Lisa Gordon-Hagerty

Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty is an American scientist and former government official who most recently served as the Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. Earlier in her career, she had served in various other leadership positions in the Department of Energy and the National Security Council.

Gordon-Hagerty graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in 1983, and an M.P.H. in health physics in 1986. During her graduate studies, she worked at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site.

After graduation, she worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She then moved to Washington, D.C., to join the staff of the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

She then spent six years in the Department of Energy as the Director of the Office of Emergency Response and Acting Director of the Office of Weapons Surety. As Director of the Office of Emergency Response, she had authority to activate the Nuclear Emergency Search Team, which led The Washington Times to compare her to a female James Bond.

In July 1998, she became Director of the White House Office of Combating Terrorism under the National Security Council. She was appointed during the Clinton administration and remained in the position into the Bush administration. She was closely involved in its response to the September 11 attacks, and was present in the White House compound during the attacks.

She then served in several positions in the private sector. From 2003 to 2005, she was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of United States Enrichment Corporation. She then was president of consulting firm Tier Tech International, and president and CEO of consulting firm LEG. She was named to Fortune magazine’s Most Powerful Women in 2004, 2005 and 2006. She also served on the board of experts for the Federation of American Scientists.

Gordon-Hagerty was appointed by President Donald Trump as Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, confirmed by the US Senate on February 15, 2018and was sworn in on February 22, 2018. In September 2019, she was named as one of five finalists for National Security Advisor after the resignation of John Bolton, although the position ultimately went to Robert C. O'Brien. On November 6, 2020, she resigned from her posts as Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration.

During a congressional committee hearing, Representative Curt Weldon compared Gordon-Hagerty to a character in the 1997 thriller The Peacemaker, a counterterrorism director portrayed by Nicole Kidman. She was reportedly underwhelmed by this, quoted as jokingly saying "I have more important things to do than advise Nicole Kidman."

In 2007, she married Walter Houston, the founder and CEO of Tier Tech International.