Nuclear waste disposal expert (born 1987)
Samuel Otis Brinton (born 1987)[1] is an American nuclear engineer and LGBTQ activist. They served as the deputy assistant secretary of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the Office of Nuclear Energy from June[2][3][4] to December 2022. Brinton left the position after being charged with luggage theft twice.[5]
Brinton was the first openly genderfluid individual in federal government leadership, and uses singular they pronouns.[6]
Early life and education
Brinton was raised in Perry, Iowa and is the child of two Southern Baptist missionaries. Brinton came out as bisexual to their parents in the early 2000s.[7] According to Brinton, Brinton's parents disapproved of Brinton's attraction to a male friend from school, and put the then-middle school student in conversion therapy, an experience Brinton later described as "barbaric" and "painful" in a New York Times op-ed.[8]
Brinton remarks that physical abuse at the hands of their parents became far more commonplace in Brinton's life as they began to express their identity. Furthermore, that the physical abuse was not limited to just their parents: naming a particular anecdote involving an especially extreme session of conversion therapy, where Brinton reports that they were bound to a table whilst ice, heat, and electricity were applied to their body, all while being forced to watch clips of gay intimacy, in an attempt to repulse them to their attraction.[7] Finally, they state that after it became clear that the conversion therapy had not affected their sexuality, Brinton was effectively disowned by their parents, with Brinton's father threatening to shoot Brinton in the head if Brinton ever returned home.[9]
Journalist and gay activist Wayne Besen has expressed skepticism about Brinton's description of their childhood.[9][10] Besen has noted inconsistencies in Brinton's retelling of events, as well as Brinton's claim that they could not remember the therapist's name (which would be necessary to corroborate the story), despite having had two years of sessions with him.[10]
Brinton graduated from Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science in nuclear engineering and vocal music. While attending the university, they organized its first pride march in 2010.[11] They have a dual Master of Science degree in nuclear science and engineering (technology and policy program) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[11][12]
LGBTQ activism
Calling themselves a "survivor" of conversion therapy, Brinton was the first such individual to testify before the United Nations Convention against Torture regarding their experience in November 2014,[13] as the advisory committee co-chair of the National Center for Lesbian Rights' #BornPerfect campaign. Brinton held the position until at least September 2015.[14]
Brinton, on December 1, 2016, founded the #50Bills50States campaign with the goal of prohibiting the pseudoscientific practice of conversion therapy throughout the U.S.[15][16]
In 2016 and 2018, Brinton was the principal officer for the Washington DC chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an LGBTQ charity and human rights group.[17] At events, such as the organization's 40th anniversary, Brinton performed in drag under the name "Sister Ray Dee O'Active"[dubious – discuss].[1][18]
From 2017 to 2019, Brinton was the head of advocacy and government affairs at the non-profit LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization The Trevor Project.[6][19]
Career
In 2016, Brinton was a senior policy analyst for the Bipartisan Policy Center, lobbying for updated regulations so nuclear waste can be used to power advanced nuclear reactors.[20] In February 2020, the website of Deep Isolation, a Berkeley, California, nuclear waste storage and disposal company,[21] listed them as its Director of Legislative Affairs[22] and in May 2022 they were its Director of Global Political Strategy.[23] In 2022, Brinton's profile at the Department of Energy (DOE) indicated their previous work with the Breakthrough Institute, the Clean Air Task Force, and Third Way.[4]
In 2022, Brinton became a deputy assistant secretary at DOE, serving in the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition. South Florida Gay News reported that, according to Brinton, while they were "welcomed with open arms" at all levels of the organization, others reacted to their appointment with hatred and disgust, some making death threats against the self-described "Nuclear Nerd".[24][4]
In February 2022, an unidentified Department of Energy employee filed allegations of hiring malpractice with the Office of the Inspector General due to concern regarding Brinton's qualifications for a Senior Executive Service (SES) level position, i.e. "the class of federal career officials who rank just below top presidential appointees in seniority".[25]
Brinton supports the use of interim siting for radioactive waste to determine which sites and storage methods are best suited for future permanent repositories.[26]
In November 2022, Brinton was placed on leave by the Department of Energy after they were charged with theft of airport luggage.[1][27] On December 12, 2022, a Department of Energy spokesperson confirmed that Brinton was no longer a DOE employee.[5]
Theft allegations
In October 2022, Brinton was charged with felony theft after allegedly stealing a woman's suitcase from a Minneapolis–St. Paul Airport baggage carousel on September 16. The criminal complaint alleged that Brinton did not have any checked luggage, and placed the suitcase's baggage tag in their handbag before leaving with the suitcase.[1][28] On December 8, 2022, a felony warrant for grand larceny was issued for Brinton's arrest, also for being accused of stealing luggage, this time from the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on July 6, 2022.[29]
Personal life
Brinton is bisexual, and uses singular they pronouns.[1][6] According to a 2017 Washington Blade report, Brinton resided in Washington, D.C., was a singer in the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C., and was engaged to Kevin Rieck.[19]
