Dr. Rachael Nealer is a Director at Atlas Public Policy, where she provides strategic leadership and policy expertise to advance data-driven solutions for transportation electrification, climate policy, and infrastructure. She brings over a decade of experience spanning federal government leadership, academic research, and cross-sector collaboration to tackle complex energy and environmental challenges.

Most recently, Rachael served as Acting Executive Director and Deputy Director of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, where she led the creation and operation of a groundbreaking federal office spanning DOE and DOT. The office delivered national electric vehicle charging guidance and standards and coordinated implementation of the federal EV programs earning a Department of Energy Secretarial Award in 2023.

Prior to the Joint Office, Rachael held senior roles at the Department of Transportation, White House Council on Environmental Quality, and the U.S. Department of Energy. She has also contributed research and analysis as a Kendall Science Fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists and as an engineer at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She advises and contributes to organizations including the Center for Sustainable Energy, American Center for Mobility, Electric Power Research Institute, Transportation Research Board, and previously the Electric Vehicle Federal Advisory Committee.

Rachael holds a joint Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University, with a focus on sustainable transportation supply chains. She is based in Washington, D.C.