Paula Linnen serves as the Associate Laboratory Director (ALD) for the Organizational Development Directorate, a role she has fulfilled since October 2007. As an ALD, Ms. Linnen is a member of the PNNL Executive Committee and directs more than 200 staff members in four business divisions: Human Resources, Marketing and Technical Communications, PNNL Communications, and Science and Engineering Education.
Focused on the objective of being respected and regarded by PNNL staff and stakeholders as a renowned science and technology (S&T) institution, her Directorate serves as the primary steward for enhancing PNNL's reputation, cultivating trusted relationships, and enriching PNNL's culture of courageous discovery and innovation.
Ms. Linnen and her staff:
- Create a strong sense of community and belief in the PNNL mission, vision and values
- Prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers
- Accelerate Laboratory growth by advancing and protecting PNNL's reputation
- Build internal and external PNNL advocacy
- Recruit, develop, and engage the talented workforce needed to tackle the nation's greatest challenges.
Under her leadership, PNNL has enjoyed several awards and distinctions, including: "Candidate Experience Award" (2012, 2011); "Five-Star Award" from the Federal Government Distance Learning Association (2011); "President's Award" in recognition of PNNL's partnership with the Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP) and its foundation in STEM leadership training for school administrators and teachers in Washington State (2011); "Washington's Best Places to Work" as named by the Puget Sound Journal of Business (2010); "Great Employers for New Grads" as named by Fortune magazine (2007); and "Training Top 100 Award" from Training magazine (2004, 2005).
Since joining PNNL in 1991, Ms. Linnen has served in a number of roles, including Director of Human Resources (HR) from 1996 to 2007, Vice President of HR for the Global Laboratory Operations sector of the Battelle Memorial Institute, and numerous other program and department managerial roles. Since assuming HR leadership in 1997, she has provided the vision, advocacy and stewardship for an award-winning set of PNNL leadership and staff development programs. These best-in-class programs have been woven into the fabric of PNNL and affect positive change for the way PNNL retains and wins the global competition for talent. Similarly, she provided the vision, advocacy, and stewardship for assessing and developing PNNL's staff engagement program, Life@PNNL. This collaborative vehicle embraces and reinforces the employee experience through safety and health, social responsibility, diversity, and environmental stewardship. It also provides staff members access to community service opportunities and employee affinity programs.
Additionally, Ms. Linnen sits on the HR Committee for the Board of Overseers at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (renamed SLAC) National Accelerator Laboratory, a multipurpose Department of Energy laboratory for astrophysics, photon science, accelerator and particle physics research. Members of this institution have served with distinction, winning six Nobel Prize awards.
Ms. Linnen is active in the local community, serving in several community organizations: Heritage University board member, Columbia Industries (past board chair, vice chair and marketing committee chair), March of Dimes board member, Washington State University Tri-Cities Advisory Council, Pioneer Circle for Women Helping Women, and Tri-Cities Chapter of the Society of Human Resources Managers (past Vice Chair). Ms. Linnen has also been the recipient of the Benton-Franklin County Volunteer Center's "Golden Heart Award" for volunteer excellence of a board member and the ATHENA Leadership Award for supporting, honoring and developing women leaders, an award recognized nationally through the Chambers of Commerce.
Ms. Linnen holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration/Marketing from the University of Missouri.