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Geneva Smith
Douglas
1932-1993
Geneva Smith Douglas is recognized in Nevada for her extraordinary
work at the Nevada Test Site and her development of an offsite radiation
monitoring program. Douglas was also extremely active in civic service
organizations.
Douglas was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1932. She worked
as a research associate at the University of Rochester Atomic Energy
Project after graduating from Mount Holyoke in 1956. Douglas moved
to Las Vegas in 1959 when she joined the U.S. Public Health Service
as a radiation biologist for the Southwestern Radiological Health
Laboratory. Douglas, working for both the U.S. Public Health Service
and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), built relationships
with communities close to where nuclear testing was carried out.
Later she developed an offsite radiation monitoring program while
working as the Program Operations Manager of the Environmental Monitoring
Systems Laboratory.
In 1985, Douglas retired from the EPA. However, she continued be
a nuclear technical advisor, working out in the field, offering her
expertise to simulated and actual nuclear disasters, and speaking
to Congress.
Douglas extended her public relations expertise to the community
service field, serving twice as president of Soroptomist International
of Greater Las Vegas. She also participated in the Sierra Nevada
Region and the Friends of Nevada Wilderness, again using her skills
to help lobby Congress on issues such as environmental preservation.
Douglas chaired the Governor's Advisory Committee on Volunteerism
under Nevada Governor Richard Bryan in 1986. In this position, Douglas
helped promote volunteer activity in the state. In addition to organizing
several workshops on volunteer resources and training, Douglas also
organized the first statewide Conference on Volunteerism.
For further biographical information:
- Geneva Douglas papers. Nevada Women's Archives. Special
Collections, UNLV. Collection number 93-35.
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