Jocelyn Y. Buckley, now an employee as Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M., is the daughter of Ann Coleman, a retired school teacher with the Petal School District (taught 32 years) and former school board member for the district for 10 years.
Buckley is a 1984 special honors graduate of Petal High School. Ninth in her graduating class, she was active in the PHS marching and concert bands where she played clarinet.
She graduated in 1987 from William Carey University with a BS in mathematics and a minor in chemistry. From there she went on to Howard University in Washington, D.C. where she graduated in 1992 with a BS in chemical engineering/MS in environmental engineering.
In 1992, Buckley’s education led her to Albuquerque, N.M., where she started working for the Department of Energy. In 1998, she began working at Los Alamos National Laboratory, which employs about 10,000 people.
She was inducted into the PHS Academic Hall of Fame in 2009
In her past position at LANL, she designed, developed, and implemented training (classroom and on-line) in Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Regulations for LANL workers.
Currently, she provides environmental compliance and waste management support to Program and Project Managers overseeing work activities, specifically construction and environmental remediation activities, performed across the laboratory.
Buckley has lived in Albuquerque since 1992. While there are nearby communities in Northern New Mexico, she has chosen to remain there despite the fact that to get to her job is a two-hour drive. A private pilot with her own plane, Buckley solved the commuting problem by flying to work every day – a quick 30-minute jaunt.
“In the past there were at least six pilots who worked at Los Alamos, owned airplanes, and air-commuted, but now there's only me since the others either retired, accepted job opportunities closer to home, or stopped flying,” Buckley said. “Most people who live in Albuquerque, but work at Los Alamos, either car or van pool to work.”
