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This event will feature nationally recognized keynote speakers, expert panels, and a networking lunch, creating an unparalleled platform for dialogue.
On August 20, 2026, the Samuel Lawrence Foundation will host a San Onofre Symposium: Nuclear Waste to Clean Energy. The symposium will convene policymakers, scientists, researchers, business leaders, and community stakeholders to address both the unresolved challenge of spent fuel stored at San Onofre and the accelerating transition toward clean, safe, and affordable energy alternatives.
Nationally prominent figures in energy, science, and policy take the main stage for conversations that cut through the noise.
Deep-dive sessions examining nuclear waste risk, clean energy solutions, policy reform, and energy myths — with real data and real experts.
Attendees spanning media, academia, government, and the public — creating a truly cross-sector platform for change.
Energy demands are increasing globally, and electricity costs are rising. Our panel of policy experts, energy analysts, and industry insiders separate energy fact from fiction and illuminate the rapidly changing renewables landscape. This panel will showcase the data, technologies, and capital expenditures driving the energy sector forward.
Speakers: Mark Z. Jacobson, Rob Wilder, Bob Keefe, Cole Ashman
Moderator: Nilmini Silva-Send
This panel will examine the unique risks that make San Onofre one of the worst locations to store nuclear waste. Panelists will discuss how seismic activity, sea-level rise, and enhanced saltwater corrosion pose challenges to long-term containment at the San Onofre site.
Speakers: James Day, Kim McCoy, David Weisman
Moderator: Mike Pasqualetti
Experts provide insights into the technological innovations of spent fuel storage and monitoring and what features any long-term spent fuel repository must incorporate. The panel will also touch upon international comparisons for long-term storage and how novel waste streams from small modular reactors and Generation 4 reactors might alter storage needs.
Speakers: Yang-Duan Su, John McCloy
Moderator: Greg Jaczko
Policymakers and community engagement experts lay out the policies that will enable us to move the waste safely, and how the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses might provide a bi-partisan opportunity to break the decades-long impasse.
Speakers: Congressman Scott Peters, Congressman Mike Levin, Carmen Valdez
Moderator: Hayley Smith

Congressman Levin is serving his fourth term representing California's 49th district. He sits on the House Appropriations Committee and is a leading congressional voice on nuclear waste safety. He founded and Co-Chairs the bipartisan Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions Caucus and is a driving force behind efforts to move spent fuel out of San Onofre as safely and quickly as possible.

Congressman Peters has served California’s 50th Congressional District since 2012. He currently sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Budget Committee. Representative Peters focuses on advancing practical and critical climate policies and understands that problems like nuclear waste require bipartisan solutions.

Yazan Alwadi is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow focused on the health effects of environmental exposures, including nuclear power plants. His work combines engineering, epidemiology, and biostatistics to address complex public health and energy-related challenges. Dr. Alwadi also spent a decade leading large-scale energy infrastructure projects.

Tina Cordova co-founded the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium to spotlight the health impacts people living near the New Mexico Trinity site face. She pushed for legislation that provided health care coverage and partial restitution to affected communities. Tina is a cancer survivor, the fourth of five generations in her family to have cancer since 1945.

Mark Jacobson has dedicated his career to understanding climate problems and developing large-scale, clean, renewable energy solutions. He established roadmaps to transition countries, states, and cities to 100% clean, renewable energy. He explores the subject in his books: No Miracles Needed (2023) and Still No Miracles Needed (2026).

Dr. Rob Wilder co-founded the first clean energy index on Wall Street and the first global clean energy investment theme, helping pioneer climate-focused investing. Last month the Fund tracking his Clean Energy Index had over $1Billion in trading. A Fulbright Senior Specialist and XPRIZE Foundation grant recipient, he has lectured at universities, published in scientific and policy journals, and makes frequent media appearances.

Dr. McCloy is Professor and Lindholm Chair in Materials Engineering at Washington State University. When he isn’t in the classroom, he is a joint appointee at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where his research helps to advance work at the Hanford site—developing glass formulations used to immobilize radioactive waste for safe disposal.

Bob Keefe is Executive Director of E2, the national nonpartisan network of business leaders advocating for a clean economy. He is also a 2025 TIME100 Climate honoree and is the author of Climatenomics (2022) and Clean Economy NOW (2024). His expertise draws on more than two decades as a business and environmental journalist.

Dr. Su is a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Pittsburgh and incoming Engineer at Sensible Photonics. His research on photonic materials and fiber optic sensing for energy infrastructure monitoring earned him a 2023 R&D 100 Award for a multi-parameter fiber optic sensor system for grid distribution transformers.

Cole Ashman is the founder and CEO of Pila Energy, where he's built the first plug-in mesh home battery on the conviction that power shouldn't be a luxury. Pila provides accessible backup power for any home, including the millions of renters locked out of traditional energy storage. Before founding Pila, Cole helped build the Tesla Powerwall and led product at SPAN.

Carmen Valdez is a Senior Policy Associate at the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah), where she leads the radioactive and toxics campaign. She brings decades of nonprofit experience in human rights and advocacy, from grassroots to board membership, and holds a degree in political science and international affairs from the University of Utah.

James Day is a professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. Day is a geologist and geochemist whose research spans studies of the Moon, Mars, asteroids, terrestrial volcanism, and nuclear detonation.

McCoy is an oceanographer with expertise in coastal processes and instrumentation design. He has completed 40+ science projects including nine to Polar regions, and has extensive international science and geo-political knowledge. Honored with NATO's Scientific Achievement Award, he also authored 'Waves and Beaches: The Powerful Dynamics of Sea and Coast'

Tim leads technical research and policy analysis on nuclear power and the nuclear fuel cycle for State of Utah. His work focuses on bridging technical research and public policy to better understand complex energy challenges and emerging technologies. Tim holds a Ph.D. from the University of Utah, with a technical foundation in multiphysics modeling and advanced energy storage technologies.

David Weisman recently retired as Executive Director of the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility, a utility ratepayer watchdog nonprofit, after a 21-year career advocating for nuclear safety. A key figure in the shutdown of San Onofre and the effort to retire Diablo Canyon, he wrote legislation adopted into California law and is also an award-winning environmental documentary filmmaker.

Monette oversees occupational safety, biosafety, radiation safety, chemical safety, fire and life safety, and regulated waste management on both the academic and medical campuses at the University of Utah. He is a board-certified health physicist (CHP) with over 35 years of experience and serves as the Radiation Safety Officer for both the University of Utah and Weber State University.
Join us on August 20, 2026 at Scripps Seaside Forum in La Jolla for a day of science, policy, and community dialogue. Lunch will be provided.
Students with a valid .edu email will receive a complimentary ticket. Please email admin@samuellawrencefoundation.org to claim.
| Benefit | Gold $5,000 | Silver $1,000 | Bronze $500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tickets to Symposium | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Logo on Website & Program | Premier | ✓ | ✓ |
| Social Media Posts | 3 posts | 2 posts | 1 post |
| Video on Main Stage | 60 sec | 30 sec | — |
| Named in Press Release | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Newsletter Feature | Spotlight | Recognition | Recognition |
| Recognition in Remarks | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Panel Moderator Opportunity | ✓ | — | — |
Contact nadia@samuellawrencefoundation.org for sponsorship inquiries or general questions.
This year’s symposium will build on our previous event, held on July 24, 2024. Hosted at UC San Diego, in cooperation with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the panels assessed radioactive waste dangers at the San Onofre nuclear power plant, in coastal areas of the U.S., and nationwide.