Interview with Jeff Fleming, CRPA’s President-Elect

Regular readers of the CRPA Bulletin have come to expect Dave Niven, chief editor, to interview incoming CRPA presidents. In this issue, Dave continues his interview series by talking with Jeff Fleming, CRPA’s president-elect.

Tell us a little bit about yourself—work life, family life.

I am employed at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) as an inspector in the Operations Inspections Division. I carry out inspections for various licences—industrial, nuclear medicine, and academic.

When I’m not inspecting or volunteering with CRPA, I spend time with my family, do woodwork in my garage, and ride one of my bikes—in no particular order.

When did you first join CRPA?

I think it was around 2015. I had just become a radiation safety officer (RSO) and was still working on naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) and uranium consulting projects. I was looking for a network of professionals to help me grow and learn. I was not disappointed.

Why did you decide to run for CRPA president?

This is a great group of people, professionally and “after hours.” I want CRPA to grow and be successful. I knew it was going to be hard for any professional society to keep the pre-pandemic momentum up, and I thought I needed to do what I could to help.

What do you plan to focus on during your presidency?

Growing our membership is a big one for me. We’re such a great group, anyone working as an RSO or health physicist, or even in other areas like radiation detection, will find membership valuable. I think having more members will give our organization more clout, our credentials will be more recognized, and we will be able to provide more frequent and varied professional development (PD) to our members and the public.

Were you able to start on any of your goals as president-elect over the past year?

So far, it’s been a year of learning for me, and the board of directors is carrying the load. I believe I have brought some help to the table, though. We’ve started talks on developing the new website, the PD committee is going strong, we are launching a NORM task force, and there are a few other irons in the fire.

If you could pick only one goal to accomplish by the end of your term as president, what would it be?

I want to see the Edmonton conference knock it out of the park. Now that travel is more predictable, I’d like to see a record number of people writing the CRPA(R) exam. I’d like to see some old faces (no offence!) again who weren’t able to join us in Halifax and that I haven’t seen since 2019. I hope to see a lot of new faces and students too!

Really, while the conference isn’t my “one goal,” I feel like the attendance and participation will be a reflection of how well the board and I can bring the enthusiasm back over the next 12 months.

Where would you like to see the association five years from now?

In five years, I’d like to see bigger membership numbers and representation from all industries. I would also love to see a lot more CRPA(R)s.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers, both members and non-members?

I hope our members enjoy the next year and feel valued as part of CRPA. If they don’t, whether that’s because the PD doesn’t appeal to them, they don’t see an opportunity to participate, or they don’t think we’re supporting them in the way that they need us to, I want to hear about it.

As for non-members, I want to know what the barriers are to them joining.

Thanks, Jeff!

See related stories:

New Board Member Interview: Meet Tara Hargreaves, October 2022

Interview with Leah Shuparski-Miller, CRPA’s President-Elect, July 2022

Interview with Diana Moscu, CRPA’s Incoming President, August 2021

Interview with Ali Shoushtarian, CRPA President-Elect, June 2020.

Interview with Karen Owen-Whitred, the new director general of the Directorate of Nuclear Substances Regulation (DNSR) at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), December 2020.

Successful Conference Networking – Not Just a Fairy Tale. Dave talks with Liane Koll, a recent graduate of the Loyalist College Radiation Safety program, and Valerie Phelan, who hired Liane after meeting her at the 2019 CRPA conference. January 2020.