Deal Maker

Nicole Nelson-Jean was warned about working with Russian navy officers. They were grizzled Cold Warriors, many in their late 50s and 60s, who had the reputation of being among the world's toughest negotiators. They rarely dealt with women and would not respect a 28-year-old who was also black, she was told. So she might want to reconsider taking an Energy Department job that involved negotiating a nuclear security agreement with them.

"The Russians were certainly surprised when I walked into the room. Some of them would not talk to me at first, but they did once they realized that I was the boss," recalls Nelson-Jean, now 32 and the Energy attaché to the U.S. ambassador to Japan.

Nelson-Jean was working for Energy contractor Wackenhut Corp. in 2000 when she took a federal job managing the department's nuclear security programs and training facilities in Russia. One of her top priorities was finalizing an agreement with the Russian Ministry of Defense to secure former Soviet nuclear materials and weapons. The deal she eventually negotiated paved the way for the construction of the Kola Technical Center in Murmansk, Russia, the first nuclear security training facility in the formerly communist nation.

JoAnne Phipps, Energy's director of international operations, says Nelson-Jean's attitude allowed her to overcome diplomatic delays that had plagued more senior negotiators. "She sees everything as an opportunity to succeed rather than an obstacle," Phipps says.

Nelson-Jean's first challenge was getting American and Russian officials into the same room after talks had stalled for more than a year. Previous negotiations had been conducted largely via e-mail. So, Nelson-Jean began making regular trips to Russia and her counterparts were invited to the United States to discuss the agreement.

On those trips, Nelson-Jean often would find herself the sole female meeting with as many as 20 male Russian naval officers, each old enough to be her father. Her Russian counterparts often called her "Ms. Condoleezza." She laughs about it now, saying it's a "privilege" to be put in the same category as National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

Nelson-Jean succeeded in wrapping up negotiations with the Russians only four months after taking over. And as the talks wound down, she received perhaps her highest compliment. The Russians began bringing female negotiators to the meetings.