Rachael Nealer is currently serving two roles as the Deputy Director Transportation Technology and Policy where she advises and coordinates the execution of the Biden-Harris Administration’s transportation priorities and as the Interim Deputy Director for the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. She also is the chair of the Transportation Research Board Alternative Fuels and Technologies Committee. Throughout her career, she has focused on researching transportation as a system of systems and developing strategy around how to decarbonize transportation through technology development in concert with supporting policies.
Dr. Nealer has previously held various roles at the Department of Energy, as Senior Advisor and Chief of Staff to the three transportation offices: Bioenergy, Hydrogen and Fuel Cell, and Vehicle Technologies Offices. She has also worked in the non-profit sector the Union of Concerned Scientists researching the environmental impacts of electric vehicles compared to gasoline vehicles over their life. Prior to UCS she worked at the Environmental Protection Agency in the Renewable Fuels Standard office and she received her joint PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University where she specialized in lifecycle environmental impacts of transportation.
As a former Chief of Staff, a personal passion of hers is ensuring the federal government is recruiting and retaining high quality talent.