequence. Even when team membership changes from shift to shift, there is always room to develop people through coaching, mentoring, and sound guidance.
First-line supervision balances project objectives with the longer-term development of each individual contributor. Coaching and motivation matter most here.
At the manager level, the focus shifts to strategy, planning, budgets, and building organizations that fulfill their mission. I still put the highest priority on serving my people. In both department management roles I held, I was succeeded by one of my own first-line supervisors.
One of my first experiences as a Navy instructor was with a student who was struggling with a difficult nuclear physics concept. I reframed the material in a way that connected for him, and I will never forget the moment the pieces fell into place. That experience showed me that training is more than a utility for an organization. Done well, it builds confidence and gives people the opportunity to excel. It has been my passion ever since.
A recurring theme in my career is standing up training where none existed before. At Louisiana Energy Services, I joined as an electrical and operations instructor during construction and later led the department as Training Manager through the transition from construction to an operating facility. More recently, as a consultant, I built the training organization for BWXT Enrichment Operations, a greenfield uranium enrichment enterprise, including:
For a first-of-a-kind advanced reactor demonstration project, I design, develop, and deliver personnel and organizational learning solutions that support licensing and operational readiness, and I help build training department and instructor development strategies aligned with INPO accreditation standards.
In high-consequence environments, error-free performance is the goal and human performance is the lever. We are all prone to mistakes, but the right practices help us understand the human factors involved, reduce the opportunity for error, minimize the consequences, and build principles of operation that hold up under pressure.
As Performance Improvement Coordinator for Entergy’s Operations Department, I drew on my experience as a Control Room Supervisor and Senior Reactor Operator to evaluate and improve operations practices. I investigated human performance errors, conducted cause analyses, evaluated conditions that could affect the safety of personnel and systems, and analyzed performance indicators to catch adverse trends early.
I conducted performance and training needs analyses and built interventions from the results. One example was adapting Entergy’s observation tool to the specific needs of department supervisors and managers, increasing their engagement with their teams and giving us a way to track whether interventions were working.
My doctoral research used structural equation modeling to examine how supervisor communication shapes employee commitment, self-efficacy, and motivation. That work informs how I approach needs analysis, program evaluation, and leader development today.
Engineering is where an understanding of how a plant is designed meets how it is actually operated and tested. My degree in Nuclear Engineering Technology built on Navy nuclear engineering training, and two roles in particular put that foundation to work: advising an operating crew as a Shift Technical Advisor, and commissioning new reactors as a test engineer at Plant Vogtle.
As Shift Technical Advisor, I provided advisory technical support to the unit operations shift crew in the areas of thermal hydraulics, reactor engineering, and plant analysis. The role brings an engineering assessment of plant conditions to the shift, particularly during off-normal and emergency conditions, so that the crew’s decisions are grounded in a clear understanding of how the reactor and its supporting systems are behaving.
At Plant Vogtle, I worked in the Initial Test Program during construction of Units 3 and 4, the first AP1000 reactors to achieve commercial operation in the United States.
ITP Test Engineer III
Initial Testing Program Manager
I have always had a knack for anything mechanical or electrical. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of helping my dad work on the family vehicles, and I rebuilt my first engine at eighteen. That curiosity has served me well throughout my career; I genuinely enjoy troubleshooting and repairing complex equipment.
In the submarine force, operators maintain their own equipment, and before becoming a reactor operator I was trained and rated as an Electronics Technician. Two of my most substantial Navy maintenance accomplishments were replacing a control rod drive power supply and troubleshooting and replacing a nuclear instrument detector, work normally performed by specialized contract personnel. As Reactor Controls Division Leading Petty Officer, I especially enjoyed training my people in efficient maintenance practices and watching them complete projects on their own.
At Railpower Hybrid Technologies, I serviced hybrid switching locomotives: diesel generators, battery banks, solid-state power distribution, pneumatics, and PLC controls. I regularly developed field solutions to complex problems and fed recommendations back to the design team.
At Louisiana Energy Services, I developed maintenance training for substation transformers, distribution switchgear, and PLC systems, along with electrical safety training for work on and around high-voltage equipment. As Manager of I&C Maintenance at Waterford 3, my role was strategic: working with first-line supervisors to improve the planning, coordination, and execution of maintenance on the plant’s instrumentation and control systems.
Operations is where the rubber meets the road. Real-time decision making and team coordination depend on deep knowledge of the process and the procedures, and on strong working relationships across the crew. I consider operations my first role, and it has guided me throughout my career whether I was on watch or supporting operators through maintenance and training.
I trained as a reactor operator and served at the MARF prototype in Ballston Spa, New York, and aboard USS Buffalo, a nuclear fast attack submarine. As an Engineering Watch Supervisor I directed the engine room team of mechanics, electricians, and reactor technicians, including responses to plant casualties in both routine and combat conditions.
At Entergy’s Waterford 3, I was a Control Room Supervisor and licensed Senior Reactor Operator, leading a crew of 12 licensed and non-licensed operators through routine, off-normal, and emergency operations. During refueling outages I also led refueling and testing teams.
Clear, usable procedures are what allow operations to be executed safely and consistently. Procedures I have developed include:
Training Manager, BWXT Enrichment Operations
Learning Consultant, advanced reactor developer
Initial Testing Program Manager, Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4
Performance Improvement Coordinator, Operations
Manager, I&C Maintenance
Control Room Supervisor / Senior Reactor Operator
Training Manager
Technical Training Supervisor
Senior Technical Instructor, Operations and Electrical
Senior Operator
Electronics Technician First Class (Nuclear), Training Administrator and Instructor
Reactor Controls Division Leading Petty Officer
Engineering Watch Supervisor, Reactor Operator, and Quality Assurance Inspector
GPA: 4.0
The Leadership & Human Resource Development (LHRD) PhD offers a research-oriented, broad-based program of study that is strongly grounded in leadership, human resource and organization development, and change management theory. The curriculum is focused on foundational and advanced theory and evidence-based practice to ensure relevance in today's challenging organizational environments.
Building on my coursework completed for my master’s in Human Resource Education, I focused my coursework in research and analytical practices for the field of organizational development to include a focus on analytical statistics, structural equation modelling, quantitative and qualitative research methods, applied research and further coursework specific to the field of Leadership and HRD including:
Virtual Supervisor Communication Effectiveness and Intrapreneurial Motivation: The Mediating Roles of Affective Organizational Commitment and Occupational Self-Efficacy (2023). LSU Doctoral Dissertations, 6281.
GPA: 4.0
The mission of the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development is to enhance the development of individuals, organizations and workforce systems through research that advances the creation and application of new knowledge; innovative teaching that prepares scholars, researchers, and professionals to meet the organizational and human capital needs of a dynamic, interconnected, global society; and service and outreach endeavors that connect the School with the local, national, and international community.
Graduate Coursework Completed:
GPA: 4.0
The LSUS School of Business provides undergraduate and graduate programs to over 2000 students. It is an AACSB International accredited business school, placing it in the top 5% of business schools worldwide.
Graduate coursework completed:
Received the 2015 University Award for outstanding achievement in the MBA program
In addition to undergraduate coursework in social sciences, humanities, physical sciences, mathematics, additional coursework building on Navy Nuclear Engineering Training includes: