Mindy Delong-Weetch, Research Analyst

Mindy DeLong-Weetch is a programmatic risk manager for the Risk and Environmental Assessment group. Mindy earned her MBA and BA in accounting from Washington State University after earning an AA and an AAS in accounting from Columbia Basin College. She has earned a professional certificate in Stanford Strategic Decision and Risk Management and the NeuralPlan Project Planning Qualification, and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

Since joining PNNL, DeLong-Weetch has provided risk management expertise to several NNSA nuclear weapons programs, as well as to sustainable fuel scale-up projects through the Bio-Energy Technology Office (BETO).

DeLong-Weetch had previously worked for 11 years at the Hanford Site, primarily in risk management as first a risk analyst, then a risk manager, and finally as the manager of Contractor Assurance. In these roles, she performed many statistical analyses supporting a variety of projects, ranging from short-term, repeated efforts with relatively low cost to projects spanning multiple years and millions of dollars. Additionally, she performed and oversaw the performance of causal analyses to prevent the recurrence of significant issues. 

During this time, she led two separate multi-entity efforts to develop and implement site-wide software packages, was a member of the Energy Facilities Contractor Group (EFCOG), and co-published “Improve Planning and Forecasting and Reduce Risk Using Behavioral Science," in September 2018.

Learn more about DeLong-Weetch here. 

Fleur de Peralta, Senior Advisor

Fleur de Peralta is an advisor in the Risk and Environmental Assessment group at PNNL. She received a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with emphasis on thermal science and power systems. She also received a MA in mental health counseling from Argosy University, certificates in engineering management and fire protection engineering from UCLA Extension, and cybersecurity for information systems from Harvard University’s Office of Vice Provost.  

Ms. de Peralta is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of California and has over 33 years of professional experience in projects involving nuclear power plant design, operation, licensing, and maintenance, cybersecurity programs for enterprise information systems and different types of energy generating assets (e.g., nuclear, solar, wind, marine renewable energy, biomass/biofuel), and development of data architectures and management strategies.  She joined PNNL in 2014 and has worked on various nuclear risk, environmental impact, and cybersecurity projects for the NRC, Department of Defense, DOE Water Power Technologies Office, and NNSA.  Before joining PNNL, she owned and operated an engineering services consulting firm for 25 years that focused on providing design, licensing, operations, engineering, and maintenance support for various nuclear power plants (pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors) across the United States.

Learn more about de Peralta here. 

Craig Maloney, Research Analyst

Craig Maloney is a project manager in the Risk & Decision Sciences group. Craig has a BS in applied and computational mathematical sciences from the University of Washington, with a minor in mathematics. He earned his Project Management Professional (PMP) certification in 2010 and is also a certified Lean Six Sigma Blackbelt. Since 2009, Maloney has managed project and programmatic risks in support of highly complex DOE projects, which range in duration from years to nearly a century, with lifecycle costs up to tens of billions of dollars.

Maloney has extensive knowledge and practical experience of risk applications for producing sound and defensible risk elicitation and Monte Carlo risk analyses. He has a long track record of applying risk assessment skills to support business development, project management, and technical contributions for a variety of technically complex projects.

Learn more about Maloney here. 

Krystal Ayala, Research Analyst

Krystal M. Ayala, MSOL, is a Risk Analyst specializing in energy infrastructure security and resilience. She supports all levels of government, private owners and operators, and international partners in embedding risk intelligence into decision-making and addressing vulnerabilities through the development of tailored mitigation strategies. Her expertise includes analyzing interdependencies and cross-sector risks to enhance resilience and strengthen security across critical infrastructure systems.

Since joining PNNL in 2022, Ayala has focused on providing data-informed insights and employing a systems-thinking approach to conduct risk assessments, develop strategic solutions, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to embed risk practices that align with organizational objectives. Previously, Ayala contributed to public health training and policy administration in New York State. 

Learn more about Ayala here.

Emma Kinnunen, Data Scientist

Emma Kinnunen is a data scientist in the Risk and Environmental Assessment Group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Since joining PNNL in 2025, Kinnunen’s work has focused primarily on quantitative and qualitative risk analysis, applied statistical modeling, and the development of data-driven applications. She specializes in building analytical workflows, interactive dashboards, and visualization tools that bridge technical analysis and practical decision-making. Kinnunen holds a BA in mathematics and is currently pursuing an MS in biostatistics which is further developing her expertise in applied statistical modeling and inference.

Learn more about Kinnunen here.

Ruby Ramirez, Data Scientist

Ruby Ramirez is a data scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) who works with the Risk Analysis team. Ramirez has worked with the Science Systems and Applications Freshwater Sensing Team on a deep learning cloud masking algorithm. She presented their results at the American Geophysical Union conference in 2022.

Learn more about Ramirez here.

Abby Tallman, Data Scientist

Abby Tallman is a data scientist with the Risk Analysis Team at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). She holds a BS in applied mathematics from Central Washington University and is pursuing a MS in applied and computational mathematics from the University of Washington. Tallman specializes in mathematical modeling and discrete event simulation. Her expertise is often applied to programmatic risk and resilience initiatives. At PNNL, Tallman performs risk analyses and supports risk management programs for multiple domains including the National Nuclear Security Administration’s defense programs. She also supports water and energy risk and resilience work, including training, stakeholder engagement, and technical assistance.

Learn more about Tallman here.