Rachael Nealer

Rachael Nealer is an environmental researcher and executive leader at the intersection of energy and transportation. Throughout her career spanning academia, policy, and management, she has both advanced environmental impact research focused on electrification and fuels and created the national systems and processes to implement real-world change in the United States.

She has demonstrated success in innovating federal government policy and operations, building and leading cross-agency teams, designing and managing funding programs, and acting as a trusted convener to advance collective public and private sector transformation. Most recently, Nealer led the U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, a new federal office she helped to create and then operate. The office delivered a first-of-its-kind national electric vehicle charging guidance and standards, from policy to implementation, catalyzing the U.S. market and advancing secure, accessible public infrastructure and technology.

Nealer advises and contributes to organizations including the Electric Power Research Institute, Transportation Research Board, and previously the Electric Vehicle Federal Advisory Committee. She has been recognized for her contributions to civil service and science with the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal Finalist, EPA Excellence Award for Clean School Bus Program, and Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Finalist. Her work has resulted in several publications that model lifecycle assessments for vehicles and freight across multiple sectors and develop and compare greenhouse gas emissions mitigation strategies.

She received her joint Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering and engineering and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University, with a focus on sustainable transportation supply chains, energy use, and emissions.